Giving Thanks: Food Justice and Access

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are reminded that many in our community lack the resources to prepare and enjoy this annual meal. This blog features several murals that highlight food justice and a few that honor the people and markets that provide access to the food we eat.

The food justice movement is a grassroots effort to ensure that all communities have the right to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food, regardless of race, class, or other factors. It tackles systemic inequalities in the food system, such as poverty, racial disparities, and the exploitation of food workers, by advocating for policy changes and supporting community-led solutions, including community gardens and food co-ops.

Hope Begins with a Meal

Hope Begins with a Meal was designed and painted by artists Eurhi Jones and David McShane. The mural is situated outside the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission in Philadelphia’s Chinatown neighborhood. Set against a symbolic yellow sun that radiates gold light against a bright blue sky, a baby bird in a nest is fed by its mother, who hangs from a branch above. Around this central image of birds are images of fruits, vegetables, insects, and flowers, all symbolic of sustenance and nourishment provided by the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission.  Location Note: Mural is located on rear of building facing Pearl Street.

More than Food 

More than Food is a mural by Carlos “Calo” Rosa at Philabundance’s Hunger Relief Center, located on Pattison Avenue in Philadelphia. This captivating and colorful mural aims to bring new life to South Philadelphia and to celebrate the impact of Philabundance’s work in the community. The mural was dedicated in September 2023 to highlight the nationally recognized Hunger Action Month.

Rosa’s thoughtful design brings Philabundance’s mission to life, highlighting the people and communities that are at the heart of our work. Featuring food flowing through warehouses, volunteers actively engaged in service, and the journeys of the people served, the mural reflects the ceaseless dynamism of Philabundance. At its heart, the mural depicts the community coming together and the power of the simple act of sharing a meal. The project highlights food insecurity, humanizes the statistics, and creates a palpable sense of empathy in viewers, with the potential to engage them more deeply in the serious issue of hunger in the Greater Philadelphia region.

The mural was selected through a rigorous process that involved an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) and an immersive experience for finalists. The winning design was chosen via a popular vote by Philabundance staff, PCK students, board members, and community partners. Philabundance and Mural Arts Philadelphia hosted paint days throughout the summer to bring this project to life.

Recipe for the Community

Recipe for the Community by artist Cindy Lozito is located inside the first-floor offices of the Vetri Community Partnership kitchen in the Callowhill/Poplar neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Lozito described the experience of creating the mural in a statement presented at the public dedication for the project held on January 25, 2024: “As soon as I entered Vetri Community Partnership’s headquarters, I knew I had to work on this project. During my first meeting with the project partners, they shared with me how people often enter the space as strangers but leave as friends. Program participants entered with a range of knowledge in food preparation, from very basic to quite experienced. Still, once class got underway, the initial nerves disappeared. Soon enough, they’d be gathered at the mega table in the kitchen, enjoying something delicious they crafted together and experiencing how food can be a common denominator for community. We were all aligned that this mural – the first thing most people would see when they enter the space – should make them feel like they belong and, of course, get them excited about food! By merging my love of comics and public art, I created a simple story through painted panels that illustrate how Moroccan veggie stew is made.

“I cannot emphasize enough how wonderful it was to work on this mural with my talented assistant, Sammy, and superstar Restorative Justice crew members, December and Rialiah. Any muralist will tell you that the location where you’re installing a mural can make or break your experience, and I couldn’t have asked for a kinder, more welcoming environment than this one. Throughout my time installing the mural, it was clear to me that the Vetri Community Partnership team brings so much care and attention to each and every cooking class, planning and tailoring recipes that make cooking enjoyable for all guests. I must say, it also sweetened the deal that we got to taste some recipes in progress on our last installation day, too! ”

Location Note: The interior mural may not be available for public viewing outside of regular business hours.

The People’s Harvest

Mural Arts Philadelphia, in partnership with The GIANT Company, dedicated a new, permanent 4,000-square-foot mural, entitled “The People’s Harvest,” which focuses on the intersection of food justice and racial justice. Designed by Belize-born artist and founding member of the Amber Art and Design artist’s collective, Ernel Martinez, the mural is located under JFK Boulevard on 23rd Street.

The project explores the connections between food systems and racial injustice to shed a broader light on a critical question: How can we transform our food systems into equitable engines for healthy, empowered communities? Food, and the act of gathering for a meal, is much more than just a way to stay nourished. It can also be a cultural resource that brings people together and inspires large-scale social change and transformation.

Amber Art and Design and community partners, including The Rodale Institute, Farmer Jawn, and The People’s Kitchen, co-led a series of virtual public forums and workshops where artists, farmers, chefs, agriculturists, and Philadelphians could connect and highlight the ways that art can illustrate and respond to inequities in the urban environment. The ideas generated from these sessions informed the final mural design. These sessions were also spaces to share resources and information regarding food equity, offering tools and information to participants on how to grow food locally and where to find free food banks. The process of resource sharing resulted in infographics designed and produced by Madalyn Smith (see images at the Amber Art and Design website).

