Earth Day is about more than environmental protection.
Last weekend, many St. Louisans vowed to combat food insecurity and food deserts, while also nurturing the environment and expanding educational opportunities.
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, and St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page joined over 1,500 people during Forest Park’s Earth Day Festival on April 22 and 23.
President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All on April 21. Its goals include protecting communities from pollution and environmental harms, according to the White House.
“I support President Biden’s initiative and look forward to working to address St. Louis’ environmental injustices,” Mayor Jones said.
Despite cold and gray weather, St. Louis organizations that showed up to amplify environmental issues locally included STEMSTL, Missouri Coalition for the Environment [MCE], Urban Harvest, and City Greens Market.
MCE and its branch, Just Moms, target environmental hazards including radioactive contamination.
“Radioactive material is interspersed throughout St. Louis,” MCE’s website states. “The goal is not to create panic, but to educate the majority.”
In 1973, while uranium was being processed throughout the U.S 8,700 tons of radioactive waste was illegally dumped at West Lake, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Just Moms is fighting for a voluntary buyout for residents within a mile of the West Lake Landfill.
“We all must work together to address our environment,” Dr. Page said. “The county’s recycling division scheduled 12 electronic recycling events in partnership with our county municipality to divert hazardous materials from our landfills.”
On the education front, STEMSTL Community Coordinator Samantha Minor said as digitalization takes priority in many schools, her organization works on integrating hands-on STEM classes into more St. Louis K-12 schools and expanding its programs into Metro East.
“Students learn better hands-on,” Minor said. “Trading hands-on classes for tablets is not concrete and foundational for students to comfortably build upon.”
As for funding, Minor said the ongoing trend of diverting money for digitization is unproductive.
“We didn’t discuss middle schools properly before,” Minor said. “During middle school, students explore and get more into sports and art. And so, we’re working to incorporate STEM into those interests.”
Almost 1 in 5 residents in St. Louis City in 2018 did not have consistent, reliable access to sufficient nutritious food, according to Feeding America.
“The disparity is very evident between what’s offered in St. Louis County versus the city,” Urban Harvest Events Coordinator, Wangui Gathangu, said.
“We have different education programs teaching farming for beginners until they can independently grow produce.”
Urban Harvest said its five farm locations help reduce food deserts by focusing on low-income food access. Food is distributed to the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Food Pantry, Flance School early-childhood development center, and LifeWise Community Center.
Located in The Grove neighborhood, City Greens Market sources from 160 local vendors and farmers to offer at-cost [reselling at the wholesale price] membership plans starting at $20 a month based on a family’s finances, according to City Greens Market Community Outreach Director LaTia Thomas.
Founded in 2008, Thomas said the now eight-person team hopes to launch a mobile market vehicle and park in underserved neighborhoods.
“The Grove faced a lot of gentrification, and there were few, if any, grocery stores,” Thomas said. So these women [the founders] came together and asked, ‘How can we feed our community?’ [They] found local farmers, created food boxes for the public, and the mission grew into a market.”
CGM offers free membership for people who are unemployed or in financial hardship, Thomas said.
“There’s always been a discrepancy between people having or not having food, but it is a basic human right,” said Thomas.
