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.