From left: Stephon Fitzpatrick, executive director of the PA Commission for Agriculture Education Excellence, Stefan Hawkins, owner of Good Brotha’s Book Cafe and Russell Redding, state secretary of agriculture
Sometimes, the most meaningful conversations are held around the table, over food.
That was true on Tuesday, as Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding visited Good Brotha’s Book Café in Harrisburg for a discussion on race and food accessibility.
“The Department of Agriculture has legitimate responsibilities with food insecurity,” Redding said. “Who has access to food? And do they have it not just through charity? But, who actually gets the chance to grow it, to farm, to improve their own diet?”
According to Redding, the department is prioritizing these types of conversations to listen and to learn how they can assist with food accessibility.
Stefan Hawkins, owner of Good Brotha’s, said that he didn’t always have fresh food on the table at home growing up. However, as an adult, he became a vegan and has seen the benefits of healthy eating in his life.
But he realizes that, for his Harrisburg community at large, especially for people of color, accessing fresh food isn’t always easy.
“That’s one of my biggest advocacies is getting fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and fresh produce to the younger generation coming up and educating them on the importance of eating healthy, and, maybe one day, farming for yourself,” Hawkins said.
Redding noted how few Black farmers there are in Pennsylvania.
“I think there’s a real opportunity for this exchange between the farm community and urban centers and folks who share a passion around food,” he said.
Redding mentioned a few specific areas where he hopes to make improvements in the department, including having more conversations around race relations and food. Additionally, he hopes to find ways to encourage families to take advantage of the department’s Farmers Market Nutrition Program for WIC recipients and seniors. Redding is also interested in starting a “farm to school” educational program for local districts.
For Hawkins, education is especially important. It’s a big part of his coffee shop, which sells books by Black authors and about Black culture to promote literacy. He’s also passionate about providing education around health and food.
Hawkins said that he hopes to start his own urban garden and plans to eventually start a free food pantry program at Good Brotha’s, as well.
“A lot of times, people don’t want to stand in line to get that bag from the church or get that stuff out of the pantry,” he said. “The inner-city food inadequacies, food insecurities that we don’t speak on, I want to address those head on.”
Redding said that he hopes to have more discussions like these in the future.
“This conversation with the agriculture community about race is a really important conversation,” he said.
Good Brotha’s Book Café is located at 1419 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their Facebook page.
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