“Normal” Lunch in a Pandemic: Shining a Spotlight on Chicago Public Schools' Food
My reflection on CPS school lunch during the pandemic was published in Gastronomica, 20.3, the special issue on "Food in the Time of Covid-19." PDF download is available from the link.
The pandemic once again reminds us that the access to food is a fundamental human right. And I want to reiterate that it is a *human* right - what we eat and how we eat is the basis of our dignity as human. It is not just feeding and stuffing. It is about identities, it is about communities, it is about cultures, and therefore, it is about politics. All articles in this issue tackle with this big question from different angles. Please read them, and let's discuss and act together.
The pandemic once again reminds us that the access to food is a fundamental human right. And I want to reiterate that it is a *human* right - what we eat and how we eat is the basis of our dignity as human. It is not just feeding and stuffing. It is about identities, it is about communities, it is about cultures, and therefore, it is about politics. All articles in this issue tackle with this big question from different angles. Please read them, and let's discuss and act together.
“Normal” Lunch in a Pandemic: Shining a Spotlight on Chicago Public Schools' Food
Gastronomica (2020) 20 (3): 70–71.
"Inequity intensifies in the midst of crisis and forces everyone to acknowledge the structural racism and classism
of “normality.” We must seriously reconsider our current
social system, which ties basic social services to protect
children’s human rights, including nutrition, to public
schools. The delay of CPS’s school closure decision forced
students, teachers, and staff to remain in schools, thus taking additional health risks, which could have been avoided
if educational opportunity and nutrition services were not
intertwined in our public school system. Until schools are
no longer burdened with hunger and poverty, we must also
improve school food quality for the families who do not
have a choice."