"First Food" Justice: Racial Disparities in Infant Feeding as Food Oppression

Abstract

Tabitha Walrond gave birth to Tyler Isaac Walrond on June 27, 1997, when Tabitha, a black woman from the Bronx, was nineteen years old.^1 Four months before the birth, Tabitha, who received New York public assistance, attempted to enroll Tyler in her health insurance plan (HIP), but encountered a mountain of bureaucratic red tape and errors.^2 After several trips to three different offices in the city, Tabitha still could not get a Medicaid card for Tyler.^3 Tabitha's city caseworker informed her that she would have to wait until after Tyler's social security card and birth certificate arrived to get the card.^4 No doctor would see him without the Medicaid card.^5