Victoria: I have lived in the Bronx my whole life, and I grew up knowing that saying you were from “The Bronx” would elicit one of two reactions: a slight look of confusion followed by fear, or a pitying glance followed by someone asking me if I had plans to move out of “the hood” anytime soon. I didn’t understand where these stereotypes came from, and why people felt the need to clutch their imaginary pearls at the mention of this elusive borough. Is the Bronx really that bad???
To me, it is not. I love this borough, and I associate the Bronx with family, art, music, school, and food. The Bronx is a borough teeming with life and food options, from family owned restaurants, to organic supermakets, such as Aldi, to local shops lined with fruits and vegetables. The Bronx is home to Boricuas, hip-hop, Salsa, museums, and more food places than I can list – this is my Bronx.
But is my Bronx representative of the whole borough? I live in the Northern part of the Bronx in in between Kingsbridge and Riverdale, often called "Kingsdale," referring to my close proximity to Riverdale, one of the most wealthy segments of the borough. With 1.5 million people occupying just under 43 square miles of space, there are a lot of people with valuable life experiences about their home that deserve to be heard and shared – and not just for the sake of an article talking about how the Bronx is a "food desert.”
The Bronx is not perfect, and there is a lot that needs improvement – but instead of focusing on the problems, how can we come together to talk about solutions that are for us and by us? What do we want, what do we need, and how can we get there? These were the questions we wanted to know more about for the project.
Nasley:Although I did not grow up in the Bronx, I have an apartment in the Bronx as of this year and I spend a majority of time in the Bronx because of Lehman. When I think of food options on campus I feel really limited in my options, and it can be tricky to find places to eat. When I first moved here the only places I knew to get food from was Morton Williams, which was super expensive! I grew up in Putman Valley, Putman County, which is about 40 minutes upstate from the Bronx, and food is way cheaper upstate. I assumed that the Bronx was a wealthy borough after seeing the prices a Morton Williams, so I became really concerned about having access to affordable food as a college student about an hour away from home.
I began searching for more affordable places to get food, and soon realized that the food options I had access to in the Bronx were different than the ones upstate – thirty dollars goes a long way in Putman Valley for groceries, but not so much near campus. I then started to do research into the best and most affordable places to buy groceries by asking friends and classmates where they get their food from. The prices in those store seemed comparable to Morton Williams (if not more expensive), and I had to go out of my way to find small, local places to buy fresh produce. This was when I was first exposed to the term “food desert” after googling food options in the Bronx, and I felt a sense of confusion. Is this was the Bronx is about? Is it really that different than upstate, and if so, why?
These were some of the questions that I went into this project with, and when I met Victoria and realized she wanted to look into some of these questions as well, I thought this would be a great match. This project has since evolved into a deeper conversation about a topic I have always been interested in: in an area as densely populated as the Bronx, why were there so few food options similar to the ones I had back home? What were the structural differences in the way people had access to food in the Bronx compared to Putmam Valley, and what were the health costs of these disparities? This was my thought process and motivation for the project.
How do Bronxites feel about food accessibility in their borough? What do they want? What do they need? How do we grow? Lets ask them.
FOOD ACCESSIBILITY IN THE BRONX IS A WIDELY RESEARCHED AND HIGHLY DISCUSSED TOPIC. INFO GRAPHS, RESEARCH PAPERS, AND ANALYSES WITH COMPLEX GRAPHS AND CHARTS THAT SPAN SEVERAL DECADES SEEMINGLY ARRIVE TO A GENERAL CONSENSUS: THE BRONX HAS A DEARTH OF HEALTHY, ACCESSIBLE FOOD.
WHEN WALKING AROUND THE BRONX, ONE IS INUNDATED WITH TALL BUILDINGS, SUBWAY STATIONS THAT GO ON FOR MILES, PARKS, SCHOOLS, AND RESTAURANTS. FOOD FROM EVERY PART OF THE WORLD CAN BE FOUND IN THIS BOROUGH- BE IT TACOS FROM MEXICO, OR SAMOSAS FROM INDIAN RESTAURANTS, SMALL BUILDINGS ADVERTISING FOOD FROM A LITANY OF CULTURES ON BRIGHT, COLORFUL AWNINGS ADORN THE SIDEWALKS. ONE WILL ALSO NOTICE THE GOLDEN ARCHES OF MCDONALDS, PINK AND ORANGE LETTERS THAT SPELL “DUNKIN DONUTS,” AND MANY OTHER FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS. CORNER STORES KNOWN AS “BODEGAS” ALSO LINE THE SIDEWALKS, WHICH ARE LIKE LITTLE ALL-PURPOSE SHOPS WHERE YOU CAN BUY A CHOPPED CHEESE, GROCERIES, AND CLEANING SUPPLIES IN ONE GO.
BUT, IF YOU WALK UP AND DOWN SIDEWALKS, YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE PEOPLE WITH CARTS AND TABLES FILLED WITH A COLORFUL ARRAY OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. BUTCHERS DEDICATED TO HALAL MEAT, FARMER’S MARKETS, AND MOM AND POP SHOTS THAT LOOK LIKE A LAND O’ LAKES COMMERCIAL ARE ALSO A BRONX STAPLE, AND HARD TO MISS.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR FOOD ACCESSIBILITY IN THE BRONX? WE DECIDED TO LOOK INTO THIS AND INTERVIEW BRONXITES AND ASK THEM WHERE THEY GET THEIR FOOD FROM AND WHY. OUR GOAL IS TO EMPOWER BRONX NATIVES TO TELL THEIR STORIES ABOUT WHERE THEY GET THEIR FOOD AND WHAT HEALTH MEANS TO THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES. THE BRONX DOES HAVE ACCESSIBLE FOOD OPTIONS, AND IT IS FILLED WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE EDUCATED ABOUT HEALTHY EATING AND ARE DEDICATED TO PROVIDING FOR THEIR FAMILIES.