Everything's on the Table
Food Economy & Jobs
This week on Everything's On the Table, HRN's Leah Eden discusses growing the food economy in NYC with guest co-hosts Benjamin Solotaire of Food Systems Network NYC and Mark Dunlea of the Hunger Action Network NYS. Tune in to hear Leah, Benjamin, and Mark talk with Nicholas Freudenberg of the NYC Food Policy Center at Hunter College about what growth in the food sector means for low-income and immigrant communities. Why are food jobs so widely regarded as disposable? Nicholas explains the importance of safe, sustainable restaurant and food incubator positions in the city's economic landscape. Later, Diana Robinson of the Food Chain Workers Alliance joins the program to discuss the hazardous working conditions that food workers often face, and how these circumstances also can affect public safety and health. Carolina Portillo, a food worker affiliated with ROC NY, talks about her experiences working in restaurants, and how she hopes for paid sick days and higher wages for all workers in her sector. How will the upcoming mayoral election affect conditions for food workers? Tune into this installment of Everything's On the Table to find out! This program has been brought to you by the HeritageRadioNetwork.org. Music provided by Sleepies.
"There are about 330,000 jobs in the food sector, and the reason we looked at this sector is because it's relatively fast-growing... it's one of the few sectors where people with limited education and people from other countries can work... It's also one of the sectors where workers don't have enough resources to support themselves or their families." [6:15]
-- Nicholas Freudenberg on Everything's On the Table
"I don't understand why when we ask for benefits or better wages people say that we should get a real job... I don't understand this American concept; everybody works hard. I can't say that I work harder than a dishwasher- I would say they just as hard as everybody else- but they do not get paid as much as I do." [18:45]
-- Carolina Portillo on Everything's On the Table