Organization/ProgramMembers:

NoFilter
HannahBiggs,SpencerMohr,RachelSchelhaas,JacobMeyer

Describethesocialissue.
ThecurrentfoodlandscapeoftheUnitedStatesrevealsthatcompleteenvironmental
justicestillremainsoutofreach.Fooddeserts,whichareareaswithlimitedaccesstonutritional
foodoptions,arescatteredthroughouttheUnitedStatesandareevenpresentinsomeofour
largestcities..Foodinsecurityisatanalltimehigh,despitetheendoftheGreatRecession
anddespitetheparallelgrowthoffederalnutritionprograms(Nord).Alackofsupermarketsin
agivenareatendstoleadtotheriseofotherfoodproviderssuchasconveniencestoresandfast
foodrestaurants.However,withoutsupermarkets,buyersdonothaveaccesstothenutritionally
richfoodthatisnecessaryforsustainingphysicalhealth.Thisisanissuethatisdeeplyhurting
communities,familiesandindividuals.
AccesstohealthyaffordablefoodintheSouthEastEndNeighborhoodofGrandRapids,
MIislimitedanditdoesnthavetobe.Fooddesertsoccurbecauseofmanyotherissues
simultaneouslyoccurring.

LackofAccess:
Themainissuewithfooddesertsisthatindividuals,groupsandfamiliesdonothaveadequate
accesstothenutritiontheyneedtolivebalancedlives.Withoutadequateaccesstofoodother
issuesbegintooccur.Forinstance,thefactthatfooddesertsdirectlyimpactsacommunity's
health.Manyissuesregardingaccessareduetogeographicinequality.

DemandsofFreeMarketCapitalismonConvenienceStores&GroceryStores:
Conveniencestoresinfooddesertsarealsoimpactedbecausethereisahigherdemandforfood.

LimitedTransportation:
Withlimitedtransportationmanypeoplehavetotravellongdistanceswithgreatinconvenience
justtoobtainfood.Thisinconvenienceinfluencesindividualstoturntoeasieroptionslikelocal
conveniencestores.AccordingtotheCenterforDiseaseControlandPrevention,Apoor
transportationsystemcutsoffaccesstomanyfoodoutletsespeciallyforthosewhodonot
ownacarorhavenoaccesstoreliableandaffordablepublictransportation.Improving
transportationoptionstoandfromsuchfoodsourcesassupermarketsandfarmers
marketsincreasesacommunity'saccesstohealthyfoods.

LackofEducation:
Someoftheseindividualsobtainingmoreconvenientfoodhavenothadaccesstonutritional
educationandthusdonotknowthestrainthatthesefoodsputontheirbodies.

LimitedIncome:
Manyoftheseconvenientfoodsarealsoinexpensiveandindividualswithlowerincomesare
morelikelytospendtheirincomeonotherotherprioritiesratherthannutritionalmeals.
Populationstudiesshowtherearecleardifferencesinsocialclasseswithregardtofood
andnutrientintakes.Lowincomegroupsinparticular,haveagreatertendencytoconsume
unbalanceddietsandhavelowintakesoffruitandvegetables(DeIralaEstevez,Groth,
Johansson,Oltersdorf,PrattalaR&MartinezGonzalez2000).

Whichpopulationsareaffected?
Whilefooddesertscanappearinavarietyoflocationsandforavarietyofreasons,
researchshowsthattheytendtohavethegreatestimpactonurbanenvironments,lowincome
communities,andcommunitieswithalargepopulationofethnicminorities.StudiesfromNew
York,TexasandCalifornia,revealthatLatinoandAfricanAmericanpopulationsarebyfarthe
groupsthataremostimpactedbythelackoffoodavailability.(Hilmers,Hilmers,Dave,2012)
Thesepopulationsaremorelikelytobeimpactedbyfooddesertsthanotherpopulations
becausetheytendtoliveinlowerincomeareaswherethereisahigherconcentrationoffastfood
restaurantsandconveniencestores.Theselowerincomecommunitiesarelesslikelytohave
accesstothehealthyfoodoptionspresentedbylargergrocerystoresandfarmersmarketsthat
catertowealthiercommunities.Thismeansthatpeoplefromtheselowincomecommunities
havetotravelagreaterdistancetoaccesshealthyfoodandaremorelikelytosettleforcheaper
andcloseroptionsthatarelesshealthy.

Whattypeofinequalityispresent?

