{"id":360,"date":"2024-12-10T00:40:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T00:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/aa-foodways-fys\/?p=360"},"modified":"2024-12-10T02:02:16","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T02:02:16","slug":"is-a-plant-based-diet-really-attainable-in-low-income-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/aa-foodways-fys\/2024\/12\/10\/is-a-plant-based-diet-really-attainable-in-low-income-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a Plant Based Diet Really Attainable In Low Income Communities?"},"content":{"rendered":"

While plant based diets (vegetarianism\/veganism) seem like a more accessible option, the economic and resource availability make it difficult for people who come from low income communities. Growing up in Spanish Harlem I never really saw anyone like me having a plant based diet. I thought it was a \u201cwhite people\u201d thing. But as I learned about veganism in my college course On African American food in American pop culture I realized that vegetarianism and veganism is not just for a specific group of people.Through my research I realized how challenging it could be to start a new diet based on your socioeconomic class and food access. This blog will discuss if a plant based diet is truly accessible in low income communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

After doing my research I realized that this regimen is not something you could easily switch to overnight, unless you have the time and money to make it happen. In low income communities like Spanish Harlem there are a lot of challenges. There are fast food chains, family owned businesses, and bodegas. Neighborhoods that contain these businesses are usually called \u201cfood swamps\u201d or \u201cfood deserts\u201d due to the lack of fresh produce. This map that I found in the blog <\/span>Mapping Food Deserts (and Swamps) in Manhattan and the Bronx <\/span><\/i>helps give a visual of how there is almost no access to healthy food.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This map demonstrates three different zip codes with the lowest incomes in New York. This also demonstrates how it is more affordable and convenient to get fast food or processed foods. Black and Latino people are the groups of people mainly living in these areas where temptation is almost everywhere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n