By: Laura Flamm, Baltimarket and Food Access Director, BCHD

What social justice issues are related to food?  If you created a Baltimore that was “food just”, what would it look like?

Nearly 100 residents came to the recent Baltimore Food Justice Forum to discuss these very questions. The answers were compelling.  One person wrote, “adequate quality and affordability of produce.” Another simply wrote, “equal access to food in every Baltimore neighborhood”.

The Baltimore City Health Department has worked long and hard over the last five years to make healthy food more accessible.  We have supported policies, research, and promising programs.

We started a grocery delivery program called the Virtual Supermarket.  Over 500 people have had groceries delivered to a community site at no extra charge. 

And we have launched a Healthy Stores Program. We support corner stores in stocking and selling healthy foods and just finished work with our first four stores.

In these programs and throughout our work, we have asked: How can we build leadership in the community?  So we’ve also started aNeighborhood Food Advocates Initiative. We train residents to run the Virtual Supermarket Program in their communities.  And we train youth as Neighborhood Food Advocates who design projects to support the corner stores.  Youth created, from the point of inception to implementation, three community projects – a community clean-up, operating a resource table at a block party, and filming a movie highlighting the importance of healthy snacks.

But we realize that this is a journey and not a destination.  That is why we brought together the Food Justice Forum.  We want to give an opportunity for other communities to share their successes.  And we want to give a platform for residents to advocate for the change they want to see in their communities.

At the Forum, we explored the connection between food, social justice, and racial equity.  Workshops shared skills to advance social justice through food.  The Forum closed with an activity to provide input on the concept of a Food Citizen.  This is a tool that will be incorporated into Community Food Planning.

So what can you do to advocate for just food in Baltimore?  As Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said at the close of the Forum, “I challenge you to continue to engage with your neighbors around food, to continue to ask the hard questions about why things are the way they are, and to continue to work together for a more just food system in Baltimore.”

Contact Laura Flamm if you want to learn more about food justice and get involved.  The Food Justice Forum is planned in collaboration with members of the Baltimore Food Justice Committee, with leadership from the Baltimore City Health Department’s Baltimarket program. The event was generously supported by the United Way of Central Maryland. The Baltimore City Health Department is a key partner in the Baltimore Food Policy Initiative.