Food Justice: Why We Need a Community Empowerment and Social Change Agenda

Abstract

"The conditions in Benton Harbor, Michiganhigh unemployment, huge numbers living below the poverty line, enormous health problems related to obesity and weight gain even as many residents go hungry at different times during the month, and poor access to fresh, affordable, and healthy foodrepresent some of the most severe forms of social, economic, and food-related forms of injustice. But the problems in this one community are not unique. The economic downturn of 2008-2009 further highlighted and exacerbated these problems and called for a more systemic and radical approach to economic, social, and food sector changes."