The Food Justice Library | Confessions of a Grocery Addict

As someone who believes that food is a fundamental human right—up there with clothing and shelter—I feel that it is my moral obligation to support the Food Justice movement in any capacity that I can. While the focus of Confessions is primarily creating cheap, relatively healthy and tasty recipes, there's so much more work to do to create an equitable society.

"hunger is not an issue of charity it is an issue of justice" white text on stock image background.

The epic nature of systemic inequalities present in our food system are at once vast and varied - from the high incidence of food deserts and lack of food sovereignty in communities of color; to our reliance on marginalized communities to harvest our crops; from our elected officials cow-towing to food lobbyists seeking subsidies for artificially cheap foods that are overwhelming our health systems with obesity-related illnesses; to generations-old policies interfering with black ownership of farms; these are all problems the subject of Food Justice encompasses.

While I have dedicated much of my adult life to studying and trying to improve our food systems, the myriad problems the Food Justice movement seeks to address are monumental. I have thus far had little success in creating meaningful change.

Jump to:

What Does "Food Justice" Mean?
List #1: Community Resources
List #2: For Your Library
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List #3: Budget Cooking
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More Community Resources

How To Use This Page

It has occurred to me that as someone who is pretty good at a variety of things but a master of none, perhaps my way to move the needle is to act as an aggregator of all the brilliant minds who have helped shape my own educational journey in the complicated landscape of our food system.

Innovation cannot exist in a vacuum, and the more engaged minds we have working on a problem, the more likely we are to find a solution. Whether you are an ally looking for ways to engage with the Food Justice movement, or if you are someone who is dealing with the consequences of our deeply broken food systems, I hope to be of help to you.

To that aim I have assembled three lists below, the first of which I am calling Community Resources. This section is will eventually be filled with post links discussing organizations that are working within seven different branches of the Food Justice movement (right now there's just two). Whether you are looking to help mitigate your own circumstances or want to donate or volunteer to help someone else, these are the places I know of that have ongoing, funded and organized efforts.

The second section is what I'm calling The Library. Also separated into branches, this is a place to look for books, scholarly articles, documentaries and other literature regarding the deep-seated issues surrounding our food system. If you have a yen for learning more about the aim of the Food Justice movement, this is a good place to start.

Finally, I have created a third section titled Budget Cooking. Think of this as an extended library of blogs, cookbooks and other educational content focused solely on getting healthy, inexpensive, and yummy food on your table despite monetary and/or time constraints. If you are here simply to learn how to cook well on a very tight budget, this will be the most useful section outside of my own recipe posts.

I Need Your Help

I should mention, I need your help, too. The immense subject of "food justice" is incredibly broad because the problems regarding our food system are seemingly innumerable. The landscape of the organizations and brave humans working to make a difference is also constantly changing.

As such, this resources page can only ever be a living document that evolves over time. If you see something missing (or incorrect) on this page, please let me know about it at ashley @ confessionsofagroceryaddict.com using the subject line "resources page." I pledge to keep this page as current and up to date as possible!

I also hope that each of you who visits this little corner of the internet starts having conversations about Food Justice—even if only with friends and family to start! To further the aims of the Food Justice movement, we need creative thinkers from all walks of life working toward solutions.

I humbly admit that I certainly don't have the answers—or perhaps even the right questions—but I'm willing to seek them with you. Here's to believing we can make a better, more righteous world together.

With love, hope and gratitude,

Ashley

What Does "Food Justice" Mean?

The term "food justice" encompasses many different aspects of our food system and can often be tricky to define. In fact, to my knowledge there isn't a single, unified definition of what it actually means.

At its core, I believe those of us who speak of food justice wish to create an equitable food system whereby people have the right to grow, harvest, create, distribute, access, and, most importantly, eat tasty and nutritious food.

If that sounds simple, it decidedly isn't. Food justice covers a broad range of complicated issues, from deeply entrenched socio-economic inequalities and food insecurity to land disputes and environmental justice.

This particular definition of Food Justice sums it up well:

The Food Justice movement envisions a food system that is inclusive, community-led and participatory, without the exploitation of people, land, or the environment. It identifies and acts to remove the significant structural inequities that exist within our food and economic systems. Food Justice activists seek to establish healthy, resilient communities with equitable access to nourishing and culturally appropriate food."
Portland / Multnomah Food Policy Council

As far as I can tell, the study of food insecurity, food laborers, land disputes, environmental justice, socioeconomic disparities, urban farming, public policy, and even cooking are part of the broader study of Food Justice. As such, I have sub-divided the Community Resources section to reflect these areas of specialization to the best of my ability.

List #1: Community Resources

Here you'll find links to posts with information on organizations that are actively working in the vast landscape of food justice.

Please note that this is an ongoing project—there's more to come! If you know of any organizations that should be plugged in here, please let me know in the comments below. I will continue adding new posts to fill out all 7 branches of the food justice movement.

1. Food Insecurity

2. Food Workers

List #2: For Your Library

If you're looking to learn more about Food Justice, or you are looking for more resources to slash your food budget, you've come to the right place! Here is a list of my favorite Books, Articles, Online Publications, and Documentaries about Food Justice.

See something missing?? Email me at ashley @ confessionsofagroceryaddict.com with the subject line "Resources Page".

Books on Food Insecurity & Food Justice

I am far from the first writer to want to get involved in the fight for food justice. If you want to know more about our food system or why we need to change it, any of these rousing works are a great place to start. PRO TIP: See if your library has any of these titles available. I particularly like using the Libby App for e-books on demand!

Please note that as part of the Amazon affiliates program, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance Between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups

How To Use This Page

I Need Your Help

What Does "Food Justice" Mean?

List #1: Community Resources

1. Food Insecurity

2. Food Workers

List #2: For Your Library

Books on Food Insecurity & Food Justice

Publications & Documentaries About Food Justice

List #3: Budget Cooking

Budget-Friendly Cooking on YouTube

Budget-Friendly Cookbooks

Other Awesome Cookbooks

Budget-Friendly Cooking Podcasts

Budget-Friendly Cooking Blogs

More Community Resources

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