Color of Food

Even though it has been out for a few months already, I just came across the report Color of Food produced by the Applied Research Center, the anti-racist publisher of the fantastic Colorlines magazine and website. The unique and noteworthy dimension of this report is that it examines labor in the food system across all of the major industries and sectors. ARC used economic and demographic data from the American Community Survey (ACS) taken over a threeyear period, 2006 to 2008 and focused on the following five food industries:

• Agriculture, fishing and hunting
• Food Manufacturing
• Wholesale Trade of Groceries and Farm Products
• Retail Trade of Food and Beverages
• Food Services

One of the biggest challenges facing activists working around food justice is access: who can access what and from where? It is about location of places to buy fresh and healthy food options and costs available in those markets. The first mobile food project I heard about was People’s Produce in Oakland, California and it seemed like an obvious and creative response to an obvious problem of access. I am excited to report that just last week in Chicago, where I live, a former public transportation bus was retrofitted for food delivery. The project is called Freshmoves and you can find out more here.