Something that stood out to me that was discussed in the readings this week was the opportunity cost of time. I generally think about the food costs for low-income families, but rarely consider how much time it takes to actually obtain the food. Clifton's article in particular discussed the advantages and disadvantages of different transportation options. And as she mentioned, the automobile is the most desired choice of transportation for low-income people.
However, looking at the other options of public, shared, walking, etc., the time costs for each are high. Low-income people have the least amount of time as their lives consist of more rigid schedules, primarily revolving around work and family. And yet they spend considerable time just getting from one place to another using different transportation methods. Add to this time the uncertainty of whether the transportation option follows through or not. I can only imagine the amount of stress this produces.
This got me thinking about community food gardens. We've somewhat touched upon this in class, but to me, the main problem with the gardens is the time it takes to work it. I like the idea of plopping a community garden in the middle of a food desert neighborhood. But if these people do not have any time as is, then the garden would be difficult to actually implement. Perhaps the time saved by walking a block to the garden instead of taking a lengthy bus trip to a supermarket would make a community garden more feasible. But obviously, a garden is not going to be the sole provider of food for a neighborhood, so who knows.
With that being said, what might be the best way to cut down on the opportunity time costs associated with transportation?
I think the best way to address transportation related opportunity costs would be to bring the food to the community rather than expecting the community to be able to go to the food. This may mean opening a small farmers market in the community like the Frenchtown Heritage Market. Although this may not address all needs, it can help at least.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion of opportunity cots, Michael. Time is very costly, especially for those with less money who are forver using their time to make more money. And I am sad you have presented this aspect of urban gardening to me, as I have really grown to love it as a solution for many food injustice issues. But you are right, gardening takes time to do, and it may be another justice issue in itself that one neighborhood residency has to grow its food to afford it while another can just go to the store in car to the supermarket for all its needs. The residents of both neighborhoods work, they both have families to feed, they should both have grocery stores in close proximity to them to sustain their food needs. Development of smaller grocery stores in poorer or urban areas would be a good idea to me. However, these markets would be in competition with bigger supermarket chains that drove them out of business to being with, and they would have to be able to make profit in these lower-income areas. Subsidies and economic incentive programs from the local or state government may have to be utilized.
ReplyDeleteGreat point in framing time as an opportunity cost. Growing up, my mom frequented the phrase "sometimes time is money, honey," and your post reminds me of that. Although different in circumstance (I am lucky to have grown up in a two-income home and two-car home) I think it is rooted in a similar feeling--sometimes there just aren't enough hours in a day. If people struggle to find the time/transportation to go to a grocery story, why would they have the time to work in a community garden? I think it is important to note that just because one doesn't have the time to work in the garden, it doesn't mean one can't purchase from it. Bringing gardens into the neighborhood doesn't cover all of the groceries needed, but it can supplement most nutritional needs, while bridging an immense transportation gap.
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