The stories behind our food are complex. What we eat, where we shop, and how much food we have are not simply personal choices. Rather, they depend on what food is produced nearby, our access to a grocery store and reliable transportation, our income, our exposure to marketing, and how much time we have to prepare meals.
These factors shape our personal narratives about food. They also contribute to shared stories that help us understand and address challenges people face when it comes to hunger, malnourishment, and obesity. And while there is a growing movement of community organizers, policymakers, researchers, and funders to advance local solutions for improving people’s access to healthy food, there’s a disconnect in how we’re talking about this work.
For example, my social media feed is full of mentions of “food justice.” Those posts cover a wide range of topics, strategies and approaches: stories about new urban farms, academic papers on local food systems, volunteering opportunities at a community garden, a push to advocate for farm workers’ rights. Research my colleagues and I have done also finds big differences in how food justice is discussed by academics, community organizations and younger generations, especially youth of color.
