Haverford Professor Talia Young Revives Tradition of Fresh Fish for the Underserved

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Talia Young
Image via Fishadelphia
Talia Young

Talia Young, a Haverford College visiting assistant professor in environmental studies, is recreating a time in the 1970s when many Philadelphians used to buy fresh fish from a truck, writes Ann Finkbeiner for the Hakai Magazine.

Young recalled when the truck would drive around the neighborhoods. When it stopped coming, fresh fish became a rarity in some parts of the city.

Today, a nonprofit called Fishadelphia, founded by Young, is attempting to bring back fresh fish to Philadelphia’s underserved neighborhoods.

The nonprofit buys fish from the docks in New Jersey and then drives it to a high school in North Philadelphia. There, the fish are packed into coolers which people take home and distribute any assigned fish to neighbors from their porches.

Young earned her undergraduate degree in biology from Swarthmore College. Today, she’s a scientist with a Ph.D. in ecology.  She serves as Fishadelphia’s executive director.

 “I’ve spent my professional life figuring out how to occupy a space that includes the environment, science, and social justice,” said Young. “Fishadelphia is the closest I’ve come.”

The nonprofit is a community-supported fishery. People subscribe to receive fish deliveries from local fisheries for a season.

Read more about Fishadelphia and Talia Young in the Hakai Magazine.

Find out more about Fishadelphia.

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