Food Justice

Most residents of the United States take food security, the access to food, without even thinking of it but there are still plenty of people who wonder where their next meal is coming from. DuPage County, and especially Naperville where I live, is a relatively wealthy area but despite the wealth there are residents with low income or live in food desert that must search out food supplies. Some resources including food pantry, government assistance, nonprofit, grocery stores and even restaurants and farms are listed as places to obtain food either via donations or purchasing. A quick Google search can lead to other similar resources.

Food pantry: Loaves and Fish. https://www.loaves-fishes.org/

A food pantry in Naperville IL  that accepts donations of food from retailers and the general public to feed those without food or on low income.  Other local pantries: are Feed My Starving Children 

https://www.fmsc.org   and Northern Illinois Food Bank https://solvehungertoday.org/. There are other pantries in most towns and cities.

Food stamps:  https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=30357

SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, provides a safety net for the less well off. Different states manage it differently, but Illinois loads a Link card that can then be used at grocery and convenience  stores to purchase food. It can provide food security for those with low income.

Non-Profit Resources:  http://www.peoplesrc.org/ 

Based in Wheaton IL this organization provides not only their own pantry but services with job assistance, computer training and other resources for those needing their help. Sometimes finding employment can start a person back on the path to a better life including food security.

Grocery: https://www.jewelosco.com/home.html 

Naperville and DuPage County as an abundance of grocery stores where residents can purchase groceries to feed their families. Jewel is one grocery example. Although considered local they were sold to a national grocery chain. They accepted SNAP.

Restaurants:  https://www.maggianos.com/      https://www.bk.com/

Two good examples of vastly different restaurants. Maggiano’s is a local Italian (owned by Lettuce Entertain You, a national restaurant group) who serve gourmet food. They are known for their fine pasta and meat dishes.  Burger King are a fast food burger chain famous for the “Whooper” burger. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner although the last two are the same menu. Prices are cheap as they compete with McDonald’s and much of their products are loaded with fat and salt and upsizing (supersizing) is common.   

Farms:  https://www.kellersfarmstand.com/

Farm stands and Farmers markets operate spring through autumn primarily to sell fresh fruit and vegetables and other food items right from the local farms. Some farms such as Keller have their own permanent food “stand” locations while other farms will attend weekly farmers market at various convenient locations. Most of the fresh product is likely to be organic having been grown on local smaller farms that are less likely to use chemicals.

Conclusion

Naperville and DuPage have plenty of place to obtain food. Most people will go to the local grocery store such as Jewel but for others food pantries are in most areas and will provide items for those in need or the government can provide assistant via SNAP.

(all photos from the various websites)

Food and Medical Resources in Naperville, IL, USA

This weeks post is actually based on a presentation I recently created for a class at Benedictine University in Lisle on Sustainability and Stewardship. The following are excerpts from the power point along with some additional notes.

For class we had to create either the power point or a video that featured the food and health resources available in the neighborhood. This weeks class was actually based on the migrate farm workers who labor in the field especially in California to bring us the food we take for granted and what should be done in a stewardship manner relating to the issues they face. The presentation did not call for a mention of that subject which was addressed in another submitted paper.

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Most residents of the United States have easy access to food and health care. We take it for granted that a short walk or car drive will take us to a grocery store, restaurant or medical facility.

Many people especially those in rural areas or urban areas with poverty issue it is much harder to access the basics of life necessities such as food, health and transportation. Author Tracie McMillian in her book "American Way of Eating" talks at length on these issues. That subject will be a good future post.

I investigated what was available to myself living in Naperville, IL.  The research was very non scientific but showed how the three basis of life are readily available.

Naperville IL is a city of 140,000 residents and many business around 30 miles west of Chicago. 

Food Sources

      

Naperville has plenty of grocery stores including big box retailers, major grocery chains, local chains, specificity chains and convenience stores. Examples:

Jewel, Target, Cermak, Whole Foods, Aldi, Patel Bros, 7-11 as well as seasonal farmers markets. 

All are in a short drive for most residents and offer a whole array of food and non food items. The prices and level of services vary but everyone is free to choice what meets their requirements. 

The same can be said for restaurants which are in abundances especially along Rt 59 and in downtown Naperville. There are too many to name but a few of the more popular offerings are:

Chipotle Mexican Grille, Subway Sandwich, Portillos Italian, Maggianos Italian, Starbucks Coffee, Pitaville, Naf Naf Middle Eastern Grill, China Station, Miller Ale House, Hot Cakes Indian bakery, Indian House, Lou Malnati's pizza, Burger King. That is many different types of food and ethnicity as well as price points . 

  

Medical Sources

Naperville also has plenty of medical options in the city or immediate area. There is easy access to three major hospitals Edwards (Naperville), Rush Copley (Aurora) and North Western's CDH (Winfield). Doctors are numerous being found at instore clinics, urgent care centers and doctors medical centers. DuPage Medical Group is very predominate in the area and have a full listing of specialist doctors as well as MDs.

