Post Sandy Clean up

The BHSEC campus was hit hard by the giant storm and subsequent flooding that was "Sandy". We were biting our nails waiting for news about the garden after the storm hit. To our relief, we received word days later that somehow the garden made it through the storm relatively unscathed.
   Although our garden was in decent shape, the rest of the school didn't fair as well. The gym and the cafeteria were both under water, the entire first floor had to be pumped dry and cleaned ultra-throughly. Filthy storm water reached several feet up the school walls and left a scum that had to be scraped off and the outdoor wooden benches needed to be sanded and re-stained.
   The mighty Kristi Powell organized a very successful clean up day last Saturday. Parents, students and loyal members of the BHSEC community showed up to clean, scrape, paint, weed, transplant, build and actively show their support for the school.
  A huge heart felt THANK YOU goes out to all of those who helped!

Parent volunteers assembling our new garden cart 

The most root-bound plant most of us had seen, we wished we had a chainsaw. 

Zana, our garden club president

Kristi Powell, Principal Dr. Lerner and parent volunteers with the finished product 

With the help of some handy parents we were able to construct our rat-proof bed cover prototype!
We can't wait to put it to use! 

Teacher, Tess Diamond wheels away the debris and compost from the day. 

Healthy and Hunger-Free?

 
   Several weeks ago the New York Times published an article entitled "No Appetite for Good-for-You School Lunches, "given my line of work, the title itself made me cringe. The article went on to chronicle the dissatisfaction some high school students are finding with the changes made to school lunches in accordance with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act . The act requires schools to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in their offerings and rein in the amount of calories each portion contains to no more than 850 calories (previously, there was no restriction). Adding fuel to the fire, a price increase of 10 cents was implemented as part of a federal mandate to cover the cost of the lunches. Students are incensed at the increased prices, bad flavor and smaller potion sizes of the meals. Who can blame them?

To illustrate their frustration students from Wallace County High School in Sharon Springs Kansas produced this hilarious and poignant video:

The intentions of the policy are right on target however, the execution clearly does not resonate with hungry and opinionated teenagers. Striking the right balance between health, taste and engagement at a public school is tricky at best but fortunately, there are programs including our own "Food Politics and Systems" that are looking to do just that.

Programs like ours dissect all aspects of the food system in a tangible way so that students are empowered to make decisions about what they eat and buy. Our cooking and gardening classes strive to give students basic and practical skills that they can implement in their homes and communities.  To this day, we have never had a student turn down a dish made with fresh ingredients they have grown and prepared themselves.

These classes are a great privilege for the students who can participate but the question remains: how do we reach students who are not in our class or schools that don't offer programs like ours? One standout example is NYC's "Garden to Cafe" program, supported by the DOE,  the program facilitates the use of produce grown in the school garden to be served in the cafeteria. The connection  might seem obvious but there is usually a ton of red tape to sift through before anything can be introduced to a school cafeteria. This program is the best way to get students to experience the pinnacle of local and fresh. Sure, it's easy for students to toss out a browning piece of overcooked broccoli but most can't resist biting into a sweet cherry tomato grown just feet from their lunch table- it might even have them coming back for seconds.

With hopes to expand our program and take the Mobile Kitchen Classroom on a national tour we are looking forward to helping more schools find ways to engage students in all aspects of food literacy.

Growing carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and more! 

Enjoying the fruits of our labor during our "Mexican Feast". Homemade tortillas, fajitas, frijoles con arroz! 

New Year, New Class, New Club!

We're back in action at BHSEC and making the most of the waning sunlight. This semester our Food Politics and Systems classes are taking a new format; we are cycling through the 10th grade advisories with workshops in cooking, gardening and food politics. We are happy to have the opportunity to reach so many students and give them the tools to take responsibility for their food choices at home, at school and in their community.

Here is what is in store for the classes:

Class 1: Basic Gardening-  This class will focus on growing skills for seed to harvest with work in the BHSEC garden and indoor seed starting during the winter months.

Class 2: Basic Cooking Skills-  Taught in the BHSEC cafeteria kitchen the focus of this class will be building culinary skills with discussion focused on food access and nutrition.

Class 3: Food Politics- This class will focus on the politics that determine national and local food policy with a critical discussion and analysis of the Farm Bill.

What to do with these seeds?

Ah! Plant them, water them, love them.

