Happy Pride! Pride Month (June) recognizes LGBTQ+ community’s impact on society, and raises LGBTQ+ voices to promote equality, dignity, and self-affirmation (NY Times). Pride Month was founded in June 1969, after the police raided Stonewall Inn and arrested LGBTQ+ individuals, which in turn caused riots in the area, and ignited the gay rights movement (NY Times).
Very unfortunately, some in the LGBTQ+ community face health and food access disparities. Food security is a measure of the availability of food and individuals’ ability to access it. So food insecurity, is the lack of this ability. Food deserts, as defined by the USDA, are “areas with limited access to affordable nutritious food”.
Supporting LGBTQ+ Food Businesses and Reducing Disparities
It’s important to acknowledge some of the food and health disparities among the LGBTQ+ community:
Nearly 1 in 2 African American LCBT people reported not having enough money for food in the past year
1 in 3 Hispanic LGBT people reported not having enough money for food in the past year
1 in 3 LBT women reported not having enough money for food in the prior year
1 in 5 GBT men reported not having enough money for food in the prior year
nearly 1 in 3 LGBT adults experience food insecurity in the past year (vs. 1 in 5 non-LGBT)
1 in 5 LGBT adults reported they (or a family member) went without food for an entire day in the past month
Sources: Food Bank NYC and CNN
What can I do?
Educating yourself, volunteering, donating, and advocating are wonderful ways to get involved and celebrate Pride Month.
1. Read Books, Listen to Podcasts, and Watch Documentaries
2. Support Organizations
Below is a list of organizations that are doing incredible work, in order to amplify LGTBQ+ voices and support the LGBTQ+ community:
SAGE ADVOCACY FOR LGBTQ+ ELDERS
Sage Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Elders is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to improving LGBQ+ elders’ lives, and they specifically focus on the issue LGBTQ+ aging.
Interested in getting involved with Sage Advocacy?
Sage Table- You can register to become a Sage Table host at this link. As a Sage Table host, you can host a meal at your home, place of worship, community center, office, or even a picnic table at the park. It is also expected that you will bring together LGBTQ+ individuals of all ages, serve some food, and lead meaningful conversations (once we’re able to, of course).
Sign up for Sage Advocacy alerts so you can make calls and attend events
Become a volunteer education ambassador so that you can educate your own community about LGBTQ+ aging issues
Donate here
TRANS-GENERATIONAL FARM aims to connect LGBTQ+ individuals to food and agriculture so that everyone can feel connected to the land in which their food grows
Interested in getting involved with Transgenerational Farm? Email transgenerationalfarm@gmail.com for more information!
FOOD BANK NYC is a hunger-relief organization that works against hunger and food insecurity issues in New York City.
Interested in getting involved with Food Bank NYC?
Donate here
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS you can support:
SUPPORTING LGBTQ+ FOOD-RELATED BUSINESSES
LGBTQ+ owned food businesses. Check out this Buzzfeed guide here. This list includes 12 businesses.
You can celebrate Pride Month by making recipes from these LGBTQ+ written cookbooks. Check out this list, and this list.
Dine out or take out from LGBTQ+ owned restaurants. Check out this article that includes a list of some of the Bay Area LGBTQ+ owned restaurants. Pro tip: You can Google LGBTQ+ owned restaurants in your city!
Read More
