Getting Back To Your Roots Thursday, April 6, 2023

Food Deserts are defined as residential communities that are outside of a 1-mile walking distance to a grocery store where fresh food options are sold. The bodegas were processed and unhealthy prepared foods are sold flourish in low-income communities. Almost 250,000 people in Philly lack access to nutritious food to live a healthy life. Food insecurity is more complex than being physically hungry. Access to nutritious food impacts mental health, brain development, and physical and financial well-being. The city of Philadelphia is plagued with food-insecure families that work 40+ hours per week and still don't have access to chemical-free food options. One because they don't understand the importance of it, and two because the access just isn't there. But the inner city is not the only community experiencing this nutritious food drought …. Access to food can seem an afterthought in one of Pennsylvania’s wealthiest counties, where nearly everyone drives. Yet, the USDA’s food desert list includes neighborhoods such as Bensalem, Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, Falls, Sellersville, Warminster, and Quakertown. Our Co-Host Christa Barfield, founder of Farmer Jawn Agriculture, aims to create change and bring awareness to the matters of food waste and food insecurity and the symbiotic relationship between the two. Since 2018, she has developed earth-born brands based in regenerative agricultural values with a goal of traceable and transparent origins of 100% Organically Dope foods. Viva Leaf Tea and FarmerJawn Agriculture are her original two ventures and she now operates a non-profit arm on multiple sites totaling 128 acres of land, who’s mission is to train and educate the nation’s next Black and brown Agripreneurs.