Ashley Lehrer

My project emerges from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and imagines existing infrastructures to support circular and locally controlled foodways. Through policy and systems analysis, utilizing mapping and participatory action research, this thesis establishes guiding principles for a Community Embedded Food Economy (CEFE). As a publication, this thesis provides an overview of the current inequities within the NYC food system, and existing programs and resources that address food insecurity and food apartied that persist in diverse neighborhoods. This project was developed in partnership with Universe City NYC, a cooperatively owned and operated food port in East New York, Brooklyn, whose infrastructure has the potential to provide the space and resources to achieve CEFE and their own strategic goals. With Universe City founders, I created a development process to form a strategic plan for their organization. The goal is to align the desired future of Universe City NYC and their community partners with those of the City administration through non-extractive means and circular systems designed toward the long-term social, economic, and environmental justice of East Brooklyn residents. This project is ongoing; visit universecity.nyc for more information.