Food Apartheid and Its Effect on The Bronx
Charlotte Preuss ’26
Daphne Wong ’26
The term “food deserts” has recently become popularized in media sources to describe rural or urban areas that do not have access to affordable, healthy foods, especially fresh produce. People in these areas could live miles away from the closest grocery store and do not have transportation to get there (Food Deserts, n.d.). Although this term has gained popularity over recent years, it is not the most accurate phrase to describe these areas. Instead, the term “food apartheid,” defined as “that divides those with access to an abundance of nutritious food and those who have been denied that access due to systemic injustice,” should be used instead to address the true root of this problem: systemic racism and racist policies (Food Apartheid, 2015).
The term “food desert” is misleading for two reasons. First, the term implies that “these areas are naturally occurring” (Sevilla, 2021). Additionally, it assumes that building more stores will resolve the issue. However, these areas are far from naturally occurring and are not the result of a vast dryland without water or vegetation. Instead, discriminatory policies have created these areas; such conclusions can easily be drawn as these places are most commonly found among Black and Brown or low-income communities. Moreover, neighborhoods cannot solve the crisis simply by building more grocery stores, as many lack the funds within their community to afford such infrastructure. Although part of the problem lies in store access, much of it lies in the need for stable income and jobs. To improve access to healthy food, not only do more stores need to be built, but access to livable wages also needs to be granted, a fact the term “food desert” does not address. Additionally, the term “food desert” ignores “...the presence of community and backyard gardens, farmer’s markets, food businesses, and other food sharing activities that exist in these areas” (Sevilla, 2021). However, the term “food apartheid” addresses all of these facts, as well as emphasizes the need to focus on the roots of this issue and work towards structural change.
Food apartheid is affecting the Bronx in New York City, where many people struggle to afford healthy food options. Economic disadvantages are extremely prevalent in West Farms and Crotona, two sections of South Bronx, where “nearly a third of its residents live in poverty” (Rodriguez, n.d.). Not only is an economic disadvantage present, but so is the presence of minorities affected by food apartheid, as the community is 60% Hispanic and 26% Black (Rodriguez, n.d.). The lack of jobs in the Bronx creates an inability for families to provide for their families and to afford healthy foods. The Bronx is the central food hub for NYC’s Produce Market and can feed "over 22 million people within 50 miles of the market," but these marginalized communities are neglected. They cannot enjoy these food resources (Rodriguez, n.d.). Instead, they only have access to cheap yet unhealthy foods such as fast foods, which decreases their quality of life and causes the prevalence of nutrition-related diseases like diabetes, obesity, malnutrition, and hypertension.
Fortunately, non-profit organizations like the Mary Mitchell Family & Youth Center and programs such as Heidi’s Healthy Canasta in the Bronx are fighting to provide people with healthy food options. In this program, people can buy bags filled with vegetables, grains, and proteins. They “...can buy these bags on a sliding scale fee and receive enough healthy food to feed at least a family of four” (Rodriguez, n.d.). However, their efforts alone are not enough to fully address the issue of food apartheid in the Bronx or throughout communities within the US. Government efforts and greater media attention must come to fully address the issue of food apartheid and establish systematic changes to the food systems within underprivileged communities.
References
Food Apartheid. (2015). Regeneration.org. https://regeneration.org/nexus/food-
apartheid#:~:text=Food%20apartheid%20is%20a%20system,access%20due%20to%20systemic%20injustice.
Food deserts*. Food Empowerment Project. (n.d.). https://foodispower.org/access-health/food-deserts/
Mary Mitchell Family and youth center- food apartheid affecting bronxites. MMFYC. (n.d.).
Sevilla, N. (2021, April 2). Food apartheid: Racialized access to Healthy Affordable Food. Be a Force for the Future.
https://www.nrdc.org/bio/nina-sevilla/food-apartheid-racialized-access-healthy-affordable-food
