Food & Community

Mapping Food Access, Food Justice, & Food Sovereignty in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Researched, designed, and constructed by students enrolled in Mapping Justice, taught by Dr. Case Watkins at James Madison University in Fall 2019.

Community Mapping

This community mapping project analyzes food access, food justice, and food sovereignty in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

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Community Mapping

develops geographic data and digital maps to analyze and enhance well-being, livelihoods, and justice in local communities.

Interactive Content

Users can interact with this and other maps by shifting location and zoom level, and by clicking on map symbols to activate pop-ups.

Interactive Content

Hover over the layer symbol at the bottom left of each map to reveal the legend and symbols used.

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Community Mapping & Food Assets

This base map displays a geography of food access in Harrisonburg, including food retailers, food pantries (supplied by food banks), and public meals (provided by community organizations).

Click on the map symbols to reveal informational pop-ups.

The purple star near the top of the map, for example, indicates  Our Community Place .

Volunteers serve a community meal at Our Community Place ( Source : Nikki Fox, DN-R).


Food Access, Food Justice, & Food Sovereignty

Before examining food access, justice, and sovereignty in Harrisonburg, it is helpful to place the food system in a broader, global context. Researchers studying the global food system have a identified a powerful  corporate food regime (CFR)  in command of the global industrial agrifoods complex. This regime—a set of rules and institutions at local, national, and global scales—operates on neoliberal principles to drive the worldwide production and consumption of food.

While global food production has reached record highs, producing  more food than necessary  to feed Earth's population,  more than 800 million people  went undernourished in 2017— including  37 million in the US , or around 11% of the country.

This shows that while global production is ample, food distribution and access are unjust. This predicament holds true in Harrisonburg, the greater US, and the Earth as a whole.

To counter the hegemony and injustices of the CFR, tens of thousands of local, national, and international social movements have emerged to advocate for food, agriculture, land, and human rights. Scholar-activist  Eric Holt-Giménez has divided these movements  into two broad categories: Food Justice and Food Sovereignty. Our project draws on concepts from both fields to imagine and enact sustainable change in Harrisonburg and beyond.

Image courtesy:  Food First 

Food Justice

The advocacy organization  Just Food defines food justice  as “communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat [food that is] fresh, nutritious, affordable, culturally appropriate, and grown locally with care for the well-being of the land, workers, and animals.”

  • Struggles against racism, exploitation, and oppression within the food system.
  • Addresses root causes of inequalities both within and beyond the food chain.
  • Works toward the fair distribution of benefits and risks of production, transport, distribution, access, and consumption of food, without disparities or inequities.
  • Works within the CFR to reform the mechanisms of production and consumption.

Food Sovereignty

Coined by La Via Campesina, a global organization of small farmers, food sovereignty means “the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.”

  • Values and respects food providers and their rights, rather than industrial systems that undervalue and endanger small- and family-scale farmers and their livelihoods.
  • Localizes food systems, bringing food providers and consumers closer together and to the center of decision-making on issues of food production and distribution.
  • Maintains local control of food providers, over territory, land, grazing, water, seeds, livestock, and fish populations.
  • Builds knowledge and skills in developing and managing local food production.
  • Works within ecosystems in diverse, low-input, and sustainable agroecological production systems.
  • Seeks to radically disrupt the CFR and global food system through community-based, anti-imperialist movements and reforms.

Members of this course worked with established organizations in Harrisonburg — among them the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, the Cambium Collective, Community Service-Learning at JMU, JMU's Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services, Silver Run Forest Farm, Vine & Fig Sustainable Living Center, and Virginia Cooperative Extension—to contribute to local and global movements toward food justice and food sovereignty.

The interactive maps and analyses on this site are an initial step in that direction.

Environmental Racism

The racialization of food systems in Harrisonburg

Environmental racism persists throughout the US and elsewhere, including in our local communities. Understanding environmental racism and its local manifestations is fundamental to any study of food justice.

