Young people across Appalachia are leading and shaping the movement for food justice in the region by pushing for more healthy and fair foods in their school cafeterias, reclaiming vacant lots for community gardens, engaging in collective farming practices, organizing boycotts, building new food businesses and engaging in political advocacy to reshape the food system. They are entering the stream of a social movement long led by young people frustrated with the status quo and giving their energies to imagine and enact a brighter food future. Food Justice, and it’s multiple streams of activism, offer tangible pathways for youth to engage in the work of reshaping their local communities and build alternative economies while connecting with intersectional and international movements for climate, racial, environmental and economic justice.
Text courtesy WVU Food Lab.
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