OPINION
BY JACOB INGRAM
ANOTHER BARRIER: THE LBSU FOOD DESERT WE’RE HUNGRY, AND ALL WE HAVE ARE FUCKING CRÊPES
D
o you think we live in an era where I can
lation pushing 40,000: Sbarro, Carl’s Jr., Subway, El
successfully pollute the university’s search
Pollo Loco, and the Outpost.
at risk management… “ArE tHeY PerMiTTeD?” Let’s do a quick thought experiment… Do you think
engine optimization by writing headlines
Here’s another issue among these five. Only one of
that a taquero, whose livelihood and survival depends
in a campus magazine that challenge the approved
the five accepts the CalFresh/EBT benefits that they
on selling tacos at volume, will make much of a living if
narratives passed down from Brotman? Let’s test my
help you sign up for downstairs. I will leave this topic
they are getting their clientele sick to their stomach?
little theory with this piece and repeat after me: “The
for a colleague to address more appropriately later in
This is what structural racism smells like by the way.
campus of Long Beach State is a food desert.”
this magazine but it merits mentioning in this context.
Go google the Black Panther Party’s Free Breakfast for School Children Program and get back to me on
Now I know you are going to try and say “Jake, the
But Jake, the food trucks! Have you seen the food
Nugget is finally hiring, chill” or “Jake, if you actually
trucks? Yes, and I read that they weren’t making
graduate and leave campus, you can give it a rest,”
quota.
how to feed a community. A quick review of my informal proposal to include
but to that, I have to disagree for a couple of reasons.
See here’s the thing, it would have helped to know,
street vendors: Determine what you might call the
One, food equity issues are acute and immediate.
as a community, that the trucks had to be making a
“Southern California Street Staples,” we are talking
Two, these issues manifest in a few particular cases
quota of $1,200 per day or else they would be under
taco men, eloteros, paleta carts, fruit carts, you get
of interest that may not readily be apparent. Three,
threat of cancellation. Because maybe then, you
it. Determine those as a sort of standalone category,
we are still missing the mark in terms of meeting the
would see some participation in the processes about
assume five categories. This way no single vendor
needs of core campus demographics. Four, access to
this stuff. What good was the USU Food Survey for?
will overlap with another. Paletas versus fruit carts,
decision-makers has proven insufficient on this one,
everyone gets their preferred munch. Swap paletas
so why not stick it in the magazine?
for tamales as seasons change. Next, determine the
Aside: You see, I got my bachelor’s degree in History from this school, LBSU. They taught me about source-based history, courtesy of an old German dude, Leopold von Ranke. Basically, because I occupy this present moment in time and because I come with all my lovely Jake experiences and the larger institu-
There are five places to actually eat for a population pushing 40,000
tional memory I have been witness to, I can leave little
number of working days in a month. For easy math let’s just assume four weeks of four working days, totaling 16 days in a month. If you have five separate vendor categories, then you can invite a different vendor onto campus once a month until you have a different vendor for every role, every day, once a month. 16 days times five daily vendors would be 80
landmines for some other researcher to unearth, and
An hour long behemoth of a data scrape. Only for us
different small businesses the campus could be build-
you do this with good keyword usage, so while my title
to be approaching November with nothing but Black
ing legitimate ties with. But someone in risk manage-
is witty, it does more damage when I actually mention
Forest ham, queso blanco, and onion rings on the
ment is afraid of a taco? The safety risk excuse is
the “No Barriers” campaign by explicit title. Too meta?
menu. Maybe if you were gonna ask for a $1,200 per
weaker than the Sbarro’s marinara sauce.
C’mon Jake, food stuff on campus. Oh yeah, it’s a
day quota, you could book something a little more
My birdies tell me Sbarro is contracted until 2024
mainstream than a fucking crêpe truck. Are you seri-
and we could already be soliciting ideas for how to
ous?
next approach pizza on campus. Because that’s what
desert, pal. Let’s define a food desert, just in case: Food Desert: A food desert is an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food. Wiki-
Because I am serious. When I approached ASI lead-
this is. It fundamentally boils down to who gets the
pedia. omg he can’t do that.
ership about inviting so-called street vendors onto
contract to make pizza on campus. Who as in the indi-
Riveting.
campus, I was given a playbook perfect run-around.
vidual, and who as in the organization. Long Beach
Let me lay this out for you. It affects us here and
Ideas were validated, follow-ups were promised, and
is home to a handful of fabulous pizza places. Simi-
now. There are five places to actually eat for a popu-
then nothing. Only to have a birdie tell me that it died
larly, El Pollo Loco, Subway, and Carl’s Jr. all represent
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Nov Issue Rough 2.indd 6
10/31/22 2:55 PM
