Since last summer’s protests for Black Lives Matter and against police brutality, I’ve been trying to better educate myself on how to be anti-racist. Not just “not racist,” but actively working to understand the root causes that keep systematic inequality in progress.
I really wanted to be able to apply this to my business, as well, since activism, advocacy, and education are such big parts of my personal life — so Food Justice Fridays were born. Every Friday on Instagram, instead of sharing my own OliveJess content, I share a resource or organization working to create better accessibility, equity, and autonomy for nutritious food in all communities.
That said, I’d like to share one of the orgs I care a lot about: MAZON: The Jewish Response to Hunger. Their advocacy work covers both the change needed at the policy level (aka legislation!) and direct services to ensure that no one in the U.S. falls through the cracks due to a lack of resources. To MAZON, hunger is a political — not a situational — concern.
While it’s wonderful that President Biden has signed an executive order to extend SNAP benefits for all qualifying households because of the pandemic, we need to ensure that working single moms, senior citizens, and Indigenous populations receive enough benefits to cover their food needs. Source
MAZON’s website also has an incredibly moving digital experience about experiencing hunger in America. I had the opportunity to visit an in-person immersive, walkthrough version of the exhibit a few years ago when it stopped in LA. I highly recommend it to enhance your understanding of food access as a political movement. Source
