Micro-Seminar: Food Justice and Sustainability in Latinx Los Angeles PART ONE

Micro-Seminars have two parts. Attendance to both parts is required. Registering for the PART ONE session will automatically enroll you in the PART TWO session on Friday.

Part 1: Thursday, August 22, 2024 from 3:00 – 4:30 pm (PST)
Part 2: Friday, August 23, 2024 from 10:00 – 11:30 am (PST)

Day 1: Understanding Food Insecurity in L.A. In 2023, 3 in 10 households in L.A. experienced food insecurity.

This microseminar explores questions such as “What is food justice?”, “What is food apartheid?”, and “Why should the intersection of food and sustainability concern USC students?” We will discuss these terms and examine local efforts to bring about positive change in nearby schools and neighborhoods. Next, we will delve into the historical background of the area surrounding the USC campus and explore how South L.A. became a “food desert.” This area is characterized by an abundance of fast-food restaurants, vacant lots, and liquor stores, but a scarcity of grocery stores. Students will learn about the historical factors, such as supermarket redlining and white flight, that contributed to this situation. We will examine how limited access to healthy, affordable food impacts the physical and mental health of South L.A. residents, contributing to issues like obesity and diabetes, which disproportionately affect underserved Latinx and other minority communities.

Day 2: Grassroots Solutions and Student Involvement

On the second day, we will explore local environmental and policy solutions to address food insecurity in L.A. Students will learn about the efforts of organizations to tackle these inequities through school gardens, urban farms, and social enterprises. I will highlight opportunities for students to volunteer with organizations such as Garden School Foundation, and FEAST. At the end, we will visit the student-run USC Garden to showcase the efforts of USC students to grow food and connect with nature on campus. By the end, students will have a deeper understanding of the challenges and solutions related to food justice and sustainability in Latinx Los Angeles, and be inspired to contribute to positive change.

Students who are interested in food and social justice, Los Angeles' Latinx communities, and volunteering should attend.

Lead By: Professor Sarah Portnoy

Sarah Portnoy is a professor, documentary film creator/producer and food justice activist. She teaches classes on Latinx food culture and food justice in Latinx communities and beyond in the departments of Latin American and Iberian Studies and American Studies and Ethnicity. Her publications include her book Food, Health, and Culture in Latino Los Angeles, articles in the L.A. Times and numerous academic publications.

Since 2022, Dr. Portnoy has been making documentary films centered around Mexican grandmothers’ stories of food and migration. The 2022 film “Abuelita’s Kitchen: Mexican Food Stories” delves into the food-centered narratives of ten abuelas from various backgrounds—indigenous, mestiza, Afro-Mexican, and Mexican-American—who have preserved and adapted Mexican culinary traditions within the vibrant mosaic of Los Angeles. In 2023, Dr. Portnoy received a National Endowment for the Humanities Media grant to create a series of short documentaries entitled “Abuelitas on the Borderlands.” The films take place in Tucson, El Paso, San Diego and Los Angeles and feature the stories of Borderlands abuelas and their unique Mexican food culture. These films explore how individual, regional, national and transnational identities are shaped and negotiated through the food practices and cultures unique to grandmothers living—and cooking—in distinct Borderland cities. Dr. Portnoy has been interviewed about her work on Good Morning America, KCRW, Telemundo Noticiero and has screened “Abuelita’s Kitchen” throughout the U.S. and Mexico. For more about Dr. Portnoy’s work and films, see her website, https://www.sarahportnoy.org/

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