Why this project?
Data dashboards are increasingly used by governments, researchers, funders, and community organizations to make decisions. In the context of food systems, data dashboards might share information about the people that live in a community, the distribution of food retail, health and environmental indicators, among others. While this information is necessary to visualize inequities and make informed decisions, there are concerns about how these data dashboards might inadvertently reinforce inequities within the food system. This project specifically grew out of three problems that were observed by the Food Lab team, over several years serving as a data partner:
- There is a gap between how communities view their food-related experiences, and how those are typically measured, reported, and visualized in data dashboards.
- There are trade-offs between accuracy and privacy as data is standardized and scaled up. Highly granular data at the local level can provide more insight but also risks surveillance, while aggregated and standardized data loses the nuance of the individual experience.
- Misgovernance of data systems and food systems create intersecting inequities for Black, brown, Indigenous, and New American communities.
What are we doing?
At the national level this project aims to produce a set of principles to guide others in developing food systems data dashboards that take into account both food justice and data justice. We are also conducting case studies of existing dashboards and convening a learning circle to engage those working in local government, academia, and community-based settings on issues that pertain to both food and data. In Buffalo, we will develop a prototype dashboard focused on East Side neighborhoods. This effort will be informed by residents of East Side neighborhoods and their allies.
Who is behind this?
This project is directed by Dr. Alex Judelsohn and Dr. Samina Raja. Project work is carried out by a team of researchers at the UB Food Lab, with guidance from our Community Data Advisory Group (CDAG) and community partners.
Community Data Advisory Group
Elizabeth Gosch – Executive Director, WNY Foundation
Domonique Griffin – Founder & Principal, LifeSpring Consulting, LLC
Nathaniel Mich – Executive Director of Taproot Collective
Fardowsa Nor – Organizer for World Refugee Day
Diane Picard – Executive Director, Massachusetts Avenue Project
Jaime Swygert – Founder, Buffalo Juneteenth Agricultural Pavilion
Project Team
Alex Judelsohn, Principal Investigator
Samina Raja, Principal Investigator
Alissa Ujie Diamond, Investigator
Mohamed Aly Etman, Investigator
Jane Dai, Postdoctoral Scholar
Mohsin Ramzan, PhD Candidate
Molly Riordan, PhD Student
Kate Hays, Project Coordinator
This project is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Grant ID 82311).
For more information, reach out to foodsystems@ap.buffalo.edu.