Student voices

In the last 4 weeks we have been learning about the growing environment and how it affects the world for people who don't have access to these healthy crops. One week that stood out to me was when we learned about the Food Project at a greenhouse at Nubian Square. When I was little I grew up around people who did bad things and didn’t care about the food system, but when I found people who actually cared about the food system I felt glad….This is important because it shows people the value of the food system and how it is important to the world.

Most people don't know where the food they use to fuel their body comes actually from, beyond the grocery store. This is partly due to ‘supermarket secrets' as I like to call it where they like to keep you in the dark about many things. While you see colorful isles of wonder, behind that lies a valley of injustice. It seems that there is this growing disconnection with the organic minerals that fuel us, as well as a disconnect from our awareness of the people we unknowingly affect every day….I noticed this summer that eating local healthy foods raised in loving environments felt nourishing for both my body and my mind . ​

We are all a part of the food system. Most of us buy what it wants us to buy, eat what it wants us to eat, and throw out what it wants us to throw out….This damage [from the food system] seemed irreparable so my whole life I had the mindset that it wasn’t worth doing anything because nothing matters and we are all going to die anyway. No real difference could be made, so why bother?  This program completely changed how I feel…I shouldn’t live my life just doing what all the messed up systems want me to do and being a part of that injustice….Real difference is being made. I’ve seen it now….Along with observing different initiatives, I felt connected to the cause as well….Being in this program has reconnected me with that way of existing, and has let me have a part in connecting other kids with it, which is something I will continue to do.

For a long time I’ve seen my passion for social justice work as an important part of my identity….However, one realm of social justice that I didn’t know much of anything about was food and the food system. Despite food being such an obvious thing in all our lives I’ve always taken it for granted and overlooked the many injustices that occur in the industry….The work we’ve done in the school gardens has been a special experience.  Connecting with what I eat by weeding, planting, taking care of the beds, and witnessing the process from start to finish has given me a sense of satisfaction that doesn’t come from buying food… I want to incorporate food justice into my daily life….By understanding the different places my food comes from I can feel more in control. 

One of the core lessons here is that food is something we all deserve to have access to, it’s something we need regardless of our circumstances. One could argue people of diasporas need our cultural food like we need oxygen….This program has reminded me of the joy I feel from gardening. In the depths of my depression, spirals of my anxiety, and stress of life, I lose sight of what actually makes me happy. People say joy is an act of resistance…Certain demographics are allowed more joy than others. So yes, for me, finding joy again through gardening or eating my culture's food…is an act of resistance and resilience that I'm clawing my way back to.​