Theinequalityismainlyinstitutional.Theissueisinstitutionalbecauseahistoryof
racismandclassismaffectedpoliciesandattitudesthatleadtoneighborhoodsegregation.
Althoughcurrentpoliciesarenotindividuallyracistorclassisttheyaffectindividualsandgroups
withunintentionalbyproducts.Outofthishistory,cultureshavedevelopedaroundsegregated
neighborhoodsandunhealthyeatinghabits.Becauseoflackofaccess,acultureofunhealthy
eatinghabitsisperpetuatedbymembersofthecommunitybecomingaccustomedtosurvivingon
unhealthyfood.

Howwillyourorganizationorprogramaddresstheinequalityandissuesidentified?

OurOrganization

Ourorganization,NoFilter,isasocialenterpriselocatedintheSouthEastEnd
CommunityneighborhoodofGrandRapids.Wemaintainacommunitygardenlocatedoutsideof
oneoftheneighborhoodschools.Wealsorunasmallbusinesssellingaquaponicsystemsto
peopleinneighborhoodsthroughoutthelargerGrandRapidsarea.Becauseofourlocation,we
areabletopartnerwiththeschoolandintegrateeducationaboutfoodjusticeintothelearningof
studentsandparents.Students,parents,andcommunitymembersalsohaveanopportunitytobuy
theproducefromthegarden.Wealsoemployteenagersfromthecommunityoverthesummerto
workasinternsinthegardenandtosellaquaponicsystems,meanwhilelearningabouthealthy,
sustainablefood.Themoneyearnedflowsbackintotheorganizationsothatwecancontinueto
maintainthegarden,payinterns,andpurchasematerialsnecessarytobuildtheaquaponic
systems.

HowItAddressestheIssues

LimitedTransportation:
Thegardeniscentrallylocatedwithintheneighborhoodandshouldbewithinwalkingorbiking
distanceformostpeople.Theaquaponicsystemsareportable,simpletosetup,andcanbe
easilymaintainedwithinindividualhouseholds.

LimitedIncome:
Wewillofferdiscountsuponapplicationforcasesofextremefinancialneed,sothatnooneis
excluded.Thatsaid,wearenotacharitymodelandwillaffirmthedignityofourneighborsby
reflectingtherealvalueofourproductinitsprice.

Demandsoffreemarketcapitalismonconveniencestoresandgrocerystores:
Wedonotcompetedirectlywithconveniencestores,weofferanalternative.Throughoursocial
enterprisemodel,weencouragesocialjusticeaswellasprofitseeking.

GeographicInequality:
Wearebringingsustainablefoodtothefooddesertandthebroadercommunityalike.By
educatingeachother,weencourageeachothertobemoreactive,participativecitizensandto
gainskillstospeakoutaboutthefoodinjusticewesee.Wearealsoencouragingeachotherto
crossneighborhoodbordersbysellingoursystemsoutsideoftheneighborhoodandpreparing
kidsandinternstoapplytheknowledgetheygainwherevertheygo.

LackofEducation:
Thestudents,parents,andinternslearnmoreaboutsustainablefoodandfoodjusticethroughthe
workofthegardenandtheinternshipprogram.Werebreakingdownstereotypesaboutwhoeats
what.Werealsobreakingthecycleofeatingwhatwevealwayseaten.

HowItAddressestheLevelsofInequality

Institutional:
Eventhoughaccesstofoodisnotillegalordirectlyrestricted,thesystemisdesignedinsucha
waythatsomegroupsarelesslikelytogetgoodfood.AlisonHopeAlkon,JulianAgyeman,
authorsofCultivatingFoodJustice:Race,Class,andSustainability,says,institutionalracism
cancreatebothecologicaldegradationandhumanhunger(AlkonandAgyeman,2011).
Ourorganizationaddressesthisissueofaccess.

Whatdoyouexpectyourorganizationorprogramtoaccomplish?Howwillyoumeasure
progressorsuccess?

NoFilter,isanorganizationthatismeanttobringhealthierfoodintoacommunitywith
productsoflittlenutritionalvalue.Wehaveseveraldifferentgoalsthatwillallowthecommunity
tohaveasufficientsupplyofvegetablesfortheirfamilies.Thefirstgoal,issellingaquaponic
systems.Aquaponicsystemsaregardensthatareselfsustainingecosystems.Fewsuppliesare
neededtomakeagardensuchasthisandthefarmerisabletoproduceahigheryieldincrop
becauseaquaponicspermitsfarmertobemoreefficientwithwateruse,tocontrolheat
andnutrition,andtoprotectcropsfromdiseases(Salam,2014).Creatingaquaponicgardens
canbeexpensive.However,wecreatedanapplicationtodiscountthepriceoftheaquaponic
systems.Thiswillallowfamiliesfromalldifferentfinancialbackgroundstopurchasean
aquaponicgardentobeginproducingtheirownvegetablesathome.