When it comes time to filling those prescriptions there is also no shortage of places including CVS, Walgreens, CVS at Target, Osco (in Jewel), family owned Oswaldo and DuPage Medical Group.

Transportation Sources

Of course to be able to access all these amenities some form of transportation option is a must. The majority of travel in the area is done by automobile and Naperville has 13000 miles of roads with many through ways, easy access to three expressway (I88, I 355 and I80). There is public transportation but it is not very convenient. Pace bus service tends to run on a limited schedule and links up popular places but not often close to the people it needs to service. Metra has two stations in Naperville but it not very helpful for getting around town just to other suburbs or into Chicago where it is very popular for people that work elsewhere. There are bike trails but mostly in the forest preserves although the city has mapped out bike routes on safer city streets with a few painted bike lanes or signage.

    

Conclusion 

The residents of the City of Naperville are not short on their choice for grocery stores, restaurants, medical options and transportation. Unlike some urban areas and rural locations there is not "food desert" due to grocery stores within miles of each other. The choice of restaurants covers a vast spectrum in variety and pricing. Where it might lack is non motorized transportation and even public transportation. A car is really essential to get around although it is possible to walk and bike in certain parts of the city.  Medical services are in abundance with three hospitals and plenty of doctors and pharmacies 

 Information Sources

•https://www.naperville.il.us/about-naperville/transportation-and-parking/

•https://dinenaperville.com/

•https://activetrans.org/

•https://metrarail.com/

•https://www.dupagemedicalgroup.com/our-locations/naperville/

•Tracie McMillian, American Way of Eating (2012), book

•(images via Google free art clip source, except City of Naperville, https://www.naperville.il.us/) 

Water around the World

                           Photo from City of Naperville website

The Earth is made up of 29% land and 71% water. Despite much of the world being water there are people that endure extreme water shortage. Educator Balsher Singh Sidhu mentioned a 2018 TED Talk, “Are we running out of clean water?”, that even though the world is 71% water only 1% of the total is, drinkable. The  majority is in oceans and seas as saltwater, and a small amount is frozen at the poles and glaciers. That leaves just rivers, lakes and aquifers that make up the rest. In the developed nations of the world, including the United States, you just need to turn on a tap and there is running water for most. Even in the southwest desert where rain can be rare there is running water for everyone. Phoenix has an elaborate canal system to transport the water. Due to geographic features or the financial situation this is not possible in many countries. 

 Much of water is used for the growing foods such as grains and vegetables or the raising of cattle and other livestock. The total water consumption by agriculture is a 92%.  or  equivalent of 3.3 billion Olympic sized swimming pools every year according to Sidhu.                       Besides the scarcity of water in some areas of the world and over usage  another issue that can cause a loss of water source is pollution. Contaminates and cross pollinates can get into the water source from different sources rendering it unusable for humanity. Farming chemicals run off cause issues due to algae bloom as seen in Lake Erie which supplies water  major cities such as Toronto, Detroit, and Toledo. A small bloom in 2014 caused the loss of drinking water to half a million people in the Toledo, OH area due to the water intake become contaminated according to the Alliance for the Great Lakes . Water issues affects not just drinking water but local tourism which helps the local economic.
All these "Issues with Water" are preventable. Water should not be a scarce commodity and measures can be put in place to prevent the polluting of our water sources while making it readily available to all citizens of the world, not just the developed nations. 

The City of Naperville must have safeguards and testing in place to assure the quality and if there is a violation the Federal government have penalties in place. Naperville draws its water supply from the City of Chicago Jardine water purification facility.  The Lake Michigan water is processed by the before being dispersed to 140,000 as well as being regularly tested for pollutants such as lead and chromium-6. Naperville had zero violations in the last reporting year and reduced the amount of lead line service

 

References

Lake Erie Algae Blooms: Polluting Our Drinking Water - Alliance for the Great Lakes. (2018). Retrieved from https://greatlakes.org/campaigns/lake-erie-algae-blooms/

Sidhu, B. (2018). Are we running out of clean water? Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/balsher_singh_sidhu_are_we_running_out_of_clean_water

Your Water Service | The City of Naperville. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.naperville.il.us/services/water-utility/your-water-service/

Ecological in Food

As the population of the world grows daily and as people seem have less time on their hands,  a significant change in our food has occurred, and the change for the most is not a good one.  

30 years ago, the majority of food purchased at the local store was fresh, healthy and ready to be taken home and cooked into a meal (Oliver, 2008, web)p and people went shopping daily.  A trip to a grocery store these days shows that most of the space is used for processed and prepackaged food. And a closer look at the food’s ingredients will show an abundance of salt, sugar, preservative and any number of other ingredients that are almost impossible to pronounce without a degree in chemistry. Even good old milk now comes in flavored varieties with added sugars. Chef Jamie Oliver during a TED Talk did a great illustration of how much sugar a school child would consume in just five years using  a wheelbarrow full of sugar cubes. Grocery stores still carry fresh produce but those can be full of pesticides that has been sprayed in the fields during growing time  (Cooper, 2007, web). Meanwhile organic food which should be free of these chemicals is too expensive for many people. The higher costs of some foods causes people to buy cheaper items to eat, leading them to the processed, boxed or plastic wrapped items. Much of these products can be tossed into a microwave, cooked and then eaten without even having to do home cooking.

