FEEST 2020–2021 Annual Report

Letter from FEEST Youth Leader Heena

I first joined FEEST when I was in the 5th grade. When my parents were at work, I would join my sister, who was a FEEST youth leader at the time, fighting for food justice. I didn’t understand the purpose of the organization when I was younger, but I loved cooking and eating foods from different cultures. During my sophomore year, I became a youth leader with the one and only FEEST. Here, I talked with the Nutrition Services Director at Seattle Public Schools, hosted events on school food, and participated in meetings where I learned about the issues my community faces when accessing organic affordable foods. When learning about the barriers my community faces with accessing healthy foods, I learned how systems such as immigration, classism, transportation, racism, etc. impact my community’s ability to meet their health and food access needs. At FEEST, I have learned that the most effective way for communities to seize justice is by going to the root of the problem to demand change that addresses the systems in place that limit our access to foods that we deserve and will make us thrive.

My experience being a youth leader here at FEEST has been an eye opening experience. Like taking a young child to Disneyland, FEEST opened my eyes to a whole new world. In my time here, I have made a ton of friends and connections. An important memory that I will always hold onto was during the second week at FEEST, when all the youth leaders were creating campaigns and believing that they were “asking for too much.” In this moment I learned that we are not asking for too much. When it comes to resources for Black and Brown communities, we are fighting for what wealthy, white communities just receive as a bare minimum. These are resources that should be given to us, but instead it is something we must fight for. And fighting for these resources is what we do.

Before FEEST, food justice was something no one ever seemed to talk about around me. Food justice is when communities have access to foods that are good for your organs, mental and physical health, and body. I care deeply about food justice because the foods in my community are processed, not fresh, and don’t help my people feel well satisfied. As I look at the other communities around me, there are foods that are way different than what I see near my home. I live in White Center, which is filled with working Black and Brown folks. In our under-resourced neighborhood, the quality of the food available is either of good quality, but expensive, or poor quality and cheap/unhealthy. I see multiple fast food outlets like McDonalds, Popeyes, and KFC on almost every street. I see my peers feeling drowsy in class and/or sick because of the food we eat at school. I see myself and my family not having enough options for healthier foods. I see my parents having multiple health issues from not having access to the healthy foods that they need. By being involved with FEEST, my peers and I are addressing the problem of food inequality by demanding changes and voicing our experiences to people in power. 

Here at FEEST, young people lead to make change. FEEST has helped me become a leader through many activities such as the raining rocks activity, a roleplay where villagers have to decide how to fight back against the people who are harming them. This is an activity FEEST uses to highlight the different perspectives and groups of people involved in organizing. This helped us see what different perspectives are and how we could use them to help us grow. This activity sticks to my mind, because it helps me situate the different power dynamics. Who are the villagers? The villagers are often people who are being the most affected by systematic oppression. Who are the people throwing rocks? The people throwing rocks are often the folks who have the power to oppress the villagers. From this activity, I learned how to identify who am I going up against, who am I in this situation, and how can I gain power in this situation? This isn’t just an activity; this is a real life scenario and the people in power might have resources, but we have the people power to fight back. 

Making my dreams of bettering the world — that is what I would like to come true. I want to see that my ideas as a young person get carried through into adulthood and knowing that my efforts weren’t just a one-time thing, but a life dedication. One of my long term goals is to see mental health being a priority in my community, in my work spaces, and in schools. If people need support throughout the day, they can take mental health days and be cared for without any consequences. My people having access to all the resources that they need to thrive, is what me and my peers fight to see. I fight for food justice because I want everyone to have equal access to foods they deserve no matter, race, class, immigrantion status, etc.

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