Combatting Food Insecurity through Bodega Networks
Throughout the semester, I was made to step out of my comfort zone entirely with the community of New Brunswick. I had the privilege of being part of the creative engagement team with three other students. Together, we were all tasked to seek out a vulnerability and find innovative interventions. I’m grateful that I got to study, learn, and be part of a community of people trying to make New Brunswick a better place for marginalized communities.
What is creative engagement, and how can it serve underrepresented communities’ storytelling and art? Creative engagement is an approach to the community through innovative tools and experience to help different diverse stakeholders imagine new approaches to tackling various vulnerabilities the community is facing. This approach lets underrepresented communities and vulnerabilities be visible to residents and visitors. Through art and storytelling, a specific demographic of residents can have their stories told through visuals that the whole town could see, thus sparking open dialogue among everyone, most notably with the stakeholders. Murals and art installations bring the issues upfront and make the residents ask themselves questions like, “what can we can do to make sure this never happens again” “what other things can we do?” and “how can we amplify their voices even more?”
Creative engagement creates authentic connections and gives a space to community members affected by vulnerability. It allows them to share their personal stories and build trust with other residents or passersby. Art is a powerful medium that will enable people to come together and talk about what’s going on. It’s a lot more than creating a vibrant community, and it’s about telling the history and issues the town has faced in the past.
I wanted to create a mural on a bodega wall for my project. I want to tackle the issue of food insecurity in New Brunswick. I decided to go about this issue by pitching the idea of creating a bodega network around the city of New Brunswick to provide fresh fruits and vegetables for the townspeople.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened food insecurity in New Brunswick. A lack of access to food and poor nutrition are often linked to chronic illnesses, complicating a COVID-19 infection. Food insecurity amplifies the already glaring health disparities for many low and moderate-income families.” — Manuel Castaneda, Director, Community Health NBT.
According to Community Needs Assessments, 51% of residents experience food insecurity or lack access to fresh, healthy, culturally appropriate food. There is widespread obesity among children and adults in the city (NBCFA).
The city of New Brunswick can be classified as a food desert; having walked around the city for classes as well, looking for places to eat and shop for basic groceries, there are not a lot of supermarkets or areas to buy fresh fruit and groceries. This issue profoundly affects the quality of life for students and low-income families as this increases the chances of obesity, diabetes, and other health problems that lead to other issues. One of the only supermarkets nearby Rutgers and downtown New Brunswick is the Bravo Supermarket. The product variety is not much, and the items are on the pricier side, making it difficult for low-income families to do their groceries.
It’s difficult to buy and support your family when the nearest grocery store is miles away. Many families don’t have transportation to get to the supermarkets outside of New Brunswick as the areas outside the city are freeways and roads.
“One of the main issues is transportation, and many families don’t have a car. We need to find a way to bring fresh foods to the residents” — Jennifer Shukaitis, Family & Community Health Sciences Educator III. This art project aims to provide food access for families to buy fresh products at an affordable price. This will create a healthier community, but residents won’t have to travel to supermarkets that are far and don’t have to spend so much on groceries. Local corner stores and suppliers of healthy products will cut out the transportation time by a reasonable amount. A mural showcasing these products will tell its residents that the bodega cares about the community. The mural will also inspire other bodegas to do the same and create convenience stores for residents to travel to quickly.
The many non-profit organizations in New Brunswick will be able to provide for these stores by carrying fresh foods. NB Tomorrow, NB food Alliance, Esperanza Project, Rutgers Against Hunger, and The New Jersey Healthy Corner Store Initiative focus on improving the quality of life.
The New Jersey Healthy Corner Store Initiative connects corner store owners and community leaders with the resources they need to increase the availability of healthy foods in corner stores and bodegas throughout New Jersey.
I want this mural to affect everyone that lives in the city. That would include students of all levels, workers with a minimum wage jobs, and low-income families. I want residents and visitors to feel like the town cares about improving the quality of life of its residents.
Sources
- “Diabetes Community Outreach Program: Community Health Ambassadors / Promotoras.” New Brunswick Tomorrow, https://www.nbtomorrow.org/health/diabetes-outreach-promotoras.
2. “Live Well-Vivir Bien New Brunswick.” New Brunswick Tomorrow, https://www.nbtomorrow.org/health/live-well-vivir-bien-new-brunswick.
3.“Esperanza Neighborhood.” New Brunswick Tomorrow, https://www.nbtomorrow.org/neighborhoods/esperanza-neighborhood.
4. “Community Resources.” New Brunswick Community Food Alliance, 15 Oct. 2018, https://nbfoodalliance.org/community-resources/.
5. “Middlesex County Emergency Food Organizations and n-Food Services during the Covid Pandemic (2021).” Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement, https://rwv.rutgers.edu/middlesex-county-emergency-food-organizations-and-non-food-services-during-the-covid-pandemic-2021/.
6. “Food Security.” Food Security (Rutgers NJAES), https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fchs/food-security.php.No
7. “Community Food Security — New Brunswick, New Jersey.” PolicyOptions Wiki / Community Food Security — New Brunswick, New Jersey, http://policyoptions.pbworks.com/w/page/48133051/Community%20Food%20Security%20-%20New%20Brunswick%2C%20New%20Jersey.
