On Wednesday, April 20 my group watched a documentary about the issue of food insecurity in Pennsylvania. The video was made by WQED Pittsburgh, a youtube channel with 20,00 subscribers. In the video they talked about how being food insecure can stem from multiple things and it can happen in the blink of an eye.

A lot of the things the documentary spoke about were devastating but understandable. They said that Covid had hit and their access to food became limited. One of the main speakers on the show had a car accident a few years ago and due to that she and her husband were practically put on bed rest which made accessing food a lot more challenging and difficult. Another family talked about how when covid hit they lost their job therefore losing their weekly wages and weren’t able to provide food for their children which made them feel like they weren’t providing as a parent. I could never imagine how difficult that must be just to think about how disappointed one might be in themselves because they can’t provide for their kids. It’s just absolutely devastating.

Even though this documentary had a sad tone I truly enjoyed watching this video and thought it was super informative and interesting. Not only did it give us information but it also gave us perspective about a subject that we haven’t experienced first hand because of our privilege. But it also taught me what I can do to help, like volunteering, packing bags of food and more. Overall I thought this video was excellent.

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The Food Empowerment Project’s lauren Ornelas met with us. She launched the Food Empowerment Project in 2007, at a time when this topic was largely ignored. We learnt about how industrial farming is destroying our seas and how fast food restaurants prey on people who are unable to shop at traditional grocery stores. We also heard about how the government uses bodegas and delis to deceive people into believing that low-income areas aren’t really low-income. We also discovered that grocery stores in more affluent communities are open later. In addition, grocery businesses in lower-income areas close more sooner.

Due to everything they do, the Food Empowerment Project is crucial to our issue. Whether it’s protesting factory farming, commercial fishing, or the way fast food outlets prey on low-income areas, there’s always something to do. I believe that what they do is really important, and that they should continue to undertake this job both locally and across the United States.

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On Thursday, Feb 17, my group and I (Atticus Barocas and Theo Cornick) met with “lauren Ornelas” from the Food Empowerment Project. We talked about access to healthy food and the lack of general access to grocery stores. The Food Empowerment Projects’ mission is to create a more just and sustainable world by recognizing the power of one’s food choices. We encourage healthy food choices that reflect a more compassionate society by spotlighting the abuse of animals on farms, the depletion of natural resources, unfair working conditions for produce workers, and the unavailability of healthy foods in low-income areas. She spoke on the systemic relation to food injustices and how it needs to be more shown in the media. She spoke on her personal views and how she suggests veganism to people. The main areas they work are San Jose, California. They have goals for different states and different approaches to those certain states. This is very crucial to our project because it gives us an idea one what is truly happening when it comes to access to healthful and nutritious food. The Food Empowerment was founded in 2007 and is still doing important work till this day.

For me listening to lauren was very informative and interesting to hear. She talked about what the Food Empowerment Project does and how it’s completely the same as what we believed their values to be. It was very beneficial to our group I believe because it still relates to my group’s topic which was a very broad category at the time. In fact it helped us specify what it is we are truly trying to help. Overall it was a great experience and I’m excited to continue this research.

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On Wednesday, Feb 2, me and my group members (Atticus Barocas and Theo Cornick) met with Katherine (Kate) Foley from the Food Trust Organization. We talked about access to healthful and nutritious foods around the country. The Food Trusts’ goal is to put more access to healthy and nutritious food in areas that don’t have much food. We learned a lot about how they are achieving this goal of making access to healthy and nutritious food around America. She spoke on the systemic relation to food injustices and how it needs to be more shown in the media. She stated that there are a lot of stats within the government that don’t show the full story and she and her team are working on helping this. The main areas they work are in Philadelphia and Camden (a little suburb in New Jersey not far from Philadelphia). They have goals for different states and different approaches to those certain states. This is very crucial to our project because it gives us an idea one what is truly happening when it comes to access to healthful and nutritious food. The Food Trust was founded in 1992 and is still making things till this day.

My personal reaction to this interview was how in-depth and thought out these organizations have to be. There are so many layered issues to be solved it’s hard to attack everything. Kate had a wonderful interview and she was very resourceful. My knowledge feels further. In review to the first interview this was much more on the topic we thought it would be on (food injustices for places with poverty). Overall this was great.

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On Thursday morning, February 3rd my group had the pleasure of interviewing Deborah Ramelli. She is the Director of Development and Community Affairs. She works for
Ceres Community Project (Sear-ees-). The Ceres Community Project has a vision and a statement. The vision: A healthy, just, caring and sustainable world. Their mission: We create health for people, communities and the planet through love, healing food and empowering the next generation. The Ceres Community Project was founded in 2007 by Cathryn Couch; JoEllen DeNicola. Deborah has been with the Ceres Community Project practically since they were founded and has helped many people during the process.

Deborah told us about her diverse background which includes working for corporations and not-for-profits in addition to running her own small business. Deborah holds a BA in Political Science, is a yoga teacher, and a Nutrition Educator. She is also an enthusiastic gardener and cook, and loves bringing people together over a table of great, healthy food.

For me listening to Deborah was very informative and interesting to hear. She talked about what the Ceres Community project does and how it’s slightly different than what we believe their values were. Even then it was still very beneficial to our group I believe because it still relates to my group’s topic which was a very broad category at the time. In fact it helped us specify what it is we are truly trying to help. Even with the slight hiccup Deborah’s statements were just so interesting to hear and so beneficial to hear because it showed how much people have had to deal with in the past few years especially with the current pandemic around the world a lot of people had to deal with food insecurities. Overall it was a great experience and I’m excited to continue this research.

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