“We often think of local food systems as a luxury good – unaffordable to consumers, impractical to implement everywhere, and inaccessible for people who don’t already own land and capital. But long before the local food movement began, immigrant food systems like Chinatown have provided food access, sustained economic opportunities, and contributed to community development for low-income people of color and immigrants. To learn from their successes, we must redefine our understanding of what is local and what is healthy.”
Sarah Yeung is an urban planner and policy advocate who has been strongly influenced by her work with the Philadelphia Chinatown community, a place shaped by urban renewal and the fight for self-determination among residents.
She is founder and principal at Sojourner Consulting, which provides community development services that run the gamut from public housing conversation to community organizing—including research on immigrant food systems and developing cross-sector convenings on gentrification. She has also managed advocacy campaigns for The Food Trust, served as director of planning for the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation, was a fellow at National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, and wrote policy briefings for community organizers at the Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation (SWIAF) with the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University.
A previous adjunct professor at Temple University, she earned a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Rutgers University and a bachelor’s degree in English and Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
Organization
Sojourner Consulting, Philadelphia
Area of Focus
Food/small business support
Fellowship Project
Analyze the food system and business environment in Philadelphia Chinatown and outline economic development and cultural preservation strategies that support small businesses and food access.