It has hit my hometown

One community I am familiar with that has a very high poverty rate is Oakland Ca, reaching a percentage of 41.30% in poverty level out of a population 30,077. I grew up in this community and I have over time seen  the poverty rate  only worsen. Communities have been distorted and  the majority of elders and children have been impacted by obesity and other major health risks I will further explain in the future. One 2012 study found that 42.3 percent of  k-12 students were overweight or obese. Jamalia, a mother, was interviewed in a Michael and Susan Dell Foundation blog and she stated “I knew I needed to give the kids fruits and vegetables, but it was hard to get them. Most of the grocery stores didn’t have fresh foods. My kids could find a gun where we  lived easier than they could find fresh vegetables” (2013). Low income communities are only getting worse as the high scale communities progress. A way to end this is by organizing a community garden , which is what West Oakland has been doing.

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While the poverty level in the Oakland Hills is nonexistent, the conditions just a couple miles away down the hill and all around other parts of Oakland have a sky scraping poverty rate. Shockingly, eating healthy is something only the well-off can do as well. The country’s food system is built to assemble exactly that outcome. A community in West Oakland has decided to take action into their own hands, living  without a grocery store let alone having access to healthy, fresh food has finally been reaching progression.

A People's Grocery has found it's way back to the city, being a Black Panthers Project in 1969 and now being organized by the Grassroots Foundation. From my understanding this has been the light that has finally shined over this part of Oakland. It is inspiring to hear Executive Director Nikki Henderson say, “ We collaborate with health and economic development organizations, gather residents for food celebrations, and work to raise the consciousness about structural racism and the role it has played and continues to play in creating and maintaining food deserts. We grow food,maintain urban gardens, and pursue effective systems change” (2013). This is a positive change to look up to, and take into planning for our own communities because from my understanding the issue is not going to be solved anytime soon by our capitalist system.

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