More Than Just Food Summary

People within the United States of America lack the basic ability to access healthy, fresh food. This inability to acquire food reveals the necessity of social change within the country. Many groups that are strategically organized in order to create awareness and spark change strive to provide opportunities for everyone regarding food equality. Garrett M. Broad’s 2016 book More Than Just Food, published by the University of California Press, investigates the ways community led organizations drive systemic social change. They focus on groups that tackle the issues of “food deserts” within low income communities and explore the options for groups that wish to provide healthy options for everyone. The book More Than Just Food adequately evaluates

The author describes how in low-income areas, there are people who struggle to find healthy food. Broad does in depth research of organizations at the national level while he also analyzes specific situations and their outcomes. He does so by investigating real issues in specific cities and areas within the country and discusses the actions taken by certain organizations designed to solve the problem. He does so through the methods of direct observation, interviews and analytical research. South Los Angeles is referred to consistently as a point of reference to represent a community or region that deals with these types of hardships. This specific region was chosen strategically by the author because it serves as a well-known area possessing multicultural and impoverished characteristics. It is discussed that areas such as this one lack the opportunities to buy healthy foods because corporations that offer cheap, unhealthy foods to the consumer are densely populated within them. LThe low-income families often resort to these low budget foods because they it is simply the only thing they can afford. The book also addresses the fact that most of the people in these areas cannot afford healthy foods because of the inequalities between races. The South Los Angeles area’s population is dominated by

These “food deserts” in many communities are because they are low-income, multicultural regions. The people living there are only offered cheap, unhealthy substitutes, also resulting in an obesity problem throughout the country. Garrett M. Broad’s book More Than Just Food analyzes the social organizations that strive for change and the implementation and knowledge of healthier food options. The author discusses well the importance of specific structures for the type of desired change. He offers ideas of media exposure and an inclusive structure, made up of organizers to gain the most awareness possible. Broad’s book stands as an adequate source for people who want to join or begin their own food justice movement because he offers exceptional examples from modern day organizations that have been successful. The book More Than Just Food appropriately evaluates specific studies of organizations on how they are structured and implement change for food