Bed-Stuy Is Taking Care of Its Own Good Food Needs

I have been working to increase access to good food (high quality, fresh, reasonably priced) in Bed-Stuy and beyond since 2008. Since that time, I’ve had many conversations about cost, quality, and perceptions of the food models I promote and whether or not the communities I promote them in are interested or . 

I am an advocate for regional food systems because of the transparency and accountability that working directly with farmers, food businesses, and independently owned markets offer. I feel good about whom I’m spending my money with and we know each other’s names. If there’s an issue, the chain of command is very short, and I will almost always be able to reach the person at the top. 

These models also promote community building, encouraging participants to talk to the strangers who are their neighbors and find common ground.

Some people like to argue that the models I promote are expensive, elitist, and otherwise inaccessible to low-income populations, and that might be true, but people find a way to pay for the things they want, regardless of whether it’s expensive or they can afford it. And people with means are just as likely to complain about the cost of food as are the ones without, so this business about good food being elitist is a myth.

And since all of these bodegas, fast food restaurants, Chinese takeouts, Dollar stores, and nail salons that dot every other corner of Bed-Stuy’s avenues have managed to stay in business and continue to sprout up, I’d say there’s plenty of money to go around in this neighborhood and what we really should be talking about is how people, regardless of their income level prioritize their money, their health, and their time. 

There are non-profits with multi-million dollar operating budgets getting paid exclusively to paint Bed-Stuy as a deprived, impoverished community of folks who can’t seem to figure out how to eat right and stop being obese, unhealthy, violent, and poor on their own, so they create programs and spin stories that highlight the most extreme cases of hunger and poverty. The grants and awards keep rolling in and meanwhile, the folks these nonprofits are supposed to be helping still have to come back to them, because they’re not about teaching folks how to fish.

Anyone walking through Bed-Stuy knows that the neighborhood is not a monolith and reflects a diverse community of residents across class and income. Everyone wants access to good food and most would prefer not to leave the neighborhood to get it. Bed-Stuy is not limited in its options, and those who believe otherwise are not looking hard enough or asking the right people the right questions.

Bed-Stuy is not a stranger to homegrown food (some of our community gardens are thirty years old), farmers markets, co-ops, and buying clubs. They’ve existed in some shape or form since Bed-Stuy was farmland and surburbs, and anyone thinking they’re pioneering something new here had better take a trip to the Macon Branch, the Brooklyn Collection at Grand Central Library, or Brooklyn Historical Society and ask somebody. 

Since March, almost 100 Bed-Stuy residents have joined my wholesale buying club and are taking advantage of deep savings on quality produce, meat, dairy, eggs, and more from New York State farmers and food businesses.

Bed-Stuy Farm Share has been connecting residents to farmers of color for seven years now, and next month, Weeksville’s farmers market will open, followed by Bushwick Farmers Market, Malcolm X Blvd Community Marketand Hattie Carthan Community Market and After-Church Market (Sundays) in July. African People’s Farmers Market on Nostrand and Jefferson has been a longstanding example of community activism and food sovereignty, and folks like Brooklyn Rescue Mission, Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger, and St. John’s Bread & Life are ensuring that everyone has access to good food. 

If you want to learn more about what’s happening with food in Bed-Stuy and how you can be a part of community-based solutions, connect with me at www.melissadanielle.com.