What do we mean when we say “food justice”?

Food justice is about more than whether our communities have enough to eat. It’s about growing community and reclaiming power and choice. Working toward food justice means answering questions like: How can we ensure that people in every community can access, afford, buy, cook, grow, and sell food of their choice? How do we change the way we think, talk, act, and invest in food and power in Richmond if we want to support real growth and healing?

Improving food access isn’t enough: while distributing food to residents with limited resources is imperative to meet the immediate need, it is a temporary solution that doesn’t empower communities to have greater control over the food that is grown, sold, or eaten by the people who live there. Richmond and Henrico Health Districts are committed to partnering with organizations across our region to: 

• Understand why some communities have lower access to affordable healthy foods—the root causes of food insecurity—including racist and discriminatory policy and investment decisions that have persisted for generations.
• Partner with and learn from community leaders who are working to share knowledge, expand growing spaces, and shift power and resources to their fellow community members.
• Radically reimagine the policies, investments, and entire systems that shape power over food in our region.