This lecture examines systemic inequalities that limit urban communities—especially low-income and marginalized groups—from accessing healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant food. It discusses how historical policies, economic disinvestment, and racial segregation shaped today’s food deserts and health disparities.

It highlights how grassroots movements, community gardens, local food cooperatives, and policy reform can foster equity and food sovereignty. Ultimately, the talk advocates for shifting from charity-based approaches to structural change, affirming that every resident deserves nourishing food and the right to shape their local food systems.

Recommended Resources

Books

• Food Justice – Robert Gottlieb & Anupama Joshi
• Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement – Monica M. White
• The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience and Farming – Natasha Bowens
• Building Community Food Webs – Ken Meter
• Feeding the City: Work and Food Culture of the Mumbai Dabbawalas – Sara Roncaglia

Academic Articles & Journals

• Food Apartheid: The Root of the Problem is Racism – Leah Penniman, YES! Magazine
• Unequal Access to Food: The Challenge of Food Deserts in American Cities – Journal of Urban Affairs
• Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class, and Sustainability – Edited by Alison Hope Alkon & Julian Agyeman
• Growing Food and Justice for All: Diversity, Food Justice, and Community Engagement – Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

Reports & Toolkits

• Healthy Food Policy Project – Center for Agriculture & Food Systems
• The Grocery Gap: Who Has Access to Healthy Food and Why It Matters – PolicyLink & The Food Trust
• From the Ground Up: Inspiring Community-Based Food Justice Projects – FoodShare Toronto

Speaker Bio: Ahndrea L. Blue (Esquire – President & CEO)

Ahndrea is the Founder, President, and CEO of the Making A Difference Foundation (MADF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit she established in 2003.

Prior to forming MADF, she served as Washington State’s Governor’s Executive Policy Advisor and Legal Counsel, served as Chief Operating Officer at the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and worked as an attorney at Lee, Smart, Cook, Martin & Patterson in Seattle.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies and Society & Justice and a Juris Doctor (J.D.), both from the University of Washington.

Ahndrea has received numerous professional and scholastic honors, including:

• Thomas Nevelle Pro Bono Award
• Derrick Bell Academic Achievement Award
• Earl Warren Legal Academic Achievement Scholarship
• National Black Philanthropist of the Year (2008)
• Ford Freedom’s Sisters Civil Rights Award (2012)
• Jefferson “Public Service” Award (2011)
• Many others themadf.org

She has also held leadership and affiliate roles with organizations such as:

• Washington Food Coalition
• Food Lifeline Coalition
• New Futures
• Washington State Bar Association (diversity committee)
• NAACP Seattle Branch
• Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
  ...among many others themadf.org

Ahndrea’s purpose is deeply rooted in her faith and passion for service: “Her purpose in life is to make a difference in the lives of others. She credits her faith in God, and her loving and supporting family and friends for her success”