Thursday, January 19, 2012

What Do You Find in a Food Desert?

          Before embarking on this project, I was not familiar whatsoever with the term "food desert." Once I researched the definition, I realized I did know of the concept, just not the correct term. How shocking it was to realize my location bordered right along a food desert. I have realized over the past three years living on the Lawrence campus that we were not near a grocery store, but having friends with cars allowed me to ignore this fact. It was an enlightening and troubling experience to walk along Wisconsin Avenue in search of anything that could be considered affordable and nutritious. I encountered a bakery, a specialty chocolate shop, a KFC, two asian stores, and a pasty shop. I performed a preliminary internet search and discovered a food pantry, which turned out to be a Citgo with a few food items. The video I made focuses on the issues of finding food in the food desert and being overcharged, while the residents are already at a disadvantage when it comes to acquiring food. I was disheartened to discover that the supposed grocery store was really a gas station. I purchased the majority of the food with my $10 stipend at the gas station, but in order to create a complete meal, I purchased the noodles at one of the asian stores. I felt successful in my meal planning, purchasing noodles, sauce, canned beans, and canned peaches. I did  not, however, feel as successful about the fact that my meal did not include any fresh foods. My video shows a few perspectives on the food desert, as well as some of the products I was able to purchase.

           

5 comments:

  1. You did manage to find healthy food, but you are right, it wasn't fresh and that it is seemingly disappointing. I think there is a lot of false advertising when it comes to food, and that you still have to do a ton of searching in order to find something healthy in a food desert.

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  2. Your minimalistic approach to this project was really powerful. I also thought that it paralleled your photographic style, so it was great to see continuity in your work even across lines of differing media. Your work on this video, as is always the case with your art, is a perfect combination of nostalgia and comedy.

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  3. The simplicity of your piece is so great, as Hillary mentions it is a great mixture of an almost gloomy mood and comedy. I really enjoyed watching at it, it actually made me laugh a little.

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  4. Agreeing with Hillary, the minimalism of your video was highly effective. Your choice of scenery was the perfect ending to a journey full of bleak food wanderings and the text box exemplified the troubles of a low-income food-finder in the desert.

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  5. Your video points toward the availability of processed foods over fresh and needing a car versus being able to walk/bike to get said food. Having a farmers market may provide food desert dwellers more options in the summer, but that (as your video underscores) is not an possible when it's cold outside. The minimalist kitchen works as a visual cue.

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