Reading the following statements from the Pothukuchi and Kaufman
(2000) article really made me reflect on my role within the food system:
- Many city residents are employed in the food sector.
- A higher percentage of lower-income residents in cities also depend for their livelihoods on lower paying jobs in food stores and eating places.
Immediately this made me think of employees of Waffle House,
McDonald’s, Burger King, Sonic, Wendy’s, Dunkin Donuts and many other fast food
establishments. According to the CDC, “during 2007 – 2010, adults consumed
11.3% of their total daily calories from fast food”. Personally, I’ve radically
reduced my fast food intake, but I never considered how my actions may impact
the livelihood of someone else. For example, whenever we discuss fast food
establishments and the unhealthy, poor quality of food that they provide, we
are generally focused on the actions of corporate America. I cannot speak for
anyone else, but I don’t think about how my patronage, or the lack thereof, for
certain fast food entities can impact whether a low-income resident could have
a job today or tomorrow.
In 2014, the south side of Tallahassee lost a Harveys supermarket,
which created an economic and food accessibility void. I didn’t shop at
Harveys, so it didn’t have a personal impact, but now reflecting on this, it
made me wonder what happened to those displaced employees. During high school,
I had a job at Taco Bell making $5.75/hour. It was hard and grimy work, but I
knew it was temporary. For low-income individuals, this could be viewed as more
of a permanent position. Understanding this will not change my actions on where
I purchase food, but it does make me more sympathetic to those that are
affected by my actions. We’ve discussed in class that one way to change the
food options provided is by speaking through our forks. While we are trying to
improve the quality of food provided, what are we doing to take care of our
lower-income residents that are dependent upon these low paying service jobs?
Fryar CD, Ervin RB. Caloric intake from fast food among
adults: United States, 2007-2010. NCHS data brief, no 114. Hyattsville, MD:
National Center for Health Statistics. 2013
You definitely make a great point about how purchasing habits affect service worker; however, I think that if our cities and communities implemented a healthier food system, jobs that positively impacted the society would be created in lieu of fast food jobs. For example, imagine if Tallahassee implemented a food forest where residents could harvest fruits and vegetables whenever they needed. Maintenance workers would be required to ensure a successful food forest, a possible job for those in the food service business. In Seattle, their food forest is problematic: since people are unaware of how or when to harvest the food, much of it is falling, fermenting, and therefore, attracting pest. What if a maintenance service came in to prevent this? Of course, this is all hypothetical and idealistic, as many of those workers need work now and can't wait 8 years for a food forest to bloom, but the underlying idea is still there: this doesn't have to be the only option for food service workers. In a healthier system, we most likely wouldn't have this issue.
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