How Do We End 'Food Apartheid' in America? With Farms Like This One

13 June 2017

 - As the cost of living rises and wages stay the same, millions struggle to afford nutritious food. Wealth inequality, systemic oppression and lack of access to fresh produce are key factors in this problem. Poor communities are often flooded with fast-food restaurants. For working people with low wages, a $5.20 meal from McDonald’s is very tempting when there is a McDonald’s on every corner. Communities that are most vulnerable to food-related death and disease are inundated with fast-food restaurants.

This is no coincidence—fast-food companies are 60 percent more likely to advertise to children in predominantly black neighborhoods than in white neighborhoods.

“The fast-food industry disproportionately targets people of color,” explains Leah Penniman, program director and co-executive director of Soul Fire Farm. On the flip side, farmers’ markets are significantly more likely to take place in predominately white neighborhoods. A white community is three times more likely to have healthy food and grocery stores than black communities.