Food Justice
Urban Garden Demonstration Site at PICA.
What are the connections between social justice, sustainability and food systems? The dominant cultural story is that eating healthy is about personal choice and willpower, but it doesn’t take into account that our current food system is not just – there is not equal access to healthy food.
Students who participate in PICA learn that healthy food is not just about personal choice or will power, it is about access.
What is a food desert?
A food desert is an area with little or no access to large grocery stores which offer fresh and affordable foods needed to maintain a healthy diet. Basic food desert mapping is measured by the distance to a supermarket, one mile in urban areas and more than ten miles in rural areas. You can view the USDA Food Access Map here.
What is food justice?
Communities exercising their right to grow, sell and eat healthy food. Healthy food is defined as fresh, nutritious, affordable and grown with care for the well being of the land the people who work the land.
Urban gardens can help address this issue of food access in a city environment and provide a place for individuals and communities to have an experience of empowerment in relationship to their food system.
PICA's Urban Garden Demonstration Site
Please come visit the Urban Garden Demonstration Site in the A-quad of PICA. It was created from a variety of repurposed, free and recycled materials, including: cinder blocks, a wheelbarrow, a dresser, a large tire and straw bales. This site seeks to educate students about food justice issues and illustrate the ways in which a community with few resources can grow their own food in an urban setting.
