What would our society look like if we redesigned our food system with racial equity in mind? So that it served every family, supported every worker, and ensured environmental sustainability, allowing all people to access the nutritious food they need to thrive?
To answer this question, we need to understand the root causes of inequity within our food system, including how structural racism influences the ways our food is produced, marketed, distributed, and consumed. Structural racism continues to have far-reaching impacts on food security in the U.S., exacerbating economic inequities and health disparities experienced by people of color and their communities.
Racially oppressive policies, limiting access to both land and capital, have been instrumental in shaping rural and urban food environments. This has led to the loss and dispossession of millions of acres of farmland, a dearth of BIPOC-led farm initiatives and community gardens, and a workforce deprived of the full rights and privileges for meaningful participation in the food system.
It’s a lack of grocery stores that provide affordable produce and other healthy foods and a surplus of fast food outlets and retailers that sell mainly cheap unhealthy products in communities of color.
And it’s the restrictions and challenges that prevent people who are eligible for nutrition assistance programs from participating in them. For example, Black individuals and families are more likely than other racial groups to live in communities with structural barriers to enrolling in SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), such as unstable internet access.
Each of these factors contributes to food insecurity, creating barriers that prevent many families and children from having enough of the foods they need to be healthy.