Abstract
Solidarity Urban Farms (SUF) is a nonprofit that addresses food insecurity in Lorain, OH, but what happens there is much more expansive and meaningful than simply providing food. This paper discusses the history and context that leads to food deserts and food insecurity and how SUF’s urban farming is a movement toward food justice. Then, it examines the multidimensional material-social-emotional approach SUF takes on much like some of its predecessors. Next, this project uses interviews with staff and community members to cover what SUF conceptualizes as solidarity, why it’s important to their approach, and how they aim to make solidarity happen. This paper complicates the Western definition of religion, rejects secularism, and offers the Native American concept of doings as a new lens to see more in-depth what happens at SUF. Finally, this paper discusses the value of acting locally in response to systemic, global injustices like capitalism, poverty, and food insecurity.
Advisor
Rapport, Jeremy
Department
Religious Studies
Recommended Citation
Borer, Zoe, "Cultivating Connection: Why Solidarity Urban Farms Builds Solidarity to Address Food Insecurity in Lorain, OH" (2025). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 11356.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/11356
Publication Date
2025
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2025 Zoe Borer