Collecting seeds to save

The second exciting development of the year is the formation of our Garden Club or as Tess likes to call it, "ladies garden hour" (yes, its all girls for now). We have so many exciting plans for the year including field trips, garden design classes and cooking lessons. We can't wait to cook with our just-picked edibles in the spring!

Sign up for garden club!

Wielding a rake in a skirt, watch out.

Taking care of our tree pits- each member is responsible for two.

We are still harvesting Basil and Peppers!

Its the coolest club in town.

Composting Workshop

The IFAP and Our Relation to It - Alex Fenichell

I don’t think IFAP is sustainable, but I am having a hard time explaining why. In other words, if I had to convince all those involved in IFAP to stop what they’re doing, I don’t think I could do it. Except for an appeal to the morality and humanity and empathy of IFAPers, I know of no effective methods. From the movie we watched, I am most struck by a few things. First, the animal waste confinement farms produce and how poorly managed that waste is. Second, I am struck by the density and poor living-conditions of animals in factory farms [huge space + high density=woah]. Third, I am struck by the corporation-dictators who determine how smaller serf-like farmers work and thus live. Fourth, I am struck by the manipulative power of corporate “bucolic dairy farm” propaganda. Finally, I am struck by how attractive the pasture system and other alternative animal food production methods appear in the film. If IFAP is unsustainable, then I think an alternative for meat and dairy would look like a nation-wide local-as-possible pasture system, with a larger percentage of the population working as farmers.

As consumers: Buying and eating are voting; they are political acts. To avoid contributing to the faults of IFAP, if we eat meat and dairy in the first place, we can eat less of it. If we can afford to, we can buy meat and dairy sourced from independent farms. We should avoid contact and involvement with IFAP as much as possible as consumers, but as citizens we should involve with it by trying to improve it or replace it with more sustainable alternatives.

Alex's post on Pollinators (and compost).

On our thursday class we learned about pollination. On our tuesday class we learned a) about the odorous and noxious problems of putting too much chicken poop into compost, and b) what it must have smelt/felt like to be a feudal dung-shovelling serf! As profoundly humbling as learning about pollinators was -- humbling because although humans can be pollinators, MOST pollinators are insects, non-human animals, winds, and rains, so that we can't give ourselves credit for everything that benefits us and we should be humbled and grateful -- I found the compost experience more valuable and edifying. I will NEVER put that much of an odorous substance into compost ever again. On a more serious note, well-done compost is very helpful for us as humans and environmentally helpful a smart use of waste. However, as we learned on Tuesday, well-done compost demands a careful BALANCE of components that simply was not there with that demon-stuff we shoveled. I actually have no idea if the overly-nitrogenous compost will work well as a fertilizer, but as Tess said "Compost is not supposed to smell like that!" I suspect that a good compost smells better than that fowl-feces-fiesta we worked with. I propose that we discuss what makes a good compost in class. Now I will stop the compost-bashing (I am also in no way blaming the awesome people at the park we go to--thank you for working with us guys!).

A note on the pollinators: I am always surprised every Spring by how few pollinators I see compared to how many flowers I see. What a beautiful, subtle, and healthily transformative process for flowers to bloom in Spring all with the 'help' (unwitting or unconscious) of pollinators! I can easily imagine how people could think of a god or divine force causing the Springtime bloom. Also, it is amazing the sort of co-evolution that has happened between pollinators and plants: I recommend looking up videos of this amazing subject! Thats all folks, :)

Food Animal Production

          Industrial Food Animal Production (IFAP) is basically a method of farming that is supposed to help "improve" the production of farming. However, it is actually a very unethical method because this system involves raising thousands of the same time of animal, in a very packed environment. The animals are not treated too well and are also over fed and given growth hormones. In the film we watched, there was a woman who was very against this system. Instead of completely excluding meat or dairy in her diet, she decided to start her own farm. She claimed that people will never stop eating animals, so what needs to change is the production process of animals. IFAP is obviously not the method of farming we all want to have, but asking people to step away from such a technologically advanced and highly profitable system is very unrealistic. Hopefully, people will slowly start changing their ways and will revert to the safer and simpler way of farming. This will not only help our own environment and health, but possibly other countries as well because our behaviors will have an influence on theirs. What we can do as consumers is make sure we know exactly where our food is coming from. Making sure to buy food from small farms rather than buying food that came from a big factory.

