Food perceptions of black and brown community members are bigger than the map in San diego, California

Abstract

A relationship between food, health and economics can be traced back to the beginning of colonization and unfortunately these relationships are still heavily prevalent in Black and Brown communities in the United States. The United States had multiple changes in agricultural and economic policies in the twentieth century, which begs the question, what are the perspectives of marginalized groups who may have noticed the food regime changes over the decades? From May 2022 through August 2022, fifteen participants, ages 18 and older were interviewed on their perspectives on food insecurity in Black and Brown communities in San Diego, California. In Chapter One, I explored the history of United States political economics and how these policies effect U.S. food systems today. I, also, observed the policy effects on independent grocers and major chain grocers and how these policies effect consumers without them knowing. Many independent grocers had hidden butcher shops in their stores but had a lay out of a 7-Eleven than a grocery store. Many of the stores sold generic brand names from larger retail chains. In Chapter Two, I focused on where my participants preferred to grocery shop and if their health influenced changes to their eating habits. My participants were very specific about the stores they liked to frequent but felt like it was within their community despite to being in an adjacent city. One of my participants was healthy but noted simple health swaps to avoid a health predisposition. In Chapter Three, I focused on the growth of community gardens and farmer’s markets in Black and Brown communities and how community members benefit from having these options. I personally observed youth cultivating and selling their own produce to learn growing and business skills for them to take into the future. This study would add to the growing anthology of food equality research happening in anthropology by adding discourse from Black and Brown communities from San Diego, California