Race, Food, and Health | February 7, 2021

Fresh & Local:

Race, Food, and Health

As we celebrate Black History Month it is important that we recognize the inequities in health that persist as a result of both interpersonal and structural racism. Food access and nutrition are core focus areas of Market Umbrella’s programming, and seeing these topics through this lens helps better inform the work we do within our community.

A person's overall health can be attributed to the social determinants of health – the conditions in the environments where people live, learn, work, and play. This includes but is not limited to food security, housing, access to healthcare, transportation, and employment. From red-lining, pollution, a lack of access to clean drinking water and more, the United States has a long history of intentional racism that constitutes a lack of access to basic human rights.

These inequities are negatively impacting both the mental and physical health of African Americans. The black community experiences higher rates of obesity, chronic disease, and mental health trauma. These health problems largely stem from a lack of access to healthy foods, and African Americans experience disproportionate rates of food insecurity. In 2019, 19% of black households were food insecure, more than twice the rate of white households; the pandemic has only exacerbated this disparity. To tackle racism is no easy feat, but conscious consideration and acknowledgment of inequities is important as we progress through addressing the inequities in our food system.

Picks of the Week:

Food Justice Book List

This food justice book list by the Farmers Market Coalition provides insight into food access and justice in black communities, food relief and school nutrition programs, the effects of technology on global food supply chains, the relationship between climate change and food production, and much more.

• Black Food Geographies by Ashante M. Reese
• Black, White and Green by Alison Hope Alkon
• The Color of Food by Natasha Bowens
• Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class, and Sustainability edited by Alison Hope Alkon and Julian Agyeman
• Dispossession by Pete Daniel
• Farming While Black by Leah Penniman
• Food Justice Now! Deepening the Roots of Social Struggle by Joshua Sbicca
• Freedom Farmers by Monica M. White
• Labor and the Locavore by Margaret Gray
• Land Justice: Re-imagining Land, Food, and the Commons edited by Justine M. Williams and Eric Holt-Gimenez
• The Land Was Ours by Andrew W. Kahrl
• Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook
• UC Press: A Food Justice Reading List

Celebrate Your Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day from your friends at the Crescent City Farmers Market! This week Johndale Farms and Passion Flour are offering up some sweet treats to help you celebrate Valentine's Day in style. Johndale Farms will have decadent chocolate covered strawberries available Thursday at the Mid-City Market on Thursday, February 10th and then again at the City Park Market on Sunday, February 13th. Passion Flour is selling V-Day boxes of baked goods and sweet treats that are available for pre-order by email before 1pm on the 9th!

Passion Flour V-Day Boxes
Small box is $25 and includes:

• 1 slice of strawberry marshmallow pink peppercorn layer cake (made with local Ponchatoula strawberries of course)
• 1 passion fruit and mango petit four
• 3 handmade chocolate truffles (1 cocoa, 1 matcha, 1 coconut)
• 1 pomegranate meringue thumbprint cookie with pear and elderflower jam. (Made with fruity pears grown in Poplarville, MS)

Large box is $50 and includes:

• 2 slices of strawberry marshmallow pink peppercorn cake
• 2 passion fruit and mango petit fours
• 6 handmade chocolate truffles (2 cocoa, 2 matcha, 2 coconut)
• 2 pomegranate meringue thumbprint cookies with pear and elderflower jam.

Vendor of the Week:

Pickled NOLA

Pickled NOLA LLC is a homemade pickling company based out of New Orleans, LA. Jeremy Oatis, educator, Mardi Gras Indian, and avid pickler is the mastermind behind Pickled NOLA. He started making pickles four years ago and now offers up a variety of pickled vegetables reflective of the season and sourced locally. Whether it’s a traditional dill cucumber pickle, pickled green beans or pickled garlic, Pickled NOLA has all your pickle bases covered. Pickled Nola is a vendor at the Sunday Market in City Park.

Recipes of the Week:

Chef Nina Compton from Compere Lapin’s Crawfish and Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Originally from St Lucia, Chef Nina Compton has certainly left an impact on New Orleans with the opening of two famous restaurants in the city – Compere Lapin and Bywater American Bistro – and was awarded Best Chef South in 2018 by the James Beard Foundation. Not only is she an avid supporter of local food, but Chef Compoton mixes the rich culinary traditions of New Orleans with those of her Caribbean roots. When Nina was coming up in the culinary industry, there were not many black chefs working the line or running the restaurants even though many of the culinary dishes being cooked in restaurants have deep roots in black culture and cuisine. For Nina, it is important to pave the way for other black Chefs in the industry and to highlight the culinary impact that black cuisine has left on New Orleans and the culinary industry in general. Nina has been a strong supporter of local farmers in this region, and was instrumental in raising funds for the Crescent Fund for CCFM producers impacted by Hurricane Ida.

Chef Nina Compton from Compere Lapin’s Crawfish and Andouille Sausage Gumbo recipe

What’s your favorite dish to make after visiting the Crescent City Farmers Market? Share your recipes with us on Instagram or Facebook and it might be featured in our weekly newsletter!

King Cake of the Week:

King Cake Word Search

Celebrate Mardi Gras with this fun king cake word search! Can you find all the ingredients to make king cake? Print this PDF here.