For leading scholars of environmental justice,  environmental racism includes :

  • Racial discrimination in environmental policy making and the enforcement of regulations and laws.
  • The deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities.
  • The official sanctioning of the life-threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in our communities.
  • A history of excluding people of color from leadership in the environmental movement.
  • Racial discrimination in environmental policy making and the enforcement of regulations and laws.

Multiple layers and levels of institutional, environmental racism has created and reinforced a variety of racialized injustices in the food system. These injustices include disproportionate access to environmental resources, targeted disamenities, and the failure to include people and communities of color in discussions of environmental issues.

In Harrisonburg, environmental racism manifests in limited access to resources, including food insecurity and disproportionate food access in areas such as the Northeast Neighborhood, the city's most prominent and longstanding African American community.

Harrisonburg's Northeast Neighborhood is home to a rich Black history of struggle and resistance, dating back to a time when racial segregation was official policy. Even after the gains of the Civil Rights Movement, the Northeast Neighborhood remains the center of the city's Black communities. Sadly, environmental racism and food injustice persist in a system that community activist Karen Washington has dubbed  food apartheid . By limiting access to food and land, food apartheid enforces food justices along racial lines in Harrisonburg and elsewhere in the 21st-century United States.

Environmental racism and food injustices are overlapping forms of institutional racism. Systemic disparities are ingrained and many of our social and civic structures were built on injustice. These injustices continue to persist in social and environmental institutions, including our food systems.

The map to the left displays the distribution of food retailers, food pantries, and public meals with the percentage of African-American residents in each US Census Block.


A closer look at Northeast Harrisonburg shows a scarcity of food access options.

Community efforts to address these injustices are underway.

Since 2005, the Northeast Neighborhood Association (NENA) has partnered with community residents, local officials, and NGOs to organize and revitalize the Northeast Neighborhood.

NENA is combating environmental racism and food injustice by planting new seeds in local communities. Its community garden provides access to soil, knowledge, and healthy foods in Northeast Harrisonburg.


Food Equity Zones

The Northeast Neighborhood is one of six areas in Harrisonburg identified as Food Equity Zones (FEZ). FEZs are areas in Harrisonburg where food access and food security are most acute. Beth Schermerhorn and Eric Bendfeldt of the Virginia Cooperative Extension developed  food equity zones  as areas with two or more of the following factors: medium to dense housing, relatively lower per capita income, located more than half a mile away from a grocery store, limited sidewalks, and limited gardening land. We mapped these six food equity zones and modified them to align with 2019 census block data. While people struggle with food access and security throughout Harrisonburg, and food justice can only be achieved in a city-wide effort, these zones represent areas with the highest concentrations of needs.

Food Equity Zones

  1. Vine St.
  2. Northeast Neighborhood
  3. Reservoir St.
  4. South Ave.
  5. Chestnut Ridge
  6. Mosby Ct.

Food Equity Zones: Criteria

    Medium to dense housing (1, 3-6)

    Low per capita income (1-4)

    >1/2 mile from grocery store (1, 6)

    Local grocery stores do not meet affordability & cultural needs (2-5)

    Limited sidewalks (1, 3-6)

    Limited gardening land (1, 3-5)

Food Access & Transportation

Analyzing bus routes in Harrisonburg

Transportation is a fundamental and constant factor for food access. According to the  US Department of Agriculture , “In small-town and rural areas with limited food access, the lack of transportation infrastructure is the most defining characteristic."

On the surface, the Harrisonburg Department of Transportation appears to be effectively providing the citizens of Harrisonburg access to adequate food retailers, as seen on the map to the right. Notice how most of the food retailers are accessed by various bus routes. Digging a bit deeper, however, reveals several other factors to consider when evaluating public transit and food access.

For more information about the bus routes and food retailers click on the retailer dot symbols or bus route lines.

