Field Reports
A Seat At The Table: Engaging Communities in Defining Racially-Equitable Food Access Solutions
Angela Zhang,
Emerson Fellow
Published 2022-2023
Just Harvest (JH) works on a number of programs to increase food access in low-income areas. Increasingly, JH seeks to take an asset-based, participatory approach in defining food access solutions that are community-specific and sustainable. As such, this report draws from principles of grassroots organizing and community based participatory action research (CBPAR) alongside qualitative interviews and observations to provide a framework for engaging community members in defining food access solutions. More specifically, the report provides a step-by-step framework for building community partnerships, doing CBPAR, co-creating solutions, and developing community members into community leaders.
Download "A Seat At The Table: Engaging Communities in Defining Racially-Equitable Food Access Solutions"
Publication tags: Field Reports - Racial Equity
Born and raised in California, Angela graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Mathematics of Computation and a minor in Environmental Systems. Originally pursuing a career in Software Engineering, a course on environmental literature sparked her interest in food justice, health equity, and sustainable food systems. In her senior year, she led an undergraduate research project on barriers to student access of basic needs services during the pandemic. Since graduating, Angela has worked as a research assistant at the USC Keck School of Medicine and the Harvard Chan School of Public Health. In these roles, she has researched the impact of the food environment on nutrition security as well as the viability of aquatic foods in addressing the nutrient gap. In her capacity as a fellow, Angela is interested in working with marginalized populations to address disparities in food access, nutrition security, and chronic health outcomes.
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