Archive for January, 2010

Posted by Amy Johnson | January 21st, 2010

In celebration of their 30th Anniversary, the Capital Area Food Bank hosted a Hunger Policy Forum last Friday, January 15 at the offices of The Washington Post. Entitled, “Ideas & Inspirations for the Future,” the forum centered on a discussion by local and national experts about hunger in our nation and in the nation’s capital.

A few central themes emerged from the discussion. First and foremost among them was the notion that hunger is a problem that we can solve. Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), noted that “the recession is the worst since the 30’s, but we’re rich enough to end hunger overnight. It’s a political problem.”

In other words, as a society we are capable of ending hunger. But do we have the will? And what roles do food pantries play in the problem?

“The time has come to maximize our impact in the political arena,” added Janet Poppendieck, professor at City University in New York and author of several books on poverty, but this mandate has a double edge: if we fail in that, Poppendieck said, then we “allow the marginally concerned to feel much better about hunger, and we are in danger of functioning as a moral safety valve.”

The other theme I noticed was that this potential political willpower for the pursuit of policy change can only be realized through the development of community. John Cook of the Boston Medical Center noted that we are infringing upon a “great awakening in the United States about our community.” He spoke hopefully about the opportunity that could come with a dawning awareness that “we are not individuals pursuing our own needs, but rather we are all connected.”

Posted by Andrea Northup | January 20th, 2010

Looking for an excuse for a night out this Friday? Look no further! On January 22nd you can support locally-owned restaurants, the sustainable local food economy, and Washington, DC kids! The DC Farm to School Network’s Local Restaurants for Local Kids fundraiser is happening at some of the best restaurants in the District.

Several local food and drink hot spots are generously donating a portion of their proceeds to the DC Farm to School Network this Friday. The DC Farm to School Network is an organization that works to bring healthy, local produce into DC public school cafeterias. By simply enjoying a delicious snack, cocktail, or dinner at one of the great participating restaurants, you will help to improve access to healthy, tasty and local foods in D.C. schools! See below for listings, or at the Facebook page.

Posted by Stacy Braverman | January 19th, 2010

[Cross-posted from Beyond Bread.]

Imagine lining up at dawn to enter a room where you are not allowed to eat or drink anything. If you leave to go to the bathroom, you risk being sent to the back of the line. Imagine waiting for eight hours, only to be told that you cannot be helped and need to return for more of the same tomorrow.

As described in today’s Washington Post, this situation is common at the District’s Income Maintenance Administration (IMA) service centers, where people go to apply for and resolve problems with benefits like Food Stamps, medical insurance, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Two of the seven service centers were closed last spring, and the remaining five are struggling with reduced staff and increasing caseloads.

The impact of this situation goes far beyond inconvenience.

Posted by Barrett Jones | January 19th, 2010

We’ve talked about City Blossoms before. Now here is a video about their garden in Ward 1:

Posted by Xi Wang | January 15th, 2010

Food access is a topic that is gaining attention both nationally and locally.  A few stories this past week have converged on the topics of food access and children. The momentum for school gardens and for students to have a better understanding of their relationship to food is building–especially in the nation’s capital.  The installment [...]

Posted by Liz Whitehurst | January 14th, 2010

[Cross posted from Our Columbia Heights] A few months after I moved to Columbia Heights, I planted a garden in front of my rowhouse. As people walked by, they taught me about my neighborhood. Two white men in their mid-30s who lived down the street shook their heads in disbelief. “A coupla years ago,” they [...]

Posted by gplotkin | January 14th, 2010

Even though I’ve lived in Washington, DC for more than five years now and have tried to become knowledgeable about the food scene in the city, last weekend was my first trip the Maine Avenue Fish Market, also referred to as “The Wharf” by many locals.

While the market is certainly not a secret — its been a neighborhood favorite for more than two centuries — to tourists it’s virtually unknown, and even most transplanted DC residents have no idea there’s a fresh fish market located conspicuously under an I-395 overpass, just blocks from the Capitol.

Posted by Ed Bruske | January 13th, 2010

By Ed Bruske Contributing Editor Is it possible to write a hatchet job about something as innocent as school gardens? Apparently so. I would not have believed it, but there it is in the otherwise esteemed Atlantic magazine, a venomous screed that would have you believe that gardening constitutes a sinister scheme to take over our [...]