Itisalsopossiblethatanaquaponicsystemcouldallowthefamiliestogainasmall
incomefromthesegardens.Becausethegardensproducesuchahighyieldofproduce,the
familiesmaynotbeabletoconsumeallthevegetablesthattheyhaveplanted.Thiswillallow
themtoselltheirvegetablestolocalneighborsorevencreatearoadsidestandwhereindividuals
drivingthroughcanpulloverandpurchasetheirfreshlygrownproduce.Themoneythatthese
familiesmakewillbefortheirprofittohelppaybillsandotherexpensesthattheymayhavein
theirhousehold.

Secondly,wehopetoestablishalargecommunitygardenatalocalelementaryschoolin
theSouthEastEndneighborhood.Thisgardenprovidesanumberofdifferentopportunitiesfor
thecommunity,butalsoforthestudentsattheschool.Withhavinganaturalgarden,students

willbeabletoexperiencehandsonlearningaboutecosystemsanddifferentaspectsofbiology..
Thisgardenwillbealearningtoolforstudentsinthecommunity,butitwillalsoserveasamain
accesspointforthecommunitytopartakeinvolunteerworktogether.Throughthecommunity
gardenwehopetocreatevegetablesthatwecanselltothelocalcommunityatverylowprices.If
afamilywasunabletogrowacertainvegetableinthehomeaquaponicgarden,theywillhave
theopportunitytobuyitthroughthelocalcommunitygarden.Thiswillgiveeveryonemore
accesstoalargervarietyofvegetablesratherthanhavingthemtrytogroweverythingathome.

Tomakesurethatourprogramissuccessful,wehopetoincludeourcommunityinthe
futureplanningofourorganization.Thiswouldconsistofatownhallmeetingandallows
individualstospeakinfrontofourBoardofDirectors.Thiswillallowustobecomemore
involvedinthecommunity,butalsotoseehowwecanbetterservethecommunityasNoFilter.

Inordertoavoidthesituationinwhichprivileged,wellintentionedpeoplecreatean
organizationorprogramthatdevaluesthediversityandhumanityofthedisadvantage
grouptheydesiretohelp,weencourageallgrantapplicantstoconsiderhowthisdynamic
willbehandled.Provideanyadditionalinformationwhichdemonstratestheorganization
orprogramsvalueofdiversityandhumanity.

Nofilterseekstoemployinternswithinthecommunitythatitserves.Theseinternswill
bepaidandtrainedintheareasofaquaponics,gardening,andnutrition.Theseinternswould
havetheoptionforlongertermemploymentwithourorganization.Becausetheinternsarefrom
thecommunitytheywillhaveconnectionswithintoassistinpromotingourorganizationbut
moreimportantlytorepresentthevoicesanddiversityoftheSouthEastcommunity.Indoingso
moreindividualsofdiversebackgroundswillbeinvitedtohavebuyinintoourorganization.

Ourorganizationalsoseekstopartnerwithaschoolinthecommunitytobuild
relationshipswithstaffandstudents.Indoingsostudentswillplayalargeroleinmaintainingthe
communitygarden.Wewillalsotraininterestedstaffaboutaquaponicstothenpassonthis
informationtotheirstudents.Inthiswaywewillhavesomeonealreadyconnectedtothestudents
andthecommunityeducatingratherthanhavinguscomeintodoso.
These


Bibliography

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DeIralaEstevezJ,GrothM,JohanssonL,OltersdorfU,PrattalaR&MartinezGonzalezMA
(2000)AsystematicreviewofsocioeconomicdifferencesinfoodhabitsinEurope:
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HealthyPlaces(n.d.).InCentersforDiseaseControl&Prevention.RetrievedMay7,2016.

Hilmers,A.,Hilmers,D.C.,&Dave,J.(2012).NeighborhoodDisparitiesinAccesstoHealthy

FoodsandTheirEffectsonEnvironmentalJustice.AmericanJournal

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Nord,Mark,andAnneMarie.Golla.DoesSNAPDecreaseFoodInsecurity?:
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InnovationandAppliedStudies,7(3),941946.Web.