Public Librarianship & Food Justice: Exploring the Intersections

This report explores and examines some of the intersections between public librarianship and food justice. Food justice is a topic many working in public libraries wish to understand and put into action. Many struggle to do so in a way that is sustainable for the institution of the public library. These findings emerged from focus groups with public library workers conducted from November 2023 to March 2024. This report introduces five themes based on focus group conversations. Three themes describe how public library workers think about the intersections of food justice and public librarianship (1-3). Two describe how library workers structure their labor around it (4-5). The five themes are: 1. The library is an evolving, multi-cultural community resource and hub 2. Food access is essential to learning and literacy 3. Library workers feel pressure and guilt to address all needs and individuals 4. Procedures and policies integrate food work into library work 5. Partnerships integrate library work into food work