Food Animal Production

Food Animal Production

Food Systems and Politics

Industrial food animal production (IFAP) is no longer sustainable or good for the environment, agriculture or human safety. The movie suggests that in order to attain a sustainable food animal production process, society must come up with one that is both ecological and preserves and does not limit biodiversity. A dream process would be that all farms move to pasture base production instead of factory base. Although many would call switching non-realistic, this common misconception is famous because industrial food animal production has been perceived as more productive and an easier way to raise animals in a shorter amount of time. The movie provided an inspirational example about one man who did make the shift over to the good side when he switched from factory base to pasture base production. He remarked that not only did pasture base farming hardly require more work than his pervious system, factory base, but that he also felt satisfied that he was doing something good for the environment, agriculture business and human safety (all the things that industrial production cannot supply). People are caught in this rhythm of the factory in the new industrial system and they don’t know how to get out because it is hard, but this switch helped prove the stereotype wrong, which will hopefully persuade others to follow in his footsteps. Essentially, the movie implies that we should go back in time to the 1700s where the industrial period in America had not taken place and farming and food animal production was carried out without all the modern technological agricultural items available. One of the risks of this factory-based system is that it is being spread to other countries around the world and being adopted as the primary process. This is why it is so important to stop it now. It is important not to contribute to the harmful animal production practices, which can be ensured by not supporting them as consumers. We should not buy from any farms that are not pasture base and use our power to support a process in which is safe for human health, agriculture and the environment.

Jenna M

Beet Cake and Lip Balm: A Delicious Combination

This past week, Food Systems and Politics class was action-packed and we had a special guest, Isa Brito, an herbalist, who helped lead and instruct the two classes. We took a break from the way we usually have class, after we handed in our assignments on gardening techniques, companion planting and square foot gardening.
On Tuesday, Isa taught us how to make our very own lip balm. Making the lip balm was a quick and easy procedure allowing us to recreate the balms independently at home; it was a recipe made in a few simple steps using simple ingredients. First, we measured about five ounces of squares of beeswax (later to be melted) on the electric scale. Our main ingredient, avocado oil, was added to the measuring cup (about ten ounces) and then we put our beeswax in with the oil to be melted into one mixture. Keep in mind, it is important never to boil the ingredients and to only heat them so that they do not burn. We then selected one of the four special essential oils, rose geranium, spruce, peppermint, and lemongrass, to add to our own personalized scents to the lip balm (by putting a few drops, around four to six, in each tube). After the ingredients became one consistency (mostly yellow, with a small hint of green), Isa poured it into the lip balm tubes (which we designed our own labels for). They hardened within minutes and she did another round of pouring to top off the hole on the top. This creation was an all-natural and relatively easy procedure to follow which only took about an hour or so with ingredients easily accessible to purchase. At the end of the day, we all walked out with souvenirs, our own lip balms, we could share with our friends and family (my mom loved hers!).

On Thursday, we were back in the kitchen, putting on our disposable aprons and hairnets, with Isa showing us how to cook the delicious and unusual beet cake. It was great to get back in the kitchen again and it was interesting because hardly anyone ever made this creation before. We all pitched in and did different jobs to make the long cooking process much shorter than it would be if we only had two hands (instead of twenty). It is also interesting to know that very similar ingredients and procedure can be applied to produce a similar cake such as a banana cake (which she recommended). We made two heart shape cakes with poppy seeds to form a crust, which were sprinkled on the pan. Since we had so much “batter” left over, we decided to make cupcakes, which we added cocoa powder to! We topped the cake off with a rich, sugary cream cheese icing (which I thought was the best part). 

These are some pictures of our beautiful beet cake creation. It makes me want to eat it all over again! 

FORKS OVER KNIVES RESPONSE

   This past week we finished the documentary Forks Over Knives and later in the week worked in the garden for the first time since Fall! The garden is now closed indefinitely due to rats uprooted by Houston St. construction and attracted to mountains of delicious litter dropped by ecologically conscious and careful students. We were lucky to work in the garden at all. But forget that: the garden looks lovely, with most vegetation insulated over the winter now in bloom and providing lovely color to springtime landscapes. We weeded the garden so that all our desirable plants get the nutrients they need and deserve. I forgot how nice and unusual the experience of gardening is – nice because you are cultivating and helping life thrive; unusual because, like petting a dog, gardening is an active and conscious interaction with a living thing that is not a person, and most of my day is spent actively and consciously interacting with other people. The break is nice, making me appreciate plant life, and human life when I return. That’s all I have to say about the garden today – now onto Forks Over Knives. 