Some other questions to consider when evaluating the effectiveness of bus routes:

  • How often and regular do these routes operate and what are "after hours" and weekend options?
  • How does weather affect schedules?
  • What are the route options and transit times between various neighborhoods (especially Food Equity Zones) and food retailers (especially supermarkets)?
  • How accessible are buses and fares?

Without regularity, late and weekend access, and proximity, food access can be limited. When considering the effectiveness of public transit policies and their relationships with food justice, these are just a few of the many factors to consider.


What's Missing?

One telling caveat in the Harrisonburg transit data is the small number of food retailers inaccessible by the city's bus routes. This map shows a cluster of three such food retailers, all of which are international grocers.

Click on each dot for detailed information about each food retailer.

One of the retailers inaccessible along Harrisonburg's bus routes,  Doña Fer Grocery Store , 1060 Virginia Ave.

Crime & Food (In)security

Research examining links between food and crime remains inconclusive

Food insecurity and crime are both social conditions that  affect millions in the U.S.  Decades of academic research on food security has examined a variety of links between food access and crime. Prominent among these links are the  demographic similarities  between communities affected by food insecurity and high levels of crime, links between  food insecurity and delinquency , and  white collar crimes  by large agrifood corporations.

While researchers have found a variety of links between food and crime, the socio-spatial relationships between food insecurity and crime remain poorly understood. A lack of reliable data is just one issue hampering advances in research.

Mapping crime and food security in Harrisonburg

This map demonstrates socio-spatial relationships between food access and crime call data in Harrisonburg. The map conceals as much or more than it reveals. The crime heat map is comprised of call data from the Harrisonburg Police Department as location data for the actual crimes were not available.

Virginia's FeedVA initiative calculates and maps  data for food insecurity , but only as low as the county level. Food access or security data at a more granular level remain unavailable. In this map, food insecurity is therefore represented by  Food Equity Zones .

Data such as those in this map are inadequate for understanding food access, crime, and the socio-spatial processes that link them. Any links between crime and food insecurity implied in this map remain incidental and spurious. Crime maps such as this and the many others available online (e.g. the Harrisonburg crime data posted at  cityprotect.com ) can be dangerously misleading to well-meaning officials, policymakers, and residents.

Looking ahead

Understanding and overcoming food (in)security, crime, and any relationships between them requires better data and more focused analysis. Greater public awareness and literacy of maps and socio-spatial relationships could protect residents and policymakers from misguided or dangerous conclusions derived from bad maps.

Childhood Food Insecurity

6 million children in the US are food insecure

The  USDA defines food insecure households  as those: "unable to acquire enough food to meet the needs of all of their members because they have insufficient money or other resources for food."

Effects of food insecurity

Research shows how food insecurity  negatively affects a child's ability to :

  • Develop interpersonal relations
  • Form friendships
  • Express feelings and ideas in healthy ways
  • Develop self-control
  • Develop emotional well-being
  • Collaborate with others

In the classroom

  • Lower reading scores
  • Lower math scores
  • More likely to repeat a grade

A coordinated effort

A mobile literacy program and a neighborhood produce market have joined forces to address the overlapping challenges of school performance and food (in)security for children in our local communities.


Bridging Nutrition & Literacy: The Gus Bus

The Gus Bus is a mobile literacy program operated by the Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services at JMU.

The Gus Bus and its "Reading Road Show" provide activities and book checkout to children throughout the local area. JMU student volunteers promote literacy skills with educational games and story time on board the bus.

Gus Bus interior

Shelves with books available for check-out.

Bridging Nutrition & Literacy: The Good Food Truck

The Good Food Truck

Operated by the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, the  Good Food Truck  provides a mobile neighborhood produce market. It follows the Gus Bus to offer seasonal produce to children and their families in Harrisonburg and beyond.

Food on the move

  • The Good Food Truck follows the Gus Bus on its routes through local communities, but its on-board produce market is available to people of all ages.
  • Participants are free to choose any type and amount of fresh produce.
  • Volunteers offer participants a sample meal and recipe to prepare at home.

