Some Like it Fresh: A Systemic Approach to Food Sovereignty in South Los Angeles
Open Access
Author:
English, Katherine Marie
Area of Honors:
Architecture
Degree:
Bachelor of Architecture
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Christine Lee Gorby, Thesis Supervisor Scott W Wing, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
food insecurity Los Angeles community development food desert self-sufficiency empowerment
Abstract:
Recent studies conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have shown that about fifteen percent (15%) of households in the United States are classified as “food insecure.” This issue is often caused by lack of resources both at the level of the individual person and also as a function of their environment. The U.S. Federal government has created food assistance programs to address the economics of this issue but only function as temporary solutions to a multidimensional problem. Los Angeles, California is uniquely situated within 200 miles of the Central Valley, containing one-third of the total farmland in the U.S., while also home to the highest concentration of food insecure people in the country at 1.7 million people. The industrialization of the food system has not only changed the food we eat, but has also transformed our cities food landscapes. These spaces are not only disconnected from the food they serve and make available, but also from the context in which they exist.
