Bioneers and Rooted in Community National Youth Network (RIC) convened the annual Just Us for Food Justice program to fuel the mind, body, and spirit of youth activists, as well as strengthening their skills in creative messaging, holistic leadership, and movement building practices.

Facilitated in 2015 by Gerardo Marin, Beto Fuentes, and Verenice Portela of RIC, the program worked with the theme “Resilient Roots, Rising Action” using the 5 Elements of Hip-Hop as a vehicle for social change.

In this interview, Verenice Portela shares her views on food justice:

One of my biggest concerns is access to healthy foods. The people that are growing the food are the people that don’t really have access to them. And on top of that, they are inhaling all these toxic pesticides and fumigants and it’s affecting not just our health but our ecosystem and everything around us.