Camden is a food desert and the COVID-19 pandemic has proved this now more than ever. While we appreciate that the City has made fresh food and vegetables available during this pandemic, the people of Camden deserve access to affordable fresh, healthy, and nutritious food all year long. Charity, food banks and emergency planning are supposed to be a last resort, but they are our first resort. We need a long-term sustainable solution. 

Black and Brown communities like Camden continue to suffer from health problems tied in large part to the type of food #OurCommunities can access.  Fast food is made readily available while access to plentiful, affordable, fresh food remains out of our reach, leading to higher cases of diabetes, heart disease and asthma.  

This is a direct result of development, planning and zoning decisions. Planning decisions have a direct impact on our health. Can we access healthy food city wide?  How far is a grocery store located?  Is there public transportation that can bring us to the food?  How much does it cost to travel?

While some may view the empty, unused, and abandoned patches of land in Camden as a weakness, we see opportunity.  We see the possibility of community gardens, city-wide local farmer markets and enough full-service grocery stores in reasonable reach to every family in Camden.