This final mural features Farmer Jawn, The Rodale Institute, and The People’s Kitchen, organizations that are working to create equitable food systems in Philadelphia.

An Ode to 9th Street

An Ode to 9th Street by artist Michelle Angela Ortiz is located in the Bella Vista neighborhood of Philadelphia in the 9th Street Market. This mural takes from the spaces, moments, conversations, and stories of the market and combines them into a burst of images, color, words and energy in hopes of capturing what it feels like to be part of this special place. Fate plays a role in the mural; words and pictures are randomly placed, and new stories develop. This is what the market is about: connecting people and family, hopes, dreams, and hard work. The artist drew upon stories from the Our Market Project, spending time in the market to observe and listen.

Part of Our Market a community-centered, multi-layered, multi-year public art project created and led by artist Michelle Angela Ortiz. The project was developed in April 2019. Our Market is focused on supporting the im(migrant) vendors, business owners, and neighbors that work and reside in the 9th Street Market, the artist’s home for 40+ years. The Project invests in the 9th Street Market by offering creative community strategies to tackle the issues of gentrification, racism, displacement, and erasure.

The Our Market Project is supported by lead funding from the William Penn Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, in partnership with the Mural Arts Program. Additional support is provided by the Hearthland Foundation, the Leeway Foundation in partnership with the Bella Vista Neighborhood Association and Philadelphia250 and Visit Philadelphia. Past support has been provided by the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures Catalyst for Change Grant, Art is Essential Grant, and the Southwest Folklife Alliance.

Cornucopia

The mural, by Jonathan Laidacker, on the side of a Shop Rite in Nicetown, displays fresh fruits and vegetables. Local residents selected the produce theme and design at a community meeting, and students at Saint James Middle School assisted with painting the mural. Brown’s Super Stores’ mission is to invest in locations that have traditionally been considered food deserts.

Together We Can 

In 2011, world-renowned artist Meg Saligman collaborated with artist Jenna Price and Writers Matter Program Director Bob Vogel to create a customized program for 23 students at the Northwest Regional Talent Center. During this program, students were encouraged to express their thoughts on hunger in their community through writing and a variety of art projects. One session consisted of a trip to a food pantry to see how their neighbors in need acquire food. The project aimed to unite the voices of Philadelphia’s youth through writing and art in a final public artwork on Philabundance’s wall, promoting social change and inspiring action.

The project was the result of a partnership between the Mural Arts Program, the Writers Matter Program at La Salle University, and the School District of Philadelphia. The mural banner features text and drawings by Philadelphia School District Talent Center students expressing their thoughts on hunger in their community.

Who Makes Things Grow 

Who Makes Things Grow by John Lewis is located on the exterior of the ShopRite of Oregon Avenue grocery store in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The mural was designed to showcase the origins of some of the food found on grocery store shelves, highlighting the people and their labor, as opposed to just appearing in front of you as it sometimes seems. From planting to harvesting, the mural makes sure viewers understand that there were other hands involved in the growing of food. Those hands sometimes resemble our own, and at other times, they do not, but in the end, as in the mural, we all sit at the same table to eat.

Seeds of Sharswood 

Seeds of Sharswood is a sunny and vibrant mural that is a tribute to the ethos of Sanctuary Farm and the people who were integral to the organization’s founding as an urban farm that provides organic, fresh produce and promotes health and well-being in the community. With funding support from the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE), Mural Arts was able to undertake a range of work for Sanctuary Farm, starting with the repair of their exterior building wall.

In August 2024, an advisory committee of Sanctuary Farm stakeholders was formed to engage in artist selection, community input, and design development. Cindy Lozito was selected as the design artist, and she began community engagement and design development immediately after. For Sanctuary Farm’s Fall Festival in October, Lozito led a painting activity and shared a design draft of the mural to get feedback from community members. The festival was well attended, with lots of laughter and engagement.

In January 2025, muralist De’von Downes was brought in as the lead muralist for this project to oversee the production and installation of the mural. They began the work by painting the ghost print polytabs in their studio, with assistance from Isabella Akhtarshenas and Brittany Baum. Lozito was available to consult on the mural project, creating a lovely team of artists for this mural.

On March 1, 2025, Sanctuary Farm hosted the Community Paint Day. At least 50 participants contributed by painting on some of the polytab sheets, with special requests of painting Jake the dog and Ms. Ruby Brown-Glover, the mother of Ms. Lashield Myer, who was a part of the advisory committee.

By mid-April, the artist team began installing the mural on site at Sanctuary Farm. Despite certain complications such as technical issues with the lift, the artist team successfully installed the mural with on-the-ground support from Sanctuary Farm staff and volunteers.

The Seeds of Sharswood mural was dedicated on a hot morning in June 2025. It was a heartwarming event attended by neighbors, supporters, and the Sanctuary Farm community. Attendees were greeted with live music by Al Zamora. The speakers included Mural Arts Executive Director Jane Golden, District Councilperson Jeffrey Young Jr., Sanctuary Farm Executive Director Andrea Vettori, Cindy Lozito, De’von Downes, and the daughters of the honored portraits featured in the mural.