Bodega Down Bronx

Where does the food in your bodega — or the corner grocer, the local minimart — come from? Who decides whether to stock tortilla chips or salad greens, and how much they'll cost? How come it's easier to find fresh fruits and vegetables in Brooklyn Heights than in the South Bronx? What's the connection between the incidence of diabetes and the food market supply chain?

Last year the Brooklyn-based Center for Urban Pedagogy set out to answer these questions, and the result is Bodega Down Bronx, a 29-minute video created by CUP staff in collaboration with local high school students at New Settlement's Bronx Helpers, a service learning organization focused on civic engagement.

Part of CUP's Urban Investigations program, which asks basic questions about how cities work, Bodega Down Bronx delves into the politics and players of New York's network of bodegas. Under the direction of CUP teaching artist Jonathan Bogarín, and working with CUP staff Valeria Mogilevich and Rosten Woo, and intern Sarah Nelson Wright, the student filmmakers researched issues, visited sites, storyboarded scenes, produced props and sets, and conducted interviews. They took their video equipment and question lists to store owners, wholesalers, distributors, drivers, and customers young and old. They met with nutrition professors and diabetes counselors, and with U.S. congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who sponsored H.R. 5952, the Bodegas as Catalysts for Healthy Living Act (which would have provided grants to bodega owners to install refrigerated cases to stock more perishable produce). Along the way they teased out the cause-and-effect of food cultures, the self-reinforcing cycles (and stereotypes) that have turned some urban neighborhoods into so-called food deserts. Do bodegas stock a lot of snack food because that's what their customers want, or do customers reach for the BBQ-flavored crisps because that's what's available at the bodega?

Like all CUP projects, Bodega Down Bronx is inspired by the conviction that cities and their complex systems and politics can be made legible and transparent — and more, that this transparency is vital for democratic society.

As part of our new affiliation with the Center for Urban Pedagogy, Places is pleased to premiere Bodega Down Bronx, in advance of its wider distribution later this month, when it will be available via the center's website. In the next few months we look forward to presenting more CUP projects. Stay tuned.

— Nancy Levinson

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Credits

CUP Teaching Artist: Jonathan Bogarín.
New Settlement's Bronx Helpers Students: Kimberly Campos, Wendy Concepcion, Margaret Jimenez, Paula Brown, Sandra Evans, Alanna Figueroa, Elizabeth Irizarry, Christopher Miree, Daniel Sanabria.
The Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP): Valeria Mogilevich, Rosten Woo, Sarah Nelson Wright.
New Settlement’s Bronx Helpers Staff: Jennifer Classon, Krystal Gonzalez, and Hugh Roberts.

Comments (3) | JUMP TO MOST RECENT COMMENT >>

Great job! Nutrition is a major issue in the Bronx. There is no access to healthy and affordable food, and worse yet, there is no information or resources on how to eat healthy, the benefits, the connection between unhealthy eating and chronic illness, etc. I recently joined the South Bronx Food Cooperative and think its a genius idea. I look forward to more opening all over the Bronx and have considered getting an initiative together to start a coop in my community. Fresh veggies and fruits for super affordable prices :)

Wendy Lopez
01.07.10 at 12:16

Nice video

website design New York City
01.21.10 at 08:35

Great video! I thought it was really informative without being negative or pushy. Thanks for spreading the message and motivating more of us to take this important issue into our own hands.

Nadia Williams
01.31.10 at 09:51

Places encourages comments to be short and to the point; as a general rule, they should not run longer than the original post. Comments should show a courteous regard for the presence of other voices in the discussion. We reserve the right to edit or delete comments that do not adhere to this standard.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Center for Urban Pedagogy makes educational projects about places and how they change. The Brooklyn-based organization is inspired by the idea that the power of imagination is central to the practice of democracy, and that the work of governing must engage the dreams and visions of citizens.
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