To learn more about areas of the world which lack access to fresh food, or food deserts, Josephinum Academy hosted their first ever Sacred Heart Network Summer Service Project. Students and their chaperons from Sacred Heart schools across the nation participated in this project called “Food Deserts in the Land of Plenty” from June 24 – 29. Josephinum students digested the food situation in the area by shopping for groceries in food deserts, volunteering at the Greater Chicago Food Depository and a food pantry to analyze the quality of food there. They were able to discover the negative health effects of life in a food desert and maintained a daily analysis to learn why unhealthy food is so reachable and low-priced. At the end of the week, the scholars dedicated some time to Fresh Moves, a Chicago transit bus transformed to a traveling fresh food marketplace. They also visited other Chicago agencies to get involved in creating solutions to solve the food desert problem. This extraordinary trip sounds like a truly engaging way to understand the negative impact of junk food and discover the overall quality of good nutrition.

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