   The message of Forks Over Knives is clear: a diet based in meat, dairy, and processed foods is more likely – almost guaranteed – to cause health problems than a “whole-foods, plant based diet.” The movie should be called Whole-Foods Plant Based Diet, but the current title is better and subtler. In the final half of the movie I was struck a) by the influence of evil corporations and philistine politicians and advisors on government diet policy and propaganda, and b) by the vegan fire squad in Texas. I’ll address the fire squad first: AWESOME!!! Enough said. I’ve seen fireman hauling meter long pork loins from supermarkets: impressive lengths of meat, but NOTHING as impressive as vegan firefighters. Now for the government policy and propaganda, specifically that recognizable object the Food Pyramid. I’ve taken health at bard. We reviewed the Food Pyramid. I used to believe it is inherently a good thing, until seeing Forks Over Knives. The flexibility of the Food Pyramid is its failure – what you can eat and still be considered healthy according to it is appalling!!!! I think one reason it is bad is the same reason the US government’s websites are so ugly – there are too few young people working on government projects. I assume that young people, no matter political or religious or other sort of ‘biased’ backgrounds, are more willing to accept younger ideas such as those proposed in Forks Over Knives. My solution to the Food Pyramid and website aesthetics? HIRE MORE YOUNG PEOPLE!!! This is highly debatable. I hope it is debated. Adios!

- Alex Fenichell

Evaluation of Community Interviews

Nearly everyone we spoke to in our interviews seemed quite interested in choosing healthier options; at least, no one seemed apathetic or hostile to the possibility. This might just be because they sensed the answers we wanted, but I don’t think that’s the entire reason. No matter how ill informed or disempowered people are (and many of the people we spoke to were surprisingly well informed), the desire to get better food is an obvious one. One woman, who was walking with her two young children, talked about walking all the way to the Essex Street market from eastern Alphabet City to get fresh fruits and vegetables. Clearly, the demand exists.
So where is the supply? BHSEC students endlessly bemoan the lack of healthy or even appealing food options, as did many of the community members we interviewed. Shop owners were at best dubious at the prospects of carrying healthier options, and had somewhat fuzzy definitions of what “healthy” meant. The notion of carrying local food was far beyond anything they had ever considered; the clerk at Adinah’s Farm (a bodega-eque grocery store widely considered the healthiest option for its hot food, fresh produce, and wide selection) wasn’t even sure whether the produce came from Hunt’s Point or not.
Students were, by and large, unimpressed with the cafeteria food available. The widely-held stereotypes about cafeteria food in general may have been a part of this, but even so, we should take their opinions seriously. Students were unhappy with both the quality and healthfulness of the food. When asked about the salad bar, they complained that the lettuce &c was tasteless and not fresh.
In fact, one student even explicitly complained that she “doesn’t know where [the lettuce] comes from.” Again, the possibility of using fresh, local food in the cafeteria seemed not really on her radar, but she did demonstrate interest in the freshness and quality of the produce being used in the cafeteria.
When we asked her and other students about the possibility of implementing the Garden to Café program, they seemed a bit daunted by the possibility. They saw it as an impressive ideal, but their reactions didn’t suggest belief that it would be a real option any time soon. They were also dubious about the possibility of working in the garden. That reluctance is sure to be one of our biggest obstacles; motivating the BHSEC community to get involved in shaping the garden. The student body is generally very reluctant to commit time to any extracurricular activities, for the simple reason that time is a scarce resource for us.
Ideally, the garden should supply a significant portion of the produce used in the cafeteria. But it should do more than that. The simple change of a connection to the food we eat should certainly inspire BHSEC students to look more closely at where their food comes from, and a strong Garden to Café system would do that automatically. Getting students involved in the garden is a further step in that intellectual journey, as well as a way to connect our very fractured community. The garden has the potential to be very powerful as a community-shaping and conversation-starting tool within the BHSEC community. At present, there are maybe ten students who are informed about it. Within a few years, there should be six hundred.
And outside of BHSEC? That’s a much larger goal. Using the Garden to Café program as a model for other public schools seems like the most realistic way to expand beyond the boundaries of our school. Getting involved with neighborhood garden associations is another viable long-term option. Improving the quality of food generally available in the neighborhood by ourselves might be too ambitious, except as increasing the awareness and public interest in community gardening.

