Access to adequate food is a human right, per the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But the right to healthy, culturally appropriate food is denied systematically across communities, especially in the United States. Food disparities are evident in urban cores and rural towns alike; differences in access to food that is healthy and culturally appropriate reflect the larger social injustices that have existed for decades.
The idea of food justice emerges from this reality as a social movement that strives for just food systems that value human dignity, health, and culture. Food justice is not a single design or plan. The nature of food justice in one neighborhood may mean something completely different in another neighborhood.
Communities that had a higher percentage of Black and Latino populations had significantly fewer healthy food outlets, leading to diets low in nutrition and high in processed foods, promoting obesity, diabetes, and other health issues. The environment within which people live—including public policy, zoning, and decades of disinvestment—creates a condition in which food insecurity occurs.
Redlining, discriminatory housing policies established in the 20th century, continue to shape food landscapes today. In the 1930s, neighborhoods populated by Black and immigrant residents were shaded red on maps. Banks denied loans, businesses avoided the area, and white residents moved away. Many years later, those same neighborhoods remain under-invested.
Undocumented immigrants are ineligible for food assistance programs like SNAP, even if they have lived and worked in the U.S. for many years. These prohibitions create an increased potential for hunger and lack of good nutrition.
In many cities, corner stores and small ethnic grocery stores supply fresh vegetables, spices and culturally specified foods that cannot be easily found in mainstream supermarkets. For many immigrants, food is more than calories on a plate. Food is heritage. These stores help to maintain culture and heritage as well as nutrition.