ProblemNorth Side Food Landscape Heading west on North Avenue, a history of struggle unfolds. It is layered, but undeniable. In all cities, the difference between safety and struggle is relative, more complicated than the black and white, but the lines between neighborhoods in Milwaukee are bold, made bolder by its physical characteristics.
The East Side, home to students, working professionals, and well-to-do families lies between Lake and River and has never been touched by rapid, caustic development, but west, crossing the bridge over the Milwaukee River, the typical scene changes instantly. The river is a bold boundary, the bridges portals to a different life. Further along, the destruction done by the insertion of I-43 into residential neighborhoods lingers. On the map, the only indication of what once stood are the streets running east and west, dead ending in the hole that was once a string of lively neighborhoods. Heading west on North Avenue, the ripples of the closing of manufacturers nearly thirty years ago continue. In 1970, manufacturing accounted for nearly 36% of Milwaukee's job market, compared to today's 10%.¹ Those families and their communities still haven't recovered, many of them centralized in this area west of the River. Food Desert Status A Food Desert is "a low-income tract with at least 500 people, or 33% of the population, living more than 1 mile (urban areas) or more than 20 miles (rural areas) from the nearest supermarket, supercenter, or large grocery store." [1]
Technically, neither Sherman Park nor Washington Park are Food Deserts due to a single Pick'nSave supermarket in the area. Instead people have taken to declaring the neighborhoods as Food Swamps. The idea being that there is indeed some food accessible, but very little if any is wholesome or nutritious. The Problem With More Supermarkets Much of the available food on North Avenue between Kilbourn Reservoir Park and 51st Street is sold by corner stores, whose primary sales go to tobacco. A large portion of the remaining establishments include fast food restaurants.
There are groups in these neighborhoods petitioning for a new grocery store, but this solution is not holistic. Supermarkets are stakeholders in this, too. They rely on constant sales throughout the month and volume to turn enough profit to remain. According to the Food Marketing Institute⁵, supermarkets averaged less than 2% profit after taxes in 2015. In a recent study by economists across several universities, they reveal that the availability of food alone does not impact choices. "Opening new supermarkets has little impact on the eating habits of people in low-income neighborhoods: even when residents do buy groceries from the new supermarkets, they buy products of the same low nutritional value."⁶ Washington Park and Sherman Park are not food deserts according to the USDA, though it may be apparent when compared with more affluent neighborhoods that good food is hardly easy to come by. There is another issue lurking further in the shadows of the struggle for food in these neighborhoods; neighbors here have been deprived of quality, wholesome food for so long, that the knowledge typically passed between generations and between friends has been lost. This lost knowledge is that of proper nutrition, of planting and harvesting, of preparation and recipes for all the 'good' food that these areas need. Supermarkets can stock mountains of produce, but simply providing kale doesn't mean anyone will know how to cook with it, which means no one will buy it. The problem in Milwaukee's low income neighborhoods is not a singular one of food access, but food literacy. Lifetime Effect's of Limited Food Access Reoccurring, serious health issues from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, to reproductive concerns, and even mental health are all byproducts of repeatedly eating greasy, sugary, fried fast foods.
Health on Milwaukee's North Side click here Along with sever health issues, a lack of access to raw food material can keep community members from cooking homemade meals, and enjoying the sense of identity cooking and food can bring. Some may feel a loss of identity from the loss of cultural cooking practices because they can not purchase the food necessary. However, Sherman Park and Washington Park residents have refused to accept starving in a urban desert, and are instead actively participating in strategies to redefine their neighborhood as no longer a Food Desert but a Food Destination. Brief History of Urban Farming/Gardening in Milwaukee Even before Wisconsin official claimed statehood, agriculture was a means of livelihood in the area today called Milwaukee. Milwaukee’s new inhabitant’s, early European settlers, built up thriving markets such as in Haymarket Square and the Center Street Market. Even by the early 1900’s, the concept of beautifying the city was appearing across the nation. In Milwaukee the City Beautiful movement partnered with another practical problem in the city, the need for further accessibility of food. A city farmer, Dr. S.D. Mischoff declared, “beautify the vacant lots of Milwaukee by amateur gardening, " addressing both issues at once. Milwaukee’s residents took to their citizen gardening like guardians serving and protecting the community as a whole.
"Beautify the vacant lots of Milwaukee by amateur gardening." -Dr. S.D. Mischoff, Milwaukee City Farmer Gardening would continue to be a strategy successfully implemented by the people of Milwaukee through both World Wars. As the agriculture industry suffered due to a loss of workers and a need for war rations, growing one’s own food or extra food became an invaluable skill. Milwaukee’s residents were known for their successful war gardens during WWI, as well as their strong participation in the Victory gardens movement of WWII, which continues today across the city. These Victory Gardens, maintained by everyday citizens were typically 20-30 feet large. [2] "At this time households growing their own sustainable food grew from 30.2% to 54.8%, over half the city's population assisted in the supplying food at this crucial time in history." - Carriere, Growing Place: A Visual Study of Urban Farming, Grohmann Museum 2009 After the end of the wars, the urgent need to garden one’s own food ebbed. Gardening around Milwaukee transformed into a mere hobby instead of an obligation or a commitment to one’s community. By the 1960’s gardening became a luxury for those with extra time and the extra resources to join social clubs such as the Milwaukee Urban League, 4-H Clubs, or the University of Wisconsin-Extension program based in Wauwatosa. Although these clubs may not have been accessible to all people, they did strive to continue community gardening for those in less developed portions of the city. Specifically the large African-American population on Milwaukee’s north side who were feeling the loss of deindustrialization the hardest. Community gardening would once again be implemented to “teach city dwellers valuable skills and provide the with a tangible, useful product – healthy food.” [3] Since the 1970's community gardening programs have come and gone, growing out of the Park West Freeway protests and the newer waves of Asian-American immigrants moving to the north side of Milwaukee. All the below Milwaukee based urban gardening programs share a common goal of social justice and community building, many of which still exhibit today in and near the Sherman/Washington Park Neighborhoods. |
SolutionFood Entrepreneurs The following is a compendium of various individuals involved in transforming this food landscape, through the application of garden, business, and advocacy. Together their actions embolden the community to resist the lingering disinvestment. They are presented here as gardeners, producers, and activists.
Community RestaurantsWhere to Find and Buy Healthy, Wholesome Food Options:
Local Restaurants:
What Does Food Mean to You? What Can Food Mean to a Community? Food is a substance to fuel a healthy, hardy physical body, but it is also a window to varying cultures from different families to different nationalities food is a part of a person's identity. Flavor preferences and cook tactics are honored traditions to be cherished and rejoiced. Cooking is a social events as well as a self-reflective tool to honor yourself, your heritage, and your current community.
Food can both demonstrate human variation as well as serving as a contact zone bringing diverse neighbors together over breaking bread. For example, click here to learn more about Tables Across Boarders, and how local restaurants are aiding new immigrant chefs, supporting both individuals and their families, as well as the larger community as a whole through community food and community kitchens. Resources
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