Forgot Something!

The consequences of urban food insecurity affect really every aspect of ones life. You are what you eat, if a certain area does not have access to nutritional food, they will suffer physically and mentally. Eating unhealthily can cause to major health risks like obesity, heart disease, diabetes. Eating habits also affect thought productivity and attentiveness. It's a vicious cycle, if one does not eat well they will be tired and distracted and will not be paying attention at work or school, preventing them (to an extent) from reaching their full potential. The problem is, many people do not really have the chance to truly choose what they eat. They eat what is available to them. When an entire community is denied proper nutrition they are denied the right to reach their full potential.

Bodega Down Bronx Response

In New York City the availability of necessary resources are concentrated in certain areas. There may be nice markets, grocery stores and a plethora of train lines in one neighborhood, but travel a mile north, east, south, or west and the area is in need of stores necessary to fulfill the nutritional needs of its inhabitants. As BHSEC students, we can all relate to this problem. In a 50-minute lunch period, there are few places to find a healthy and affordable meal. After interviewing members of our school's community, it is evident that it takes a large amount of effort to attain fresh foods and vegetables. This isn’t to say its impossible, everyone we spoke to agreed that the way that they eat is in their hands, but it is certainly more difficult for LES residents to eat the way they may want to than say Upper West Side residents. New York City is extremely concentrated, and real estate is expensive. Every company and industry involved in food distribution is seeking to make the highest profit possible. Neighborhoods like the Lower East Side, where residents may have slightly lower incomes, lack larger and more diverse (in terms of food) supermarkets. If your intent is to make the most money possible, then in richer neighborhoods you can jack up the prices and ultimately make more money. This is why many residents in low-income neighborhoods (parts of LES, South Bronx, etc…) rely on small privately owned shops (like bodegas). Although this supports the local economy, these stores often only sell junk food.

         Ideally, I think it would be great if there were many more farmers markets in the city. In the summers there is one in Seward Park (still quite far from the Baruch housing developments), but it would be great if the community had an affordable one that was yearlong. It could meet somewhere like Hamilton Fish Park, and when it is too cold out side it would meet somewhere inside. Affordability is really important. Too often do I find myself hungry and all the healthier prepared food around is far too expensive. Places like Trader Joes and Whole Foods are good too, but their organic and local foods are often pretty expensive. Also, in establishing big supermarkets in the neighborhood, it would be really bad for local businesses; this would not be good for the community. A farmer’s market is a different environment than a store, and is certainly less competitive. It would also be great if bodegas could get the proper refrigeration systems to sell fruits and vegetables. This would maintain the culture and local economy while providing fresh food.

- Mia

Cooking Class Number Three!

A few weeks ago, we had our third quasi-bimonthly cooking class! The cooking was made very efficient by our increased class size (yay!) and everyone's willingness to pitch in.
After examining the ingredients (nearly all local), the recipes, and splitting into two groups (one for each dish) we were all assigned jobs--washing, chopping, beating, frying, &c. At the end, Tess and Ms. Powell surprised us with a lovely dessert of baked cinnamon apples!
We sat down to the cafeteria table and spent five minutes practicing mindful eating; eating slowly, contemplatively, silently. Mindful eating is an extremely important part of taking control of the food that you eat. It encompasses not one's only eating habits themselves, but also being mindful of what your food is and where it comes from. Mindful eating not only increases awareness of how the food system affects your daily life, but also makes eating a more pleasurable experience.
After our five minutes, we had a brief discussion about how we had been affected by the experience. All of us said that we noticed the flavors much more richly and complexly than we ordinarily do. Meal Three was an exercise in food as it should be; prepared and enjoyed slowly, with care, and with friends.


Here are the recipes we used.

Delicious Fritatta
Makes 4 servings***

Ingredients
8 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium onion halved and thinly sliced
1 all-purpose potato (7 ounces), cut into 3/8-inch cubes
1 cup small broccoli florets
1 cup small cauliflower florets
¼ cup diced herbs of your choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°. Beat eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in medium bowl.

