Jadakiss & Styles P Are Delivering Healthy Bars to the Neighborhood…But Not the Musical Kind (Video)

In communities across the country, the issue of nutrition and access to healthy foods is one that has permeated across regional, racial, and economic strata. Far too often, residents of low-income neighborhoods don’t have health food stores, supermarkets, or even produce stands from which to purchase foods that aren’t processed, expired, or GMO-free. Commonly referred to as “food deserts,” these communities are filled with corner stores and fast-food restaurants while more privileged communities have an array of supermarkets, farmers markets, and juice bars to choose from. In an effort to combat the effects of an unhealthy diet, particularly on children, organizations like the Food Empowerment Project and Let’s Move have implemented plans to bring more fresh produce and natural foods to areas where kids’ access to sugary sodas and fatty snacks is ubiquitous.

The movement for better nutrition in such neighborhoods has been a driving force within the Hip-Hop community, as well. In 2013, Khnum “Stic” Ibomu (of Dead Prez) visited NPR to partake in a conversation about “How to ‘Eat Good’ in ‘the Hood’,” where the MC and activist discussed his involvement in bringing nutritious options to inner-city communities (he wrote an article for the Huffington Post called “7 Ways to Eat Good on a Hood Budget“). Now, the latest Hip-Hop artists to get involved are Jadakiss and Styles P, two Yonkers representatives who have launched a program to make their communities healthier that is based on juice bars; the two have partnered in opening up a chain of them, called Juices for Life.

Elite Daily, a millennial-driven outlet, featured the Lox members and their organization as part of its “Insights” column to find out why they have opted for such an aggressive countermeasure to what many feel is a problem caused by systemic disenfranchisement and lack of interest in the well-being of poorer, minority-based neighborhoods. As Styles P shares, “In the poorer communities, mostly, the money gets invested in liquor stores and the kind of things we don’t need.” Thus far, there are three Juices for Life locations in the Bronx and Yonkers, but the goal is to bring the juice bars to more neighborhoods. Check out Jadakiss’ and Styles P’s story in their own words below.

Related: Dallas Penn & Rafi Kam Get A Food Desert Instead Of Dessert In A Visit To East New York (Video)