{"id":2105,"date":"2025-11-03T19:39:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T19:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/annual-report\/?page_id=2105"},"modified":"2025-12-09T17:59:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T17:59:34","slug":"newark-mothers-explore-food-inequity-using-photography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/newark-mothers-explore-food-inequity-using-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"NEWARK MOTHERS EXPLORE FOOD INEQUITY USING PHOTOGRAPHY"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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THROUGH THEIR EYES: <\/span>
\nNewark Mothers Explore Food\nInequity Using Photography<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t
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When a Newark mother used a wheelchair to lower herself to her child\u2019s eye level in the grocery store, what she saw startled her: row after row of ultra-processed snacks, sugary cereals, and brightly colored drinks\u2014all within easy reach of a preschooler. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe how everything was designed to target them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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That moment was sparked by a partnership between Rutgers School of Health Professions (SHP) and a Newark Head Start agency using Photovoice\u2014a participatory research method that empowers community members to document issues in their daily lives through photography. The project\u2019s goal was not just to study food insecurity, but to help families in underserved areas question the systems that shape how and what their children eat.<\/p>

\u201cAs a culture, we bombard low-income communities with advertisements for fast food and ultra-processed food,\u201d said Pamela Rothpletz-Puglia, professor in preventive nutrition science and qualitative methods researcher. \u201cThis was about engaging people as experts in their own lives and helping them critically examine their food environments.\u201d<\/p>

The project was funded by a Rutgers Equity Alliance for Community Health (REACH) grant to pilot- test approaches for building community-participatory food justice movements.<\/p>

Over four weeks, thirty mostly Black mothers, including recent immigrants from African countries, were given cameras and asked to capture images of the food environments that influenced how they fed their children\u2014at home, in stores, and in restaurants. In total, they took more than 800 photographs.<\/p>

The images became a conversation starter in focus groups, where mothers explained why they took particular photos and what they represented. \u201cAt first, the conversations were about price and feeding kids on a tight budget,\u201d said Rothpletz-Puglia. \u201cBut over time, they started questioning why things were the way they were\u2014why healthy food is so hard to get, and why unhealthy food is everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The project revealed deeper structural barriers. While the mothers appreciated WIC, they noticed that the assigned stores didn\u2019t always carry fresh produce. They described the difficulty of getting to better- stocked stores on public transit. They shared that it was easier to shop in neighborhood stores such as Afro-Caribbean markets, where there are fewer ads targeting children, or local fish markets for fresher food. But those stores were often more expensive.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u201cThese parents want to make healthy choices, but financial constraints and the surrounding food environment make it extremely difficult,\u201d said Rothpletz-Puglia. \u201cSometimes buying a less expensive treat, like a candy bar a child wants in the grocery checkout, may be one of the few times a parent can say \u2018yes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>

The project also pushed back on a larger cultural assumption: that children should eat differently from adults. \u201cWe have this idea that kids need \u2018kid food\u2019\u2014chicken nuggets, pizza and ultra-processed food filled with sugar, fat and sodium\u2014but they don\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cThey can eat the same healthy food we eat.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In December 2024, Rutgers and the Leaguer\u2019s Inc. Head Start early education agency held a public exhibit of the mothers\u2019 photos and voices. More than 70 people attended, including parents, local business owners, and community leaders. One mother, featured in a five-minute video, described how the experience prompted her to rethink how she feeds her family.<\/p>

Still, Rothplez-Puglia emphasized that behavior change wasn\u2019t the project\u2019s primary goal\u2014rather than aiming to convince parents to say \u201cno\u201d to unhealthy foods, it was meant to create awareness about the food environment and develop critical consumers and change agents.<\/p>

The exhibit is now traveling across the Leaguer\u2019s Inc.\u2019s 11 Head Start centers in Newark, Irvington, Roselle, and Elizabeth, continuing to raise awareness. With additional funding, Rothplez-Puglia hopes to build on the momentum to support advocacy and community-driven change.<\/p>

\u201cWe feed our kids based on what\u2019s available, affordable, and advertised to them,\u201d she said. \u201cThese mothers started asking why there is so much unhealthy food and advertising to children\u2014and that\u2019s where real change in communities begins.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THROUGH THEIR EYES: Newark Mothers Explore Food Inequity Using Photography When a Newark mother used a wheelchair to lower herself to her child\u2019s eye level in the grocery store, what she saw startled her: row after row of ultra-processed snacks, sugary cereals, and brightly colored drinks\u2014all within easy reach of a preschooler. \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2105","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2105"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4227,"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2105\/revisions\/4227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shp.rutgers.edu\/community-impact-report\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}