At Misfits Market, we’re always thinking about how we can improve the food system for everyone—especially as Black History Month wraps up. But fighting for food justice isn’t just a month-long effort—there’s years of work ahead.
In our 2021 Annual Report, we pledged to eradicate food apartheid in America by 2025. From farmland dispossession to supermarket redlining to diet-related chronic health conditions, a system of food apartheid has been built along racially segregated lines. And because the production, distribution, and consumption of food in this country is inextricably linked to issues of race, our pledge is also one for racial justice.
The work starts with acknowledging the role that systems play in creating the conditions for inequitable food access in this country, but that’s just the beginning. In 2022, we doubled down on our commitment to end food apartheid by underscoring our focus on affordability, accessibility, and sustainability. We’re closing the food insecurity gap by offering a wide selection of affordable groceries to customers and lowering the barrier to accessing high-quality groceries by delivering to nearly every zip code in the 48 contiguous states. Last year, we launched our loyalty program, debuted our first private-label line, and introduced more than 1,500 new products to bring more variety to our store. All in an effort to bring more food to more people—no matter where they live.
Sources: RePEc, Feeding America, UCI.edu, The Counter, Nutrition Studies
Inspiration: The Nation
Comments (9)
Thank you for your leadership on this. Words matter and your radical work is so needed across the country!
We are more than happy to use our platform to bring issues like this to the table. Definitely things we need to talk more about. ????
Thank you for posting about food justice and food apartheid. I wonder if there are opportunities to collaborate with Native-led organizations as well to address food apartheid affecting Native people stemming from colonialism and destruction of Native foodways too.
This is a great suggestion, Lydia! We will definitely pass this along to our team to look into this further. Thank you so much! ????
Thank you for highlighting food injustice that affects people of color (Black, Hispanic & Natives in my area) as well as most folks living in poverty- whatever their race or ethnicity.
Of course, Ann! We are more than happy to use our platform to bring issues like this to the table. Definitely things we need to talk more about. ????
Nothing useful to add.
Its a poverty issue…. the more you make it about race, the longer we ALLL will be “oppressed” from living in unity.
Thank you
If we do not want to be defined by our skin color excedra, then stop saying the race, the color of skin! We all bleed the same color, weather, green, yellow, pink, tan, pale……..
We have Veterans that are homeless, freezing, dieing, no food. Let’s start in our own homes & fix those issues, then move out to helping neighbors, then bighorn, then Cities, County’s, States, we have lost our values, morals……. We are trying to place blame on race, color, sexual preference, We All Need Help at some point in our lives! So while you can, you be the starter to reach out to someone who needs help no matter what, where, how or the color they are! Just help a human just like we are all humans!