Week 6 Assessing Food Environ.

After reading Kameshwari Pothukuchi’s “Community Food Assessment: A First Step in Planning for Community Food Security” I was extremely happy to read the benefits planners could receive from being involved in food system planning. I have been considering a career in urban planning for a few months now and I cannot believe there is a growing demand for planners to join this field. I’ve always said I want to work with developing regions through hands on work while considering the community’s culture and needs. Involving planners in food security and food access issues is a great way to build skills in “participatory action research” (Pothukuchi 372). In addition, this article has helped me understand what community food security is, so that when I discuss it will peers I can explain it as a sustainable way of ensuring communities receive nutritionally, safe food that is mindful of their culture and help increase their self-sufficiency.

I also found it peculiar that despite a planner’s focus being on the people within the community that it shapes and changes, very few have considered it through the lens of food systems. From “Understanding and Measuring Food Environments” the anonymous author made a good point that in places without large supermarkets, there are farmer’s markets, community gardens and more that are increasingly popping up to help ensure adequate nutritious food. Therefore, if planners were to join in this effort they could help solve food access issues and join food policy councils to push for the development of food systems on a larger scale. Altogether, these articles have given me more perspective to how and why I could have a career as an urban planner.