Private Story
Comida; Calories of Dignity
Summary
A growing organization of dedicated volunteers has undertaken a plant-based strategy to nourish vulnerable communities in New York City with vegan alternatives and spread awareness about the power of healthy food. The grassroots initiative has developed several approaches to feed neighborhoods and public city schools with fresh produce and various plant-based protein choices, including installing the first community refrigerators inside NYC public schools and distributing produce and freshly cooked meals in the heart of underserved communities.
Across New York City, mutual-aid and civic engagement provide a lifeline. As hunger, poverty, and COVID-19 overwhelm neighborhoods across the five boroughs, the most vulnerable are left to wither. Mutual-aid programs hold a vital role in filling gaps where the city's aid programs fall short. In a city of 8.4 million, over 1.1 million residents are suffering from food insecurity. At a time when hunger and lack of living wages are at the forefront of discussions across the nation, this project's goal is to highlight the efforts of this army of volunteers and open dialogue on food insecurity impacting New Yorkers.
Some individuals become police officers to keep the public safe, others practice in medicine to keep people healthy, and I, motivated by witnessing the complications of food insecurity that lives in so many areas of this country, have chosen the camera to help open the door to this struggle experienced by many vulnerable residents in NYC.
As the function of the observer, I've been following Artists-Athletes-Activists led by activist Michael Angel Viera, as he spearheads a plant-based food initiative to underserved Manhattan and Bronx communities.
The project is a work in progress. So far, I’ve photographed Michael Angel Viera and Artists, Athletes, and Activists as they delivered fresh fruits and vegetables to the community refrigerator in The Bronx neighborhood of Allerton and distributed produce to students and families outside of P.S. 096 Richard Rodgers, outside of Mazzei Playground at 2462 Williamsbridge Road, and as the coalition of volunteers distribute produce from their community refrigerators outside Essex Market, and most recently the first-ever plant-based community refrigerator in a New York City public school, P.S. 034. In November, I followed Artists-Athletes-Activists as they cooked and distributed, 200 vegan meals to East Harlem’s homeless on Thanksgiving Eve, from the back of a rental truck.
As my time with Artists-Athletes-Activist continues, I'll build trust with members of the community impacted by food insecurity and embed myself with families open to sharing their stories, to accurately capture the complexities of this timely issue. It's my goal to use this narrative to spread awareness of the power of food and the mental-physical and emotional toll food insecurity has on a community. With the Alexia Grant, I'll prepare the project for publication and an exhibition with the Capa Space and Bethany Arts Community, in Ossining, New York, with plans to share the project publically in the Loisaida, Manhattan.
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