Food Access = Self-Determination!

Picture by Douglas Gayeton of the Lexicon of Sustainability Project found at: www.lexiconofsustainability.com 

 

This picture is of Pham Thi Xuyen, a local community member, who grows on a plot where her house once stood before Hurricane Katrina. Having lost everything due to the storm, her and her family's livelihood, which is largely dependent on the oyster industry (her and her husband work as oyster shuckers) is once again threatened due to the BP oil drilling disaster. In New Orleans East, food access has become a pressing issue after Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans East comprises over 60% of Orleans Parish landmass but is only home to one grocery store, which took two years to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Now, with the BP oil drilling disaster, a community which has historically been dependent on the Gulf of Mexico for fresh seafood, now faces another food access dilemma. 

For Pham Thi Xuyen and her family, this farm primarily serves as a source of food and nourishment with excess produce being sold for supplemental income - selling to local convenience stores, community members, and a local outdoor market (Chợ chồm hổm) - and now, to Hollygrove Farm and Market and various restaurants . It is a real and inspiring manifestation of a grassroots answer to food access issues that are plaguing low-income communities and communities of color all across the globe. 

Through our urban farm and aquaponics initiatives, we hope to be able to support and incubate other stories such as Pham Thi Xuyen and build a greater sense of self-determination and livelihood - one family at a time.