Volunteers prepare the Good Food Truck for service.

The Good Food Truck provides labels and recipes in four languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, and Kurdish.

Nutrition Matters!

Simply increasing caloric intake does NOT improve a child's literacy scores

One  study of a school meal program in Chile  found that providing high calorie meals to poorer students failed to improve their academic performance—including enrollment, attendance, test scores, and grade repetition.

Nutritious produce and meals elevate school performance, lead to better health, and increase quality of life in our communities.


Literacy, Nutrition, & Food Justice

This map depicts Gus Bus and Good Food Truck service locations along with the Food Equity Zones. While the service locations cluster within four of the FEZs, two of the zones have not yet received service.

Together the Gus Bus and Good Food Truck work toward local food justice by bridging the gap between nutrition and literacy.

Foraging for Food Sovereignty

Gathering fruits & nuts in the Friendly City

Foraging is the act of taking control of one's food source; going out and gathering plants from the roots which they were grown.

With help from the  Acornucopia Project  and     Silver Run Forest Farm , we mapped several of the fruit and nut trees available for foraging in and around the city. The map to the right presents some of the trees available to local residents, but this remains a work in progress.

Click on the tree symbols for information on individual trees.


Foraging connections

Forage trees reconnect food, plants, people, and local environments. Useful plants grow all around us, and foraging provides free and nutritious food, medicines, and materials.

Like people, plants have migrated from all over the world to find homes in Harrisonburg. Trees such as the  persimmon —which originated in North America, and the Chinese Chestnut—a migrant from East Asia—have laid down roots side by side here in the Shenandoah Valley. Those and other trees can break down social barriers by providing culturally appropriate foods for our diverse communities.

Identifying, planting, and enjoying forage trees, along with greater varieties of locally-grown fruits and vegetables, nourishes bodies and communities, as we work toward food justice and food sovereignty.

Finding home

A local restaurant owner gathers a familiar resource at the foot of a Chinese Chestnut tree in Harrisonburg. The nuts provide ancestral flavor and healing nourishment in the traditional dishes of her homeland.

Foraging local landscapes

Interact with the map at the left to identify trees for foraging in and around Harrisonburg.

This map is only preliminary and we hope to expand it with locations and information crowd-sourced from local residents.

Community Gardens

Community gardens provide a powerful tool for addressing food security, food justice, and food sovereignty in Harrisonburg. The  CDC defines community gardens  as

"Collaborative projects on shared open spaces where participants share in the maintenance and products of the garden, including healthful and affordable fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Unfortunately, Harrisonburg’s municipal code does not currently allow for shared community gardens on public or non-residential land. Individuals may operate private or  business   gardens , but city zoning laws prohibit collaborative gardening on public land, shared, or non-residential plots.

Community gardens  provide much more than   healthy food . They protect green space, offer educational opportunities, and strengthen communities by cultivating cultural renewal and exchange. The ability to grow nutritious and culturally relevant food is especially  empowering for minority   communities . Community gardens can intertwine social, environmental, economic, and food justice, making real progress toward  sustainable and   resilient communities .

Many other Virginia cities already benefit from community gardens—including Staunton, Charlottesville, and Richmond. Those cities developed  laws and procedures  that led to sustainable, accessible, and public community gardens. We propose that Harrisonburg modify its zoning codes to allow for effective and sustainable community gardens. Codes and experiences from other Virginia cities could serve as models for potential changes in the Friendly City.

Right: The agroecological gardens and greenhouses at  Vine & Fig  in Harrisonburg. These collaborative but private gardens hint at the transformative potential of community gardens and related public policy.

Zoning Districts & the Potential for Community Gardens

The interactive maps below display zoning districts in Harrisonburg along with Food Equity Zones and vacant lots. Using these maps as guides, we can identify available areas especially well suited for community gardens.

Use the pointers to navigate through the maps below. Zoom in and out to shift scale. Click on symbols to reveal informational pop-ups.

