#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackTwitter #Abolition #Food
Saw a great a cappella play last weekend in DC called Octet. It’s about a group of people who have digital addictions. One of the songs is about a person who did not post a joke because so many terrible things were happening in the world it seemed inappropriate. I think I haven’t been doing my abolition threads for the same reason. But I have to stop that because things will be bad for a while. Today I’m looking at food security. 1/7
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#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackTwitter #Abolition #Food
During Mamdani’s campaign for mayor he proposed NYC create a city owned grocery store. His opponents at the time ridiculed the idea, partly do his cost estimate ($470 mil), partly because the idea of a city run grocery store seems weird to some. Of course his proposal targets those poorer communities where food insecurity is a constant problem, not the overall city. 2/7
#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackTwitter #Abolition #Food
If we look at the PX on our military bases we can see an example of how that might work. The PX is where soldiers and their families shop. Government purchasing power allows prices to be lower than regular commercial stores. It’s been going on for years. Outside of the military, a city backed grocery store recently opened in Atlanta. 3/7
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/zohran-mamdani-promised-city-owned-160022195.html
#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackTwitter #Abolition #Food
The idea is to get alternative access to food into underserved communities. Recently one of our local weekly food distributions was impacted by Amazon’s decision to close its cashless store Amazon Fresh. Some of the groceries donated to our food distro came from Amazon Fresh. The organizers distributed a memo saying the availability of some foods would be affected by the closure. At this distro we service 150 food insecure people. 4/7
#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackTwitter #Abolition #Food
The disruption highlights one of the dangers of the state relying on corporations to decide which community needs will be met. The corps are just trying to get those tax deductions. Philanthropic literature criticizing the perils of reliance on corporate prioritizing goes all the way back to Andrew Carnegie’s financing of libraries. City owned groceries could help avoid the reliance on “charity” to feed hungry people. 5/7
#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackTwitter #Abolition #Food
Another alternative can be the approach breakthrough.org provides in Chicago. Their goal is to provide a “safe, stable and engaged neighborhood where everyone thrives.” In addition to a number of programs they run, they also provide a free grocery store called Fresh Market. Residents within their targeted area can shop at the store twice a month for free. 6/ 7
https://breakthrough.org/mission-values-key-concepts/
