Democracy and Inequality: Challenges and Possible Solutions

The Problem

Students arrive at my classroom thirsty for knowledge yet deprived of such essential experiences and tastes for foods that many others have grown to know and love. Why are they withheld from such rich, wholesome foods as different apples, grapes, squashes, greens? As I began to challenge my students to expand their taste buds and minimal palates of carbohydrate filled snacks such as Hot Cheetos and Takis to fresh broccoli florets and sugar snap peas, it dawned on me that some didn't even know what those foods looked like, let alone the tastes of them.

The more time we spend together during those pandemic mandatory in-class lunch periods, the deeper I found the problem to be. It was not simply an absence of knowledge; it was more than that; it was a systemic business of targeting minorities and the poor. Alison Hope Alkon quotes market founder David Roach as saying, “The market is about community, and it's about land, and it's about business in the community that provides basic needs. Your economy can become more prosperous because of food. Food is connected to land, connected to health, and also connected to enterprises in the community.”⁸ According to that, the students of Hearne are in significant trouble considering there are no markets available to them or their families for at least 20-30 miles, and most of them do not own a vehicle.

Just as discussed in the seminar session, I had to question my motives for tackling this issue or if it was even a dilemma that needed attention to be drawn to it. What if I wanted more for my students because I saw something better in the community where I lived versus the community in which I taught? I may not be far removed from my students in terms of socioeconomic status, so is that why I compare or advocate for what should be fair for them, or should I mind my own business, teach and go home? Is the problem of not having access to quality fresh foods at reasonable prices my own because of my motivations and what I care for. Is their loss of this a more powerful motivator than the opportunity to gain a farmer's market? Alkon further contends, “But green is not only the color of trees; it is also the color of money. The green economy promises economic as well as environmental benefits through the creation of new products, brands, and services. For this reason, going green might better be described as growing green.”⁹ I concluded that my students do have a problem. It is a need for food justice, being provided equal access to healthy food while addressing the structural inequalities in the food system and the broader distribution of environmental benefits.¹⁰

As the voice of my students, it is up to me to advocate on their behalf and create a curriculum unit that speaks to the lack of their community not having food justice activists who, according to Alkon, “...work to create green economic opportunities for low-income people of color to distribute local organic food in communities otherwise lacking access to it.”¹¹ That solution could remedy students' taste palates to become more expansive to foods foreign to them. Just as discussed in the seminar, my students are facing an inequality matter on a local level which matters more than global issues tend to. Should I teach them to approach the solution or remedy by being race conscientious and treat the symptom of not having access to quality foods that promote healthy lifestyles by demanding change of the system? Is the real smoking gun a manner in which to keep black and brown people at the bottom of the metaphorical totem pole by not giving access to the green foods which promote learning and development? The research will answer the questions posed in this section by students and will drive their instruction on the writing of their informational essays at the end of this unit.