Food for Life Forum UIC 2015

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Food for Life Forum that took place here in the windy city. I was not really sure if anything was accomplished in terms of "what is it that I can take back to my community and begin to work on?" The forum centered around corner food stores and the impact of their presence in communities of color. The forum seems to be making progress in their neck of the woods, as Al Roker would say, but I could not help but wonder if it will work in my community. You see, most corner store owners are of Middle Eastern descent. And these stores are mostly in the Black communities. To be fair, the stores in my community are serving an important part in the community by providing jobs, and offering produce, but on the whole, there is no engagement from the business owners, no real connection to the stakeholders and other businesses in the community in terms of economic development and revitalization. So again, I ask myself, what is the take-away? What did I really learn? Well here is what I took away from the forum, and this is what I learned.

The realization that the Black community must be prepared to be the change in their own community, invest in their own community, collective collaboration to open relevant businesses in the community, and to support those who are making a difference, a real difference in their communities. The endless 'free food' "free clothes" "free school supplies" "free this and free that" put us as a community of beggars and consumers.

If you think about it, in the Chicago area, there should not be any food deserts. Our schools should be performing at world class status. Violence should not be the norm in our communities. And with this being said, this is my second take-away, "Be people of justice, First against yourself." Let's roll up our sleeves and begin the work.