Hi. You might have noticed that our website is still a little hard to navigate. We’re working on an upgrade, promise! In the meantime, we’d like to take a step back to recap the past month here on the DC Food For All, lest any of these great stories fall through the cracks.
Policy changes
Several DC Food For All contributors have suggested ways that our local government can improve access to food in the city.
Most popularly, Caryn Ernst announced a campaign to ease restrictions on raising hens in DC’s backyards. Read more about the issue here, or go right ahead and sign our petition here.
Katie Vinopal of DC Hunger Solutions told us about an easy policy change that the City could make to help struggling families put food on the table as they work towards financial stability. She noted that, currently, families who transition out of TANF (the modern welfare program) often lose their food stamp benefits before they are truly self-sufficient. The city could fix this hole by extending food assistance to families who are transitioning off of TANF — and it would be paid for entirely by federal funding!
And Greg Plotkin examined a policy that might not be achieving its intended function: tax breaks for supermarket development in underserved neighborhoods. Are they actually working? Greg suggests the NYC FRESH initiative as an alternative policy approach. (His post was picked up by Greater Greater Washington, where there’s length discussion in the comments.)
Changes in the city
Several contributors looked at different aspects of DC’s food infrastructure — and found mixed results.
Tara Flakker describes her journey into a nascent movement to bring farm fresh food into DC’s schools. Related, Brynn Slate featured a vermiculture class for kids conducted by City Blossoms.
Liz Whitehurst took a journey with the Neighborhood Farm Initiative to explore DC’s urban gardenscape, conducting the city’s first census of community gardens. Liz’s post was also picked up by Greater Greater Washington!
And Jody Tick from the Capital Area Food Bank shared some retrospective thoughts about the history and eventual closing of the Anacostia Farmer’s Market.
Triumph over homelessness and hunger
Lastly, yesterday’s post is certainly worth your attention. Louise Thundercloud shared her personal perspective on homelessness. Louise explains that one of the most debilitating psychological effects of severe poverty is a person’s loss of control over the kind of food that she can eat. Her own experience, she says, suggests that workshare programs at community food sites like cooperative grocery stores are a way to foster both food security and personal empowerment.
Many thanks to all of our contributors.
If you appreciate these stories, and want to stay updated on DC Food For All events, sign up for our announcement list here. If you’d like to get more involved and potentially even contribute, please join our discussion group here. And if you have any general feedback, let us know at dcfoodforall@gmail.com.
Thank you!
