2023 Food Justice Summit: Blue Line Poverty and Food Insecurity

2023 Food Justice Summit: Blue Line Poverty and Food Insecurity: It's Real Though Not Visible
Presented by Benita Law-Diao
As one drives through the scenic mountain vistas within the “blue line” that represent New York’s treasured gem, the Adirondack State Park, and recreate in its quaint mountain villages and towns, it rarely occurs to seasonal residents and visitors that there is serious poverty and food insecurity within these communities that can impact the park’s existence. Throughout the years working in the Adirondacks, Benita Law-Diao, a NYS Department of Health Public Health Nutritionist, learned that many people in and outside the “blue line” were oblivious to the hardships of some of the park’s residents or they did not believe that poverty existed in the Adirondacks at all. Does the Adirondack’s beauty camouflage the reality of these residents who love and protect the park? This is not a new dilemma, it is real and now is the time to identify the issues, educate the disbelievers, and work to create a sustainable way of living for all who live within the “blue line”.