Race and food justice take root in Bronx, Brooklyn

Over at Grist.org, writer Natasha Bowen has turned her attention to New York City's growing community of black and Latino farmers and organizers within the sustainable food movement here. In researching her piece, she met an impressive number of farmers and food organizers from organizations in every borough, including Just Food, the New York City Community Garden Coalition, the New School's Living Concrete/Carrot City series, the Brooklyn Rescue Mission, which runs a farm in Bed-Stuy, the Bronx's Tagwa Community Farm and La Finca del Sur, led by women of color, and finally, Dennis Darryck, who started a farmshare project for residents of the South Bronx and Harlem recently profile in the New York Times.

Bowen also mentions the Community Vision Council, a group organizing the first annual Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference just a month from now, from Nov. 19 to 21 at Brooklyn College. The conference will explore how activists and workers can examine the intersections of food, race, poverty and social justice and tackle issues around hunger, access, food-related illnesses and more.

Critics of the food justice movement most commonly, and justifiably, decry it as Whole Foods-elitist, white, wealthy and largely oblivious to the realities of most Americans and unable (or unwilling) to address said issues. How great to see these much-needed conversations and activism take root here.

Anyone plan to attend the conference?

Photo credit: David Barrie via Flickr