GOOD FOOD IN A STARVING NEIGHBORHOOD
The drive west on Milwaukee's North Avenue can be a startling one as the history of struggle unfolds plainly with the streetscape. Among all of the differences between the East Side and the neighborhoods west of the Milwaukee River, one of the most apparent is the sudden scarcity of food. There are, however, two sides to every coin, and a quick survey of North Avenue would show a plethora of options. On the five mile stretch between Kilbourn Reservoir Park and 51st Street, I counted nearly 30 businesses offering food. In some ways, you can see why the USDA finds it hard to believe that anyone is starving in these neighborhoods.
Yet, by simply considering everything that is 'edible' we lose sight of quality, which is just as important if not more important than the issue of access. 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 is now a problem of food literacy, not one of access. It's one challenge to get to the store every week, but another to pull together a wholesome meal when you've never done so before. By wholesome, I refer to total well-being, which includes both nutrition and security, which comes from stable relationships. Food is a powerful link in community and family relationships, at all points in the process and on all scales - and some of these struggling neighborhoods need the latter benefit of good food. To step back from food for a moment, Milwaukee has it's share of issues with poverty and crime. I suggest that these are community-based issues more than anything. Jane Jacobs wrote in 1961 that having 'eyes on the street'¹ would alleviate some of these problems and make for safer neighborhoods. This was not a suggestion to post sentries on every corner or to expand the police force - but one looking for community and stability. I have seen that food has the ability to create that community: at the point of production with urban gardening and local farmers; at the point of preparation with cooking workshops; at the point of consuming, when friends and neighbors share a table. COMMUNITY RESTAURANTS
There are two types of food establishments in a neighborhood. First, a type that spurs excitement from developers and ushers in a force of displacement in unstable communities. It is the kind that prices out neighbors or caters to a style not yet inhabiting the area. Here, food can be a place of divergence. It is a tricky thing. The second is a type that feeds the community present and becomes part of the neighborhood as it is. As part of this research, I spoke with business owners of two cafes active in Sherman Park and Washington Park - one on North Avenue, Rev. Christie Melby-Gibbons of Tricklebee Café, and one just four blocks south on Lisbon Avenue, Dave Boucher of Amaranth Bakery. Both fall into this second category. |
JESSICA SHERLOCK | M.ARCH
UWM SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING |
NOTES
1 Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (New York: Random House, 1961).
2 Christie Melby-Gibbons, conversation with author, March 20, 2018.
3 Dave Boucher, conversation with author, March 21, 2018.
1 Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities (New York: Random House, 1961).
2 Christie Melby-Gibbons, conversation with author, March 20, 2018.
3 Dave Boucher, conversation with author, March 21, 2018.
FURTHER INFORMATION
PRINT
Alkon, Alison Hope and Julian Agyeman. Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class, and Sustainability. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2011.
Cockrall-King, Jennifer. Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution. New York: Prometheus Books, 2012.
Freeman, Andrea. "Fast Food: Oppression through Poor Nutrition." California Law Review 95, no. 6 (Winter 2007).
https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1198&context=californialawreview.
Green, Gary Paul and Rhonda G. Phillips. Local Food and Community Development. New York: Routledge, 2013.
Sutton, David E.. Remembrance of Repasts. An Anthropology of Food and Memory. New York: Berg, 2001.
Winne, Marc. Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty. Boston: Beacon Press, 2008.
ARTICLE
Mackenzie, Annah. "Beyond Food: Community Gardens as Places of Connection and Empowerment." Project For Public Spaces. Last modified March 1, 2016.
https://www.pps.org/article/beyond-food-community-gardens-as-places-of-connection-and-empowerment.
Alkon, Alison Hope and Julian Agyeman. Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class, and Sustainability. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2011.
Cockrall-King, Jennifer. Food and the City: Urban Agriculture and the New Food Revolution. New York: Prometheus Books, 2012.
Freeman, Andrea. "Fast Food: Oppression through Poor Nutrition." California Law Review 95, no. 6 (Winter 2007).
https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1198&context=californialawreview.
Green, Gary Paul and Rhonda G. Phillips. Local Food and Community Development. New York: Routledge, 2013.
Sutton, David E.. Remembrance of Repasts. An Anthropology of Food and Memory. New York: Berg, 2001.
Winne, Marc. Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty. Boston: Beacon Press, 2008.
ARTICLE
Mackenzie, Annah. "Beyond Food: Community Gardens as Places of Connection and Empowerment." Project For Public Spaces. Last modified March 1, 2016.
https://www.pps.org/article/beyond-food-community-gardens-as-places-of-connection-and-empowerment.