Thinking through community perspectives on food justice in the South.
(1) Questions must be designed to fit the particular challenges faced by our area’s communities
Surely there was a historical time when absolute hunger was present in America and families suffered from empty bellies. Without consulting any sources, I think during pre-Second World War US this was a widespread occurrence and then afterwards noticeable in certain pockets (Appalachia comes to mind) of the US (that the 1960s “War on Poverty” and a host of social programming helped alleviate). Today, food security reflects a different set of circumstances, including flat wages, slow recovery from the Great Recession, relatively high percentage of income from working poor wages going to pay for transportation and rent, and to use America Bracho’s words, the consequences of living in an environment “designed to make people sick”. This seems especially true in the South. It is an all-embracing term to describe a system that can provide a wealth of food choices throughout the entire year, that necessitates a distinction between food and “nutritious” and “healthy” food, and that generates food deserts in the absence of government action, based on corporate decisions to go where the money is and away from where it is not.
To give a concrete counter example, several in the Montagnard community felt strongly that a community member regularly arrested and ill-treated by the police because of his schizophrenia would be better off in the old country because there he’d have a plot of land, a place to mumble and yell to himself, and still be able to grow his own food and eat. What I fear is that today’s complex food system generates a myriad of eating practices and behaviors, sicknesses and disorders among individuals and families that systemically speaking, are sustainable as long as responsible parties (Congress, NC General Assembly, local government, etc) are willing to write laws and establish policies that favor corporations over community health and well-being. In other words, a system is “sustainable” to the extent that dominant players support it and pump dollars into keeping it going. In my definition, “food security” is the winning strategy individuals and families seek within a food system game that is playing against them. In the case of the Montagnard man, community members observed that the food system cannot support him and so they advocated the drastic step of going out of the system, ie, returning him to the country he fled.
(2) Accepting the language and defining terms associated with food security should not exclude the ways in which community members define and understand them.
Any behavioral changes need to be measured over a long period of time. We’re in a unique circumstance here in Greensboro. Besides having over 100 languages spoken in the public schools, we have over 100 food traditions and distinct patterns of behavior to compare against native-born, local habits. Without even knowing all the details of these traditions, the general message to newcomers (I understand) has been for them to retain as long as possible those traditions because they’re likely to be more healthy than ours. Anecdotally I can report that some of our Asian refugee friends are switching to brown rice because they’re understanding the consequences of diabetes and hypertension. Among Asians, that’s a huge behavioral change and a good sign. But if some people were to be asked the USDA Household Food-Security question 1b (“Here are some reasons why people don’t always have the quality or variety of food the want… Please tell me if that is a reason why you don’t always have the kinds of food you want to eat.”), to get a really accurate answer would mean increasing the number of prompts to include “Local climate doesn’t support us growing or raising it here” or “I don’t know where to get the seeds” or “Our landlord doesn’t allow us a garden.” I had direct experience working with refugee grandmothers who operated as community health workers who were tasked with learning the context of these USDA questions, and it was a tough process bridging the language/cultural differences. Not impossible, but it required a lot of energy and commitment .
(3) Culture matters when it comes to changing behavior.
I’m sure the literature is out there about how food habits are formed from early on, including in the womb, and the fact that once formed, they become an integral part of an individual. If you haven’t eaten bugs, spicy foods or fresh tomatoes then none are likely to be among your food choices tonight or ever. Since how someone is raised exerts such a powerful influence on their food choices and how they behave within a food system, I found Justin’s observations about how cancer patients adjust to their “new normal” very interesting. Both refugees and cancer patients are forced to confront new and challenging food situations. Maybe understanding such examples can help us adjust the kinds of questions we ask the broader population.
(4) Let’s ask questions about how individuals and families are surviving.
Food Research and Action Center
“Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”
Maybe better for our area:
“In the past year, tell us how you managed to feed yourself and family.
Was it easy or hard?
What did you do?”
“Do you feel like you and your family are eating healthfully?
Why, why not?”
“What food customs, habits or traditions do you and your family enjoy and wish to keep?”
“What are some you would wish to change?
What would help you make this change?”