Children living in underprivileged areas have a striking 28% higher risk of obesity than those in wealthy areas. While healthy food is more expensive to afford, one of the main reasons for the correlation is the lack of access to healthy food in the underprivileged areas. Many grocery stores and higher quality food options do not want to open in poor areas. A study in California looked at a measure of what they call the Retail Food Environment Index (RFEI) which calculates the ratios between fast food restaurants and grocery stores or produce vendors. Adults living in neighborhoods with higher RFEI have 23% increased risk of diabetes (for more information, see this Public Healthy Advocacy publication). As you might have expected, lower income neighborhoods have higher RFEIs than wealthy neighborhoods.
That is why Cassandria Campbell, who has a Master’s in City Planning from MIT, co-founded Fresh Food Generation and vows to bring healthy, affordable food to low income neighborhoods near Boston. Campbell co-founded the company with Jackson Renshaw who was the truck manager of Bon Me, and they are bringing the Fresh Food Generation food truck around the communities such as Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan.
Fresh Food Generation successfully completed a Kickstarter at the end of last year to fund the food truck. The truck’s menu is designed by Chef Nadine Nelson of Global Local Gourmet and will incorporate international influences from Africa, Caribbean, and Latin American. Naturally, the ingredients will be sourced from local farms and businesses. Fresh Food Generation goes beyond selling food, though. They’ve also made it a point to hire young adults from the neighborhoods they’re serving, thus increasing the employment and income rates in these neighborhoods! They also hope that this way, these youths can be inspired by the food they are serving and eat healthier at home.
While the truck is not yet ready, you can try out their food during Fresh Fridays at the Bowdoin Geneva Community Hub in Dorchester and of course, this year’s Boston Local Food Festival! Be sure to come by their booth and support this socially conscious food truck.
Website: http://freshfoodgeneration.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FFGeneration
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshFoodGeneration
This blog was brought to you by Fiona Chandra of Gourmet Pigs. Go Check Her Out!
The post The Fight for Food Justice in Boston appeared first on Boston Local Food Festival.