Promoting Food Justice and the Right to Adequate Food in Social Work Education

Food justice is centered on the principle that food is a basic human right. Despite a mandate to include human rights and social justice content in the social work curriculum, food insecurity and food justice receive scant attention in social work academia. Food insecurity affects a substantial portion of the population, with a disproportionate impact on women and Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. A human rights-based approach to food requires more than access to food; it demands that food also be available, adequate, and culturally acceptable. A right to food framework also calls on policymakers to immediately address disparities in food security, which are prevalent in the USA due to historical and ongoing systemic racism. This paper provides a conceptual understanding of food justice and its historical connections to social work, outlines the requirements of a right to food, and concludes by offering strategies to integrate food justice into the micro, mezzo, and macro social work curriculum.