Dear Editor,
Come one, come all to your local farmer’s market, now accepting food stamps. That is the gist of how many farmer’s markets across America are promoting themselves as they begin to open for the spring and summer. One by one many are starting to accept food stamps.
Doesn’t that sound wonderful? A space for everyone of all socioeconomic backgrounds to have the equal opportunity to shop for fresh produce and to uplift their local agricultural system, community and improve individual nutrition?
America’s cities are divided by socioeconomic levels which influence food access and options to distinct neighborhoods. But now that farmer’s markets offer food stamps people argue that there is no reason for those on welfare to eat unhealthy (fast food) and to not support local farmers or be a part of the greater community.
Not only does this undermine and overlook the daily struggles those on welfare face, but leads to an excuse to blame them for not choosing the “healthier” option, even if it is not truly a choice.
As a college student it is apparent that education about what are or are not healthy foods is severely lacking in America, for we were raised in a world of convenience and fast food. However farmer’s markets have become the new attraction for the young adults as the hipster activity to do on a Saturday morning, with the end goal of sharing the picture the local kale you sustainably cooked yourself on Instagram.
These same young adults are the ones who can afford to buy the high quality kale and then, most importantly, educate themselves on how to prepare it, by watching videos and reading cookbooks. So now that farmer’s markets accept food stamps, the assumption is those on welfare have the opportunity to prepare fresh meals for their families and not be socially isolated through food access distribution.
This fails to account for the lack of time available for those on welfare who are working, or searching for a job.
According the USDA, as of April 2017, over 43 million participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and 75 percent of all households include a child, an elderly person, or a disabled nonelderly person. Therefore, time to go to a farmer’s market and shop using their food stamps is not a very feasible option.
The majority of farmer’s markets are situated in middle- to upper-income neighborhoods since those are the main customers. This forces those on food stamps to either drive or take public transportation to the market.
Not only do most recipients work daily, including Saturdays, but they are also just trying to make ends meet, thus spending money on gas to get to the farmer’s market if they have a car, or on a bus fare, is much more inconvenient than going somewhere close by to their house.
To be sure there may be farmer’s markets in lower-income neighborhoods, yet that then leads to the assumption that the families have time to prepare the food and the knowledge of how, even though large majority of Americans do not cook at home but instead eat out at restaurants.
Interestingly, there is less judgment if someone chooses to eat at Zoey’s Kitchen than McDonalds, because Zoey’s is viewed as “healthier” and higher quality. Yet maybe it is a judgment of the people financially able and unable to eat at Zoey’s rather than the food itself.
Choosing a fast-food restaurant is much less of a choice than a reality. The drive thru at McDonalds saves time in driving, gas money, along with time in preparation. The taste for salty fries instead of crispy kale is not a choice, but an efficient economic decision by those on welfare.
Instead of criticizing those who have food stamps for “not taking advantage” of the farmer’s market, those in higher socioeconomic levels need to ask why all the fresh food options are in the high-income neighborhoods? Why are there not fast healthy food options in the lower income neighborhoods, for the people who have the smallest amount of time to spend cooking? How are we using the quality of food as a way to label the quality of an individual?
We are using farmer’s market as a façade of equal opportunity for all people to the pure quality basic necessities in life such as food, but take another glance and look behind the curtain.
Olivia Strader
Davidson, North Carolina
