Through the Harlem4 Center for Change, Chet Whye, the organization’s executive director, addresses the lack of access to healthy food options in Harlem. The nonprofit organization is working to establish a food model that will empower residents to eat healthier through education, community action, town hall meetings, cooking demonstrations and more. Rolling out went into the kitchen with Whye to discuss making healthy food affordable, the importance of community collaboration and why the enemy is not solely food corporations.
In certain impoverished communities of color people struggle to afford higher prices for healthier foods. How does your organization address this issue?
I personally pitched to the farms participating in our Harlem4 Harvest Festival and Fresh Food Summit that they consider lowering prices and making money on the increased rotation of sales because of the bargain. They agreed. One of the farmers, Joe Gloebecki, went as far as to make every bundle of produce $1 and every pound $1. Not only did he do the best business of the festival, he came back on his own to sell fresh produce at Thanksgiving in 5 pound bags for only $4.
How are you effectively building community support for your mission through collaborations?
The organization was borne out the Harlem4Obama 2008 campaign. We were working for health care reform when we realized the impact of healthy food choices on our community. While we are fairly new to the game as far as healthy food, we as seasoned campaigners are highly skilled at collaboration. We felt our ability to build a coalition was our best contribution so we didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. We used our food summit to bring the players together.
Your challenges involve corporations and federal policies that make healthy food and eating habits difficult due to special interests. What is your strategy for addressing these issues?
We had an instance where a pantry was giving away farm fresh food and processed food for free. Amazingly, people walked past the fresh food to get to the boxes and cans. We learned that the corporations are not the biggest challenge. We have to change the mindset that fresh food is less convenient and … more expensive. People have to stop whining about corporate influence. The ultimate decision of what goes into our bodies and our children’s bodies is our own.
