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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Neelam Pathikonda, MPH and Luisa Chavarin. Tierra Viva, Health and Environmental Justice Project, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, 760 North First St., San Jose, CA 95112, 408-287-6707, npathikonda@svtc.org

Issue: Food is a right not equally accessible to all. Many marginalized communities experience illness and morbidity because of their diet, have to travel many hours for affordable food, do not have access to healthy foods (especially fresh produce) and do not have enough food to feed their families (food security). Just as food is the cornerstone of a person's health, similarly, a community's food systems indicate a community's overall health as well as their access to power and decision-making.

Description: Tierra Viva, a project of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, has a long history of working for healthy communities by providing community protection against toxins in groundwater, soil and air, and developing leaders prepared for political action. Now focused on the toxic food environment, Tierra Viva launched a food justice campaign that set up organic and pesticide-free produce stands in low-income schools and used community organizing strategies to change school lunch options. As part of the campaign, low-income Latino immigrant parents came together, learned about the problem, and collectively determined solutions. Working with the school districts, they were successful in changing their own eating habits at home as well as their children's school food environment.

Lessons Learned: The food justice campaign was a successful way to change the way a community thinks about food and therefore, the way a community relates to power. This is because Tierra Viva's food justice campaign 1) pushed for change on individual, family and community levels; 2) centered on nutrition and children's health; 3) uplifted the voices of marginalized communities; 4) used innovative strategies like community-run produce stands; and 5) worked with diverse allies. This campaign can be an example for communities worldwide who are struggling for their right to healthy, accessible and affordable food.

Learning Objectives:

• By the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to
• 1. Define food justice and understand why unequal food access is an issue of human rights and inequality.
• 2. Identify factors that made Tierra Viva’s food justice campaign a success.
• 3. Discuss how this campaign can be duplicated elsewhere.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, Latino

Related Web page: www.svtc.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation