Addressing Food Justice

BY: Ebony Stroud

The Imagining Community Symposium is a space for community partners across the Miami Valley to come together in a space of education, dialogue, and action. The symposium is open to all community members, activists, artists, students, scholars, and academics to explore the history, legacy, and impact of injustice, and strategies for moving toward a more just, equitable, and inclusive Dayton.

Omega CDC Food Outreach Coordinator Ebony Stroud presented “Just Food: Addressing Food Justice in Northwest Dayton” which covered several important topics related to food justice, including food apartheid, the food system, supermarket redlining, the injustice faced by BIPOC farmers, and Omega CDC’s strategic approach to promoting food justice. 

According to regeneration.org, food apartheid is a system of segregation that divides people into those who have access to an abundance of nutritious food and those who are denied that access due to systemic injustice. Studies have shown that as poverty increases, supermarket availability decreases. This phenomenon is known as supermarket redlining. Supermarkets have been shown to stock more healthy foods at lower costs, while grocery and convenience stores are more likely to stock energy-dense, processed foods at a higher price.

Omega CDC is committed to addressing food justice through our food outreach program, which involves partnering with Miami Valley Meals and our community garden partnership with the Hanley Sustainability Institute and the Hope Zone Farmers Market.