Heat oil over medium heat, in medium nonstick (10-inch) sauté pan. Add onions and potatoes and cook until onions are softened, 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in broccoli and cauliflower; cook until vegetables are tender, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Reduce heat to low and pour in egg mixture. Add herbs and cook for about 2 more minutes

Transfer to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the eggs have just set in the center. Note that if you are using a skillet with a nonmetal handle, wrap it with double-thickness aluminum foil before placing in oven. Remove from oven and slide out of pan onto a cutting board. Cut into wedges and serve warm.














Quinoa and Arugala Salad

Makes 4 to 6 servings

Preparation time: 15–20 minutes

Quinoa, a unique whole grain, was the staple food of the Incas. It is rich in calcium and iron, and has 10.5 grams of protein per cup.

Salad
1 cup dry quinoa
pinch sea salt
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 bunch arugula
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/3 cup parsley, minced
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds



Dressing
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons tamari or shoyu

Rinse quinoa well with warm water and drain. (Quinoa has a natural coating of saponin, the bitter taste of which repels insects and birds. Rinsing with warm water removes the saponin.) Place rinsed quinoa, salt, and water in a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer 15-20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Fluff into large salad bowl and allow to cool.

Prepare vegetables and dressing. Combine garlic, lemon juice, oil, and tamari or shoyu; pour over quinoa and toss well. Wash and spin-dry arugula leaves and chop into bite-size pieces or thin strips. Add arugula, carrots, seeds, and parsley to quinoa. Toss gently. Serve at room temperature or chilled.










Baked Apples
Serves 4
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 30-40 min

Ingredients
4 large good baking apples, such as Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious, or Jonagold
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup boiling water


Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash apples. Remove cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. It helps if you have an apple corer, but if not, you can use a paring knife to cut out first the stem area, and then the core. Use a spoon to dig out the seeds. Make the holes about 3/4-inch to an inch wide.

In a small bowl, combine, cinnamon, and nuts of your choice. Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Stuff each apple with this mixture. Top with a dot of butter (1/4 of the Tbps).

Add boiling water to the baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until tender, but not mushy. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.

Bodega Down Bronx Follow Up

Francesca Craft
Food Politics
The Little Apple

Of
all of Manhattan, I personally view the Lower East Side as the most convenient
in terms of pricing, nutrition, and of course taste. By the Lower East side,
however, I mean everywhere from First street to Union Square—Avenue D to
Fourth. I’m not quite sure if these are the official boundary lines of the neighborhood,
though it’s within this district alone that I have located a great selection of
Mom and Pop businesses and farmer’s markets, most of which are healthy, relatively
inexpensive, and tasty. The area immediate to BHSEC, on the other hand, is much
less favorable; the food is actually cheaper than that purchased in typical
Lower East Side shops, but it is much less satisfying in terms of nutritional
value and flavor. There is not much to choose from, unless you are up for a
real trek, and what is right here is just… eh.
The
students of BHSEC commute from all over the city to get to school; we all come
from different nutritional backgrounds, some with higher or lower standards than
others. However, almost everyone agrees that when there is a lack of food, as
opposed to a fusion what they might consider good and bad, one’s diet no longer
relies on what is appealing to them, but depends on what is available to them
and everyone else. It becomes a matter of survival. But why, in this day and
age, and in the Big Apple, should finding good food be a struggle? It is hard
enough surviving under the academic pressure of BHSEC, but when it comes to
trying to fuel our bodies so that we can keep up with our busy days, we take on
an entirely new set of problems.
Food
insecurity is not an issue unique to the Houston area, but the Bronx, Harlem,
Midtown, and the much Lower end of Manhattan, as well as many parts of Brooklyn
and Queens (I’ve never been to Staten Island…) also experience similar and far
worse problems. The consequences of urban food insecurity manifest within our
bodies and minds. We lose sight of our communal order and begin to compete for
what is available. Moreover, many face serious health issues such as obesity,
(due to heightened intake of processed fatty ‘foods’ which come at extremely
low prices), and even starvation if the district is that devoid of resources appealing
to its residents.
Ideal
food access comes in many shapes and forms; from the growing of food in local
farms and gardens, to affordable pricing, to the freedom to cook in your own
home. We have been to the moon and back yet we still have not tackled the most
primitive of struggles human beings have ever faced. As creatures of the same
species living on the same planet, we each have the right to a fair distribution
of her resources. We all know that there is an endless supply of healthy food
out there, but eventually it has to come down to what is growing in here.

