Municipal Governments and Food Justice

         I think that this study really breaks down a lot of the issues that hinder the food justice movement as a whole from making a larger impact. Food justice isn't just about giving people food, but addressing and changing the systems that prevent people from growing and/or accessing food. Because ideas of food justice and alternative/urban agriculture growing and selling practices are seen as more "radical", it is much harder to convince people to support projects. This is even worse when the governments are faced with whether to put money into food justice programs because there are many other areas (transportation, education) are seen as more important. 

        The most important issue is that, like I stated earlier, food justice programs are often not given the necessary funding to support and implement ideas. Although some funding is left for these programs, it is not nearly enough. Much of the current funds rely on federal funding and private donations. Without proper funding, smaller and alternative farmers cannot have enough support to produce and bring produce to these urban areas, urban agriculture cannot be supported, and people cannot be educated. Although the goal for food justice is to not solely depend on the current capitalist systems in place, it needs to work in the system until it can support itself. 

        Another major lapse seemed to be a lack of actually acknowledging the past efforts to harm indigenous and other minority food systems. Without understanding and fixing problems from the past, the present cannot be truly addressed. I think that the efforts to bring in a variety of voices into the organizations and governmental bodies to provide a more complete understanding of issues. Minorities can more accurately help others understand past and current issues in their own communities and can provide more realistic solutions.