     These highly process food items which are full of sugar, salt and fat along with less exercise has led to obesity that is affecting young and old, male and female, and across all race or nationality lines. More is spent on daily runs to Starbucks than healthy foods to cook at home. We seem to think nothing of boosting the diet industry bottom line or the medical world revenues due to conditions caused by bad eating. Diabetes was affecting 9% of children in 2007 (Cooper, 2007, web) a number has grown likely over the years.

     Ann Cooper was the executive chef of the Berkeley school district in California and her team produced over 7000 meals a day. Although this is Berkeley, she discovered the food the children were dining on was largely mass manufactured processed cuisine that came in cardboard boxed or wrapped in plastic.  There was basically nothing healthy even though if it was allowed by USDA (Cooper, 2007, web) until she revamp the whole lunch dining experience including adding a salad bar. 

      Healthy meals at schools can help the children learn better by fueling their bodies and minds with energy driven food and meals rather than sugar, salt and fat filled meals that are proven to make people lethargic. In 2007 Berkeley school district was spending just .03% of its educational

funds on nutrition services. According to Chef Sam Kass, who worked at the White House as Senior Policy Advisor for Nutrition the total average cost per meal was $2.68 but only $1 went to food, the rest being admin. (Kass, 2015, web). Increasing what is spent on better school meals can increase test scores, according to Kass, in study results. Not only would it increase learning capabilities, but the level of obesity would decrease. Obesity is a factor that kills more people in the United States than most other diseases, smoking and even homicide (Oliver, 2008, web).  Limiting sugar, salt and fat in diet, exercising and eating smaller portions can be key steps to avoiding obesity and losing weight. Fad diets don’t work nor does the processed low-fat lean cuisines which when you read the labels are full of salt while home cooking is a way to know.

References 

Cooper, A. (2007). What's Wrong with School Lunches [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_cooper_talks_school_lunches

Kass, S. (2015). Want kids to learn? Feed them Well [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/sam_kass_want_to_teach_kids_well_feed_them_well

Oliver, J. (2010). Teach Every Child About Food [Video]. Retrieved from  https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_oliver/transcript?nolanguage=e

A Favourite Dish

One of my favorite cuisines as always been Chinese. Over the years for a few reasons my choice of Chinese dish as changed. I used to purchase the meal at Chinese fast food type restaurants especially when I worked in downtown Chicago; it was a great lunchtime option with so many different dishes to choice from. My parents used to get it from the local Chinese takeaway in England where I grew up. Sweet and sour chicken over white or egg fried rice was my go-to meal followed by either orange or teriyaki chicken. That changed when I decided to become a vegetarian. The Chinese meals I would pick up changed to tofu and vegetable served with rice. Thinking back, I am not sure what cooking base  the Chinese restaurants used. I found out  having asked at one, that Panda Express (the Starbucks of American Chinese cuisine) cooks everything with a chicken broth including their veggie egg rolls.  They have no vegetarian items.  I have taken to creating my own style of Chinese cooking at home when my wife is working a closing shift. She has never really liked Chinese food besides Panda Express when we did eat meat, so it is my home alone treat. It is not fancy and very much like a stir-fry; variety of vegetables depending on what is in the house, a protein such as tofu, a store purchased sauce all stir fried in a pan then served over white rice. One day I would love to create a sweet and sour tofu dish similar to my old dish if I can recreate the texture but in a veggie style. 

        

The basic ingredients from my latest cooking of my version of Chinese food. 

Vegetables:

Peas, sweet corn, edamame, bamboo shoots. Not shown are mushrooms and red bell pepper

Protein: Quorn a mycoprotein (similar to tofu)

Sauce: Sweet and sour (store purchase)

Rice: White (instant variety)

All ingredients in a frying pan (or wok) sauteed for 10-15 minutes. Rice is cooked separately

Ready to eat and leftovers for work lunchtime later in the week

Benedictine University Management Degree

After returning to college later in life I am now in the last year of completing a four year degree in Management. After transferring from College of DuPage with an Associates in Management my studies have taken me to Lisle's Benedictine University.

This new blog that has been created via a blog I have had for 12 years detailing my adventures in running and specifically trail and ultra running including the fun of volunteering. The difference with this new blog titled Foodblog  https://benufood.blogspot.com/ is it is created just for a course at Benedictine that deals with Sustainability and Stewardship. The first part of the course is dealing with food and how it affects the world as we know it and live within.