It is extremely important for people to have healthy food available as well as a variety of food accessible. Consumers can, and must, have power over what they choose to eat, instead of food choices decided mainly by marketers. Even though politics play a major role in the food system, consumers need to be aware of the power they themselves have over what they eat. Giving the power back to individuals can help insure that healthy food choices can be more readily made (even if there are the few stubborn people who choose, and want, to eat unhealthily most of the time). It is vital that people work together in their community to assert their power based on what they eat to fight food inequity and increase food access.

Urban food insecurity is clearly prominent around the BHSEC community because of the limited food variety available. There seems to be more lower income areas in New York as compared to the middle and wealthy class districts. In areas that are lower income, there are more major health risks, including physical as well as mental disorders. Obesity and diabetes are among the major, and most common, health risks and diseases common to Americans. Although these diseases develop in people in different ways, it is of major importance to get basic nutrients that are vital for human health to create a healthy diet. People in these areas are not getting many of these very important healthy foods, so they can more easily develop these diseases. The blue truck near BHSEC is a major source of food for the people living in that community, in addition to the students at BHSEC who buy from there. Rico (the owner of the blue truck) does not offer many healthy foods such as fruits or vegetables because it is extremely expensive to keep them. This is because New York City requires people like Rico to have a refrigerator, which becomes very costly to his business. What is not acceptable is that although he feels good about being a main source of food for the people in the community, he is not supplying them with healthy food choices. Furthermore, students at BHSEC are permitted to go out for lunch and frequently go to the blue truck or other bodega like stores. Students remark that eating “junk food” has a major affect on their mood during the day. This is partly because of the energy sugar supplies at first, but then causes an energy crash and the person feels tired and moody. The interesting part of this is that many students are exposed to healthier and better quality food outside the BHSEC area; however, they still choose to eat at the unhealthy food places and suffer the effects. In the BHSEC community, many store owners, students and faculty and people who live in the area share similar beliefs about what they eat. Since there is little variety and much of the food is fried, almost all of it is unhealthy, with not many choices for healthy eating within a reasonable distance for the short lunch period provided. 

There is a major difference between the food that is offered around the BHSEC community and around my neighborhood. I live in midtown Manhattan in a fairly well off area in the city. There are many sources to get food, which includes a lot of variety of food. This gives me, the consumer, an increased amount of power over what I choose to eat. Both healthy and unhealthy foods are available, which gives me the ability to make my own personal choices about what I eat. There are many reputable markets that I trust that also make me feel secure that the food I am buying and consuming is fresh and without harmful ingredients. For example, within a few blocks away from my house, I have two D’AGOSTINO’s, Gristedes and Food Emporium. In addition, there are food vendors on the street selling fruits and vegetables for very reasonable prices that allow me to make healthy choices that are also affordable. On the weekend, there are also greenmarkets where I can buy specialty foods if I desire them. This increased variety compared to the area around BHSEC, allows me as a consumer to have more control over what I eat, which is a crucial step towards creating a healthy diet.

Another major issue is that many parents are not aware of what their children are eating or have no control over it outside of the home. Kids then, have the power over their own health by choosing when they eat and do so often in a very unhealthy manner. They thus make uneducated choices about food and then suffer the consequences of those bad choices, which then can become bad habits and an unhealthy lifestyle. This is because many people consume food based on what tastes good instead of what is healthy. This contributes to the increased amount of unhealthy foods supplied in stores, because it is more commonly bought making the food system more about politics and economics rather than about health.

The most ideal access for food would be supplied from an organic farm that does not use any pesticides on the crops that are grown and does not exercise animal cruelty. For example, there would be no pesticides sprayed on crops and no growth hormones or antibiotics given to animals. The animals must be kept in safe environments and not raised inhumanely. The farm would provide, among other foods, milk, eggs, and chicken. After the food is harvested, it would be manufactured with limited food processing and distributed to only one third party who would not tamper with any of the supplies. The food must be supplied only to local areas, in order to reduce transportation pollution. Once distributed to companies, the companies would be able to supply individuals and families with fresh organic and healthy foods for reasonable prices.

It is vitally important to educate people in what are healthy food choices so they can make educated decisions on what they buy and consume. It is likewise crucial to give a variety of food to make a balanced diet. Although it is not possible to stop food inequity on a small scale, many small-scale corporations working on this issue can help make a big impact on food systems and the politics behind them. As a small corporation, the BHSEC garden can start by helping our community (the school and the area around it) eat healthier.