In Chicago food deserts, empty Doritos bags take the place of tumbleweeds, and water mirages are replaced by nutrient-deprived visions of McDonalds desolation. Humboldt Park has been named one of at least eight food deserts within Chicago. The city of Chicago defines a food desert as any census block located more than a mile away from a retail food establishment larger than 10,000 square feet. While locally owned corner grocery stores are prevalent in lower-income communities, these sites usually fail to offer nutritious foods in the form of fresh produce, making living a healthy lifestyle inaccessible to a majority of community members. Instead of having access to large grocery stores with a variety of options, food desert areas are overtaken by fast food chains. The socially unjust unequal distribution of healthy foods in lower-income communities is a clear contributing factor to the high rates of obesity and diabetes in the predominately Latino community of Humboldt Park. The obesity and diabetes rates are staggering in Humboldt Park, with 35% of the adult population being obese and 50% of children being obese.

Carrots are Caviar

Healthy foods have adopted an image of luxury and expense since the increasing popularity of fast food in modern culture. This irrational view of food has led to a mindset within lower-income communities that healthy food is only available for the rich. However, during World War 1 and 2, the lack of available vegetables led to initiatives for “victory gardens” were promoted nationally. During World War 1, 30,000,000 of US farmers were inducted as soldiers, and American civilians were encouraged to take personal initiative and grow their own food. Not consequently, during those times, health disparities relating to obesity and diabetes were non-existent. Without industrialized agriculture, fresh produce was necessary for everyday cooking and in order to have access Americans began to grow their own.

What’s Being Done

In an act of ultimate empowerment, Dr. Pedro Albizos Campos High School (PACHS) is facing the food disparities within the Humboldt Park community head on through the practice of urban agriculture. PACHS is an alternative charter school that offers its students a highly supportive environment in order to reverse the high dropout rate within Humboldt Park. Since the community has been unable to rely on corporations and the city for adequate healthy food, PACHS as part of the Greater Humboldt Park Urban Agriculture Initiative, is teaching students how to develop self-sufficiency through cultivation of urban farms, providing access to affordable, healthy food without dependence on outside intervention. The Humboldt Park community as a whole is teaming up to address obesity and lack of nutrition with the Greater Humboldt Park Urban Agriculture Initiative which seeks to engage the community through awareness of health issues and promotion of gardening and living active lifestyles. Abby, a UIC student who volunteered at the PACHS garden speaks to the positive impacts of the gardening experience: “The students enjoy learning different aspects of agriculture. They understand the importance of agriculture and know where the food they eat is coming from instead of just from a box. The students didn’t understand the nutrients that vegetables have.” According to Abby, the garden’s influence reaches out to the surrounding community “in the spring and summer [when] they have additional gardens around the neighborhood.” Since most Puerto Rican cuisine relies on fresh produce, the introduction of urban agriculture provides an outlet for students to receive proper nutritional education and to connect with their cultural heritage.