CUNY Law 1L Maria Brinkmann reflects on her inspiration to attend law school.
With great excitement, Bryan, 12, recited for me every step of his recent home-cooking adventure: preparing Plant Part Salad with Strawberry-Lemon Dressing, a dish he learned to make in school from ingredients grown in the school garden.
But he had to make some substitutions: “I couldn’t find the things we grow in the garden in the bodega, so I changed it up.” The statement wasn’t apologetic—more matter-of-fact.
Bryan is a smart, quick-witted seventh grader at M.S. 7, in East Harlem, who loves basketball and moonwalks on request. When Edible Schoolyard NYC arrived at his school two years ago, he discovered a new passion: cooking. He and his classmates also quickly saw the inequities in our food system when it came to accessing healthy and sustainable food in low-income communities.
Edible Schoolyard NYC launched its signature experiential food education program at P.S./M.S. 7 in 2013, and Bryan and his classmates welcomed it with enthusiasm.
The organization operates programs in six New York City public schools, in Harlem, Brooklyn, and the South Bronx. Students from pre-K to eighth grade plant, grow, harvest, and cook their own food, working together to realize the organization’s mission: to “transform the hearts, minds, and eating habits of young New Yorkers through an integrated seed-to-table education.”
For two years, I served as director of partnerships and engagement with Edible Schoolyard NYC, and witnessed firsthand the
Maria Brinkmann (’18)
program’s transformational impact on the kids. I was especially interested in conversations initiated by the middle schoolers. They spoke candidly, and with authority, about the lack of access to healthy food in their neighborhoods, and the high cost and poor quality of what fresh produce was available. They asked the big question: Why is healthy food only for rich people? Like Bryan, they were forced to make substitutions.
Each day, these students battle the ever-present obstacles of ubiquitous fast-food chains and grocery store shelves lined with highly processed foods that are engineered to be addictive and that have no nutritional value. These limited options don’t align with their education, and they know it. Despite this discouraging reality, these students are advocating for better food environments for themselves, their families, and their larger community. Their commitment to achieving a more equitable food system is what inspired me to pursue a law degree to help advance the cause of food justice for low-income communities around New York and the nation.
So what will it take to effect the critical change so many desire? Alice Waters, chef and founder of Edible Schoolyard NYC, says for the movement to truly catch fire, “All people have to believe that everyone deserves healthy, nourishing food and a place at the table.” Like education and healthcare, food justice must become a national priority. This systemic problem can no longer be singularly addressed by nonprofits and community activists. The weight and fiscal support of government are essential to creating a fair food system.
At the close of every Edible Schoolyard class, students set the table and enjoy what they’ve made together. With fresh ingredients from their school garden, Bryan and his classmates never have to stray far from the recipe. That access reinforces an important value of a just food system: When it comes to nutritious food, no one should have to make substitutions. Just ask the kids sitting at the table.
—Maria Brinkmann