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Bodega Down Bronx

Students interview each other about their snack preferences.

In the Bronx, bodegas are a way of life. You can get everything from snacks to supper. But who chooses what they sell? Why is their stuff so cheap? And where do all those chips come from?   In 2008, students from New Settlement’s Bronx Helpers, CUP, and CUP teaching artist Jonathan Bogarín investigated bodegas in the Bronx.

Through interviews with bodegueros, food distributors, government officials, health professionals, and alternative Bronx food establishments, the group learned about how bodegas operate, what role they play in urban communities, and how they fit into the larger question of food access in low-income communities.

We debuted the video at The Point Community Development Corporation to pass along what we learned on the potato chip trail. It has since been screened at such venues as MoMA, CUNY Law School, Weeksville Heritage Center, El Puente, the Department of Juvenile Justice, NYC food justice organizations, and in classrooms ranging from Economics to Health.

Get your own copy of the video here!

You can also watch the video here:

Resources & Links

Baum Forum organizes annual conferences about food and farming issues and invited CUP to its 2008 conference on Schools, Food, and Community.

New Settlement’s Bronx Helpers is a youth development and community service program that empowers young people to make positive change in their neighborhoods.

The Point CDC is a nonprofit dedicated to youth development and the cultural and economic revitalization of the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx.

Jetro Cash and Carry is a wholesale supplier for food businesses and nonprofits, servicing many of New York’s bodegas.

Funding Support

This project was made possible by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the Sprint Foundation.

Special Thanks

Robert Alvarado (Jetro), Elan Bogarín, José Manuel Céspedes, Jack Doyle, Lorena Drago, Ramón Osvaldo Espinoza, Frank Falcon, Stanley Fleishman (Jetro), Helki Frantzen, Mindy Fullilove, Milton Gil, Nilda Gil, Myra Gordon (Hunts Point Cooperative Market), Confesor Rafael Grullón, Joel Key, Andrea Meller, Woodrow Morales, Zena Nelson (Bronx Food Co-Op), Sarah Pappas, Carol Sun, Sinocencio Rodriguez, Nydia Velázquez (U.S. Congress), Lou (Utz), Dan Wiley, The Hunts Point Department of Public Safety, and the 9th and 10th graders from New Settlement’s Bronx Helpers.

food policy, business

Participants

CUP
Teaching Artist
Jonathan Bogarín

Project Lead
Valeria Mogilevich

Designer
Rosten Woo

Project Support
Sarah Nelson Wright

New Settlement’s Bronx Helpers
Students
Kimberly Campos
Wendy Concepción
Margaret Jimenez
Paula Brown
Sandra Evans
Alanna Figueroa
Elizabeth Irizarray
Christopher Miree
Daniel Sanabria

Staff
Jennifer Classon
Krystal Gonzalez
Hugh Roberts

Andy Kennedy
Animation

Office of Jeff
Packaging Design
Jeff Lai

Buy Bodega Down Bronx!

Press

Bronx Bodegas for Beginners

Curbed
March 14, 2012

This documentary is a good primer on the bodega industry.

Where Does Your (Convenience Store) Food Come From?

Gilt Taste
August 31, 2011

These students take the opportunity to really explore how this little corner of the city works… and what results is one of the smartest, most nuanced, and most fun documents on the subject we’ve ever seen.

Feeding the Bronx

Edible Geography
January 12, 2010

CUP has created an awesome video that explores some of the economic and consumer forces that create the South Bronx foodscape.

Bodega Down Bronx

Design Observer
January 07, 2010

Like all CUP projects Bodega Down Bronx is inspired by the conviction that cities and their complex systems and politics can be made legible and transparent.