For many people, good food is their love language. For me and many others who identify as a cultural or ethnic minority, food is a critical part of our identities.
One of the main reasons I applied for the bilingual Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program facilitator role at the Union Square Farmers Market is because I believe language and culture should never be a barrier to good food.
For eight years, donations from our neighbors, local businesses and market vendors have helped fund our impactful Snap match program, which provides much-needed language access to our nutrition assistance program customers. On any given market day, you can find our staff translating in one of five languages we speak for Snap customers.
Now more than ever, we need community support. I have watched the market grow – and with it, the number of Snap matches. Since 2019, we have weathered an astounding 455 percent increase in demand for the market match.
The market has been a community centerpiece and gathering space for more than two decades. More importantly, thanks to the overwhelming support for the Good Food For All campaign, it has become an intersection for cultural foodways in the heart of our community – the term used in anthropology to specifically describe the cultural, social, and economic practices surrounding the production and consumption of food.
What we eat, how we eat it, and who we eat with reveals a lot more about our identities and cultural background than you would expect.
Maintaining a connection to and practicing one’s cultural foodways have been proven to improve personal well-being through decreased stress, increased sense of belonging and safety. In fact, accessing cultural foodways is often mentioned by immigrants as a way to feel connected to their home culture.
As you can imagine, this is easier said than done, particularly for low-income individuals who are already facing food insecurity. Many cultural dishes require specific, fresh ingredients that are typically expensive and difficult to find, and low-income minorities often face additional barriers when accessing food assistance programs such as Snap.
I have become familiar with many of our Snap customers as they introduce the joy of the market to friends and family. I have also noticed our vendors diversify their offerings to include culturally relevant produce such as okra, loofah and bok choy.
One of my favorite moments last season was when I exchanged recipes for pea shoots with a customer and one of our farmers while waiting to check out. Good Food For All is the reason this is all possible.
It is now on all of us to keep this program going to best serve our vulnerable neighbors.
Claudia Chung
The writer has been the Union Square Farmers Market bilingual Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program facilitator since 2022.
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Farmers markets fill a useful niche in the grocery ecosystem, but they often carry a premium price. How do prices at this farmers market compare to other options in the area, for example Market Basket? If the goal is to reduce food insecurity, it’s important to make sure that funds are expended in a way that improves the situation for as many people as possible.