Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
77 Forest Street
Hartford, CT 06105
860-522-9258
info@stowecenter.org
Youth Leaders, four Hartford High School students from Grow Hartford led a conversation on the intersections between food and race. They described how race helps determine access to healthy food and that lack of access to food is a form of violence. We think of food in terms of “choice” and that failure to eat healthily is due to a failure to chose healthy options, rather than a lack of access to healthy options. Though education on healthful foods is important, the Youth Leaders emphasized that systemic forces make healthy food expensive and inaccessible for individuals in urban areas, predominately people of color.
The Youth Leaders spoke on their “10 slices of justice” campaign, a student-led initiative for healthy school lunches. Some of the “slices of justice” are including larger portions in school meals suitable for growing high school students, and including locally grown and culturally appropriate foods that reflect the school’s diversity.
Inspiration to Action