Zoning Map

This interactive map shows tax parcels inside the City of Harrisonburg and their current zoning designation.

Click the arrow to continue.

Zoning Map

Click on any of the zones to reveal its current designation.

Food Equity Zones

This map shows current zoning districts with the FEZs (in dashed green) to identify areas of special consideration for gardens.

Vacant lots

This map shows current zoning designations with the FEZs and vacant residential (R-2) blocks to identify areas potentially available for gardens.

Vacant lots & land use

In this version, vacant R-2 blocks (blue) and FEZs (white) are shown over imagery to display current land uses.

Food Equity Zones & the Potential for Community Gardens

“To grow your own food gives you power and dignity” -Karen Washington

This map explores the potential for community gardens in Harrisonburg. By mapping Food Equity Zones with R-2 vacant land parcels, we can search for available land in areas where food access is the most precarious. This allows us to identify parcels for potential community gardens that would fulfill the greatest community needs.

 Click here  for a related web map that includes these data as well as land use imagery from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP).

Photo courtesy: Amelia Morrison /  Vine & Fig 

This preliminary effort to address food access and justice provides a roadmap toward food sovereignty in the city. Any effort to link community gardens with the ideals of food sovereignty would, however, demand a participatory, grassroots movement fueled by local residents and community leadership. This project provides a first step and suggests avenues for further work. This effort also calls for increased advocacy to propose changes to in municipal zoning codes that would allow for shared, public, and community gardens in the Friendly City.

Community Mapping, Food Security, & Food Justice at JMU

Finally, we turn our attention to JMU. While this map shows an abundance of food retailers on and around campus, food insecurity remains a persistent challenge for many students and others in our communities. We support efforts underway to create a  Campus Food Pantry at JMU  that would provide a safety net for vulnerable students.

We also call for JMU students to break out of their bubbles and become more involved in local efforts toward food justice and food sovereignty. Volunteering for local organizations such as Vine & Fig works toward social-environmental justice while providing learning opportunities, professional experience, and renewed connections with land, plants, food, and local communities.


The End is the Beginning

The maps and analyses on this site are less finished products than urgent calls to action. This preliminary research provides a roadmap toward food justice and food sovereignty in Harrisonburg and beyond. We hope this work inspires readers to continue the struggles for social and environmental justice.


Research Team:

  • Gen Allison (Nutrition & Literacy)
  • Will Frasier (Crime & Food)
  • Kelsey Holtz (Foraging)
  • Allison Kesser (Transportation; Web Coordinator)
  • Alyssa Maring (Food Sovereignty & Community Gardens)
  • Robin Reach (Community & Participatory Mapping)
  • Savannah Roy (Community Mapping & JMU)
  • Autumn Taylor (Environmental Racism)
  • Emily Werner (Zoning & Community Gardens)

Special Thanks to our Contributors & Community Partners

  • Jolynne Bartley
  • Eric Bendfeldt
  • Tom Benevento
  • Chip Brown
  • Livvy Call
  • Cornelius Frantz
  • Johnathan McRay
  • Amelia Morrison
  • Christen Peters
  • French Price
  • Beth Schermerhorn
  • Dr. Mikaela Schmidt-Harsh

Allies and interested parties are encouraged to contact  Dr. Case Watkins , Assistant Professor of Justice Studies at JMU, with any questions, concerns, or opportunities.


Image courtesy:  Food First 

Volunteers serve a community meal at Our Community Place ( Source : Nikki Fox, DN-R).

One of the retailers inaccessible along Harrisonburg's bus routes,  Doña Fer Grocery Store , 1060 Virginia Ave.

Gus Bus interior

Shelves with books available for check-out.

Volunteers prepare the Good Food Truck for service.

The Good Food Truck provides labels and recipes in four languages: English, Spanish, Arabic, and Kurdish.

Photo courtesy: Amelia Morrison /  Vine & Fig