How redistribution of power leads to food security & sovereignty
September was national hunger awareness month and we want to talk a minute about what that means to us The Connected Chef.
Traditionally the US has addressed the needs of “hunger” in our communities by tasking non-profits and specific government agencies with bringing food to people who are currently unable to find a meal. But sadly, the approach has been deeply problematic.
Three reasons the traditional approach to hunger is problematic and unsustainable
Labeling our communities: There is a focus on communities as “hungry” and “needy”.
The Issue - By focusing on communities as “needy”, our society labels individuals and does not acknowledge the systemic issues at hand that put specific communities in a position of need. This label also does not acknowledge that every single one of us requires support in our lives and fails to recognize that, in fact, those with more resources are often awarded more opportunity due to the way they look or the family and neighborhood they grow up in. This labeling creates a divide in our society and delineates people as those with and those without: a label that is deeply harmful to the self worth of communities and its individuals.
The Harm - Dividing communities is never solution-based. It strips individuals and communities of dignity, self respect and self worth. It causes people (whether hungry or not) to feel shame around asking for help and stigmatizes the need for support. It re-enforces the narrative that if we all work hard enough, we will be ok. This ‘bootstrap’ narrative is simply not true and ignores the systemic causes of poverty and hunger rooted in white supremacy.
Charity model of support: When we talk about a charity model we are continuing the narrative that there are communities in need and others who are not. The main mode of support is then to take resources from individuals and groups with resources and give to those without.
The Issue - At first, some may see this a redistribution, but it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The charity model boasts individuals and organizations with resources and, even more importantly, never addresses the root cause of the disparity. Society continues to operate from a system that provides more opportunity to certain individuals and creates barriers for others. This system is built on white supremacy, and it continues to ensure that white upper and middle class communities maintain a hold on resources while Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities have to navigate impossible hurdles that keep them from those same resources.
The Harm - The systems are maintained, scales are never balanced and those with the resources end up offering their money, time, connections at their own discretion. This furthers the power divide and allows those with resources to always hold the decision making power of who gets and does not, how much someone gets, why, and to what extent.
To the communities experiencing hunger and food insecurity, they are constantly at the hands of those with the power and resources, furthering their oppression and deepening their struggle to separate themselves from the shameful narrative of needing help. The root cause of food insecurity and hunger, being lack of access to resources, is not addressed and solved.
In short, the charity model is self-serving to those giving the resources and maintains hunger and food insecurity because it is not getting to the root causes of why communities are lacking resources and access to fresh food.
Quality of Food: When addressing hunger, historically the US and many non-profit agencies do not consider the quality of food being offered to communities.
The Issue - The focus on hunger is a focus on the bare minimum. It often still leaves communities food insecure and even still without healthy, fresh food that is being enjoyed by more resourced communities.
The Harm - Simply put, food is medicine. If our communities are kept from accessing healthy foods that are grown responsibly, then our communities will forever be at a disadvantage with higher rates of chronic disease and higher rates of mental health struggles.
There are endless reports and studies outlining the disproportionate rates at which black, brown, and indigenous communities experience food related illness. “Communities of color and lower-income communities face higher rates of not only type 2 diabetes but also other chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease” (Zick et al. 2009; Morland, Wing, and Diez Roux 2002).
Children who do not have healthy, nutrient-dense foods will not have the focus needed to achieve success in school equal to that of their nourished counterparts. Without easy access, parents will not have the ability to provide healthy meals for their children. Individuals will not have the agency to navigate other life challenges when constantly worrying about where the next meal is coming from.
We need to stop supporting models of charity that do not focus on the root causes of hunger and food insecurity in black, brown and indigenous communities.
We need to lift up communities, provide resources for individuals to take back power into their own hands, make decisions for themselves, and truly create sovereignty for our communities.
How do we do this?
God news…it’s already being done.
Organizations like The Connected Chef and other mutual aid groups have built systems of food distribution that step away from charity and provide groceries that are nutrient-dense, fresh and distributed with care and dignity.
The Connected Chef built our current programming with 1 goal in mind…
To create an avenue of food distribution that brings fresh ingredients from local farms to families across Queens, regardless of income and immigration status.
We are 70% towards our goal
We have currently built a food system that sources fresh ingredients from a network of local farms in NY, NJ and PA and gets them consistently into NYC communities.
We provide groceries to hundreds of families across Queens ranging from $0 - $45, no questions asked.
We do this with a mix of paid staff and volunteers. We practice equity within our organization by ensuring that every staff member is paid the same $20/hr wage whether it is our Executive Director or our packing and delivery staff.
That last 30% is the hardest…
We currently do not have the income to support the hundreds of free groceries delivered each week. Because of this, we take advantage of donated food (of equal freshness) to use for our $0 grocery boxes.
What we want is to provide the EXACT same ingredients for our $0 box as we do for our $25 - $45 boxes.
This shift will make Connected Chef the first organization to create a large scale, truly equitable, grocery delivery program.
Here’s what you can do to support…
1. Opt into our Sliding Scale Grocery Program at a higher tier. By doing this, you are successfully redistributing your income, supporting local growers and eating healthy.
2. Voluntarily redistribute your income by offering a recurring contribution to our Lifeline Grocery Program. (This one is great if your are outside our delivery zone and would still like to contribute!)
Choose what percentage of your income you feel comfortable redistributing.
(1%-5% is a great start.)
Calculate the annual contribution and divide that by 12 months.
Click HERE to start your monthly contribution.
example: $50K income @ 1% redistribution = $500/year.
$500 divided by 12 = $41.67/month or $10.42/week
To learn more about sustainable community changes, head to learn about Solidarity Economy.