Hello! I’m Izzy Klonsky. At Dickinson, I’ve been studying food deserts and their impact on African Americans. In my experience, nutritious food is hard to find here compared to my home in suburban Virginia. This is how long it takes to walk to a Giant in Carlisle versus my home.
Distance from my dorm to the closest Giant.
Distance to get from my hometown to the nearest Giant.
Look at how spread out the land is in Cumberland Valley, too. These houses are far apart, and so are the grocery stores.
Look at the lack of grocery stores and houses along the horizon: where do people get food??
Similarly, look at how little there is around here, minus the road and the couple of buildings.
Historically, African Americans have been deprived of food throughout the enslavement period, and have been forced to adapt by planting/tending to their own crops, like black-eyed peas, a Soul Food staple.
Nowadays, African Americans tend to get worse housing and lower income jobs: according to the Economic Policy Institute, “In 2019, the typical (median) black worker earned 24.4% less per hour than the typical white worker. This is an even larger wage gap than in 1979, when it was 16.4%” (par. 3). This means that African Americans have a lower budget for food, and may have issues with getting to grocery stores because of the cost or length of transportation.
I watch a TikToker, Alexis Nikole, frequently. She talks about how to forage and procure food in nature, how to grow these foods for yourself, and garden with them. This made me think about community gardening’s role in the media and in other forms of popular culture. Here is one of Alexis Nikole’s videos to get a sense of contemporary gardening uses and purposes; keep in mind that these videos promote foraging and gardening in any area, meaning that this endeavor isn’t specific to people who own a lot of land:
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Nkkmrr/
Per the video, these plants can be reused and repurposed in many ways; nothing has to go to waste and people don’t have to rely as much on fast-food/ultra-processed food for sustenance.
Another common topic on social media is grocery store prices, and gardening can combat this, too: look at the price of black-eyed peas in-store versus as seeds: It’s much more economical to plant your own black-eyed peas. Gardening with them also allows African Americans to continue eating the food that has been adapted into their culture without the economic barriers that America has implemented.
The first videos talk about how expensive it is to shop.
Prices of black-eyed peas at stores on Google.
Look at how much cheaper these seeds are than the whole beans!
Here’s a video discussing contemporary examples of African Americans using community gardens:
What’s so important about these findings? Community gardens have and continue to shape the future of African Americans and are not just a way to grow food: they also bring in community, art, and cultural identity.
Works Cited
“Black-Eyed Peas Have a Complicated History.” Seed World, 2 Jan. 2023, www.seedworld.com/us/2023/01/02/black-eyed-peas-have-a-complicated-history-2/#:~:text=Black%2Deyed%20peas%20aren’t,thus%20ignored%20by%20Sherman’s%20troops. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
“Food Deserts.” Food is Power, 2024, www.foodispower.org/access-health/food-deserts/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
“1619–1865: Gardens of Slavery.” Smithsonian Gardens, Smithsonian Institution, 2024, gardens.si.edu/learn/blog/timeline/1619-1865-gardens-of-slavery/#:~:text=In%20addition%20to%20tending%20the,produce%20to%20sell%20for%20profit. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
Wilson, Valerie, and William Darity Jr. “Understanding Black-White Disparities in Labor Market Outcomes.” Economic Policy Institute, 25 Mar. 2022, www.epi.org/unequalpower/publications/understanding-black-white-disparities-in-labor-market-outcomes/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
“Plantain! It’s growing near you!” TikTok, posted by Alexis Nikole, 27 Aug. 2024, https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8Nkkmrr/. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
Ibby. “FYS Video Blog.” Youtube, uploaded by Izzy Klonsky, 6 Dec. 2024, https://youtu.be/JagZzPBYfnM. Accessed Dec. 8, 2024.
“Pictures of Black-eyed pea seed prices.” Google, 8 Dec. 2024, https://www.google.com/search?q=black-eyed+peas+seeds&sca_esv=64a609d90a359d40&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS1125US1125&biw=1615&bih=883&udm=28&sxsrf=ADLYWIJNhEgaeZwUaZi_bW5jWszDQts27w%3A1733688776904&ei=yP1VZ6DPNv_-ptQP5ZO36A0&ved=0ahUKEwig08r9_ZiKAxV_v4kEHeXJDd0Q4dUDCCA&uact=5&oq=black-eyed+peas+seeds&gs_lp=Ehlnd3Mtd2l6LW1vZGVsZXNzLXNob3BwaW5nIhVibGFjay1leWVkIHBlYXMgc2VlZHNIxA5QuQNY7AxwAXgBkAEAmAFAoAHkAqoBATa4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgOgAoUBwgIKEAAYsAMY1gQYR8ICBhAAGBYYHpgDAIgGAZAGCJIHATOgB9YK&sclient=gws-wiz-modeless-shopping. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
“Pictures of Black-eyed pea store prices.” Google, 8 Dec. 2024, https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=64a609d90a359d40&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS1125US1125&sxsrf=ADLYWIJ54ObNKOAChexORv83BnavFLMI_Q:1733688775042&q=black-eyed+peas&udm=28&fbs=AEQNm0Aa4sjWe7Rqy32pFwRj0UkWd8nbOJfsBGGB5IQQO6L3J7pRxUp2pI1mXV9fBsfh39Jw_Y7pXPv6W9UjIXzt09-YEIs5ATTcnTjDJVNBp4RbjWfOwdDigA7cgGTMAUqYq-XHEDvQBj6Tl1QS1iTN88pVlmn091C3m1whg-P_znMBPc134Mo5pdLl6dOdpk_DVU2P2jhAuxqhhJeiHOdPxH_lV-0F7w&ved=1t:220175&ictx=111&biw=1615&bih=883&dpr=2. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
“TikTok search of ‘Grocery store prices.’” Tiktok, 8 Dec. 2024, https://www.tiktok.com/search/user?lang=en&q=grocery%20store%20prices&t=1733691734112. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.