Name: Charlotte Vitale

Social Justice Group: Food insecurity in NYC (B)

Date of Fieldwork: December 19, 2024

Name of Organization and person (people) with whom you met and their title(s):Caroline Walker 5th grade Humanities teacher

What I did and what I learned about my topic, activism, social justice work or civil and human rights work from this fieldwork:

My group met with Caroline Walker, a former teacher of ours who taught us about food insecurity in 5th grade. We asked her about how food insecurity affects children’s ability to learn. She told us that children have a lot of anxiety about when their next meal will be. She also said that it impacts the child’s life to wonder when they will eat. She also talked about how many children rely on school meals food to be fed. We also asked about how food desserts result in unhealthy eating outcomes. She told us that many parts of town don’t have access to a grocery store with fresh veggies or produce and that many places where people shop are delis that only sell very expensive fruits and vegetables so it is cheaper to buy unhealthy food.

Another question we asked her was: Why do you think food prices have changed drastically and why is packaged food becoming the alternative? Her response was that:
– Big business have taken over the food industry
– Hard for small farms and businesses to stay alive
– Hard to make a profit.
We also asked which neighborhoods are most affected by food insecurity. And she said that neighborhoods in the Bronx are highly affected by food insecurity.