Author Archive

Posted by Kristin Roberts | August 11th, 2011

D.C.’s Very High Food Hardship Rate for Households with Children Underscores Need to Protect Nutrition Safety Net FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jennifer Adach, 202.986.2200 x3018, jadach@frac.org WASHINGTON, D.C. – August 11, 2011 – More than 37 percent of households with children in Washington, D.C. reported in 2009-2010 not having enough money to buy food that [...]

Posted by Kristin Roberts | March 9th, 2011

Looking for some educational fun for Friday night?  Check out the movie Food Stamped. Food Stamped is an informative and humorous documentary film following a couple as they attempt to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet on a food stamp budget. The film will be shown at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival on Friday, March [...]

Posted by Kristin Roberts | February 16th, 2011

D.C. Hunger Solutions is teaming up with the D.C. EITC Campaign to provide SNAP/Food Stamp outreach at five free tax sites in the city. Why do this outreach? Often people who are eligible to receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) also are eligible to receive SNAP/Food Stamps. Together, EITC and SNAP/Food Stamps could mean [...]

Posted by Kristin Roberts | January 28th, 2011

By Alex Ashbrook, D.C. Hunger Solutions D.C. Hunger Solutions’ sister organization in Maryland – Maryland Hunger Solutions – is hosting a Food Stamp Challenge this week (January 24 – 31, 2011). The Food Stamp Challenge gives participants a view of what life can be like for millions of low-income Americans. Challenge participants use the average [...]

Posted by Kristin Roberts | January 21st, 2011

By Alexandra Ashbrook, D.C. Hunger Solutions A new report from the Food Research and Action Center finds that the number of low-income children in D.C. eating school meals (that is, breakfast and lunch) increased in the 2009-2010 school year. The recession undoubtedly had a role to play in the increase – as more families became [...]

Posted by Kristin Roberts | January 11th, 2011

-Kristin Roberts, D.C. Hunger Solutions Late last month, in a major step toward closing the grocery gap in the District of Columbia, the D.C. Council passed the Food, Environmental, and Economic Development (“FEED”) DC Act of 2010. The grocery gap – where low-income and minority communities often have far less access to full-service grocery stores [...]

Posted by Kristin Roberts | January 4th, 2011

By D.C. Hunger Solutions

New data show that 18 percent of respondents in Washington, D.C. reported in the first half of 2010 that there were times during the prior 12 months that they did not have enough money to buy food that they needed for themselves or their family, according to the Food Research and Action Center’s (FRAC) analysis of data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

The data were gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project, which has been interviewing 1,000 households daily since January 2008. People were asked, “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” The full analysis by FRAC of the Gallup data is available at www.frac.org.

For the months of January through June 2010, 47 states and the District of Columbia had rates of 14.15 percent or higher – in other words, one in seven or more of those surveyed experienced food hardship.

“As we look to the start of a New Year, these numbers underline that far too many people in D.C. are struggling to put food on the table,” said Alexandra Ashbrook, director of D.C. Hunger Solutions. “Fortunately, D.C. is taking some strong steps forward in the fight against hunger. For example, the implementation of the Healthy Schools Act has led to more children starting the school day with a healthy morning meal. In fact, the first month of this school year saw an additional 5,900 children eating school breakfast each day compared with last school year.”

Posted by Kristin Roberts | December 6th, 2010

The landmark DC Healthy Schools Act was unanimously passed into law earlier this year, and fully funded with a 6% sales tax on soda. But Mayor Fenty proposed in his Budget Gap-Closing Plan to eliminate $5.2 million in the FY 2011 budget for the DC Healthy Schools Act, and to delay implementation of the Act indefinitely.

Your help is needed! Please take a moment to join D.C. Hunger Solutions in telling the DC Council to reject the Mayor’s proposal, and ensure that the Healthy Schools Act is fully funded in the current Fiscal Year budget.

Just take these three, easy steps:

1) Sign-on as an individual or organization to our letter urging Councilmembers to fully fund the DC Healthy Schools Act.

2) Call your Councilmember today during our Phone-In between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.

Share how you have been affected by the DC Healthy Schools Act, and why you think it’s important. For example, you can say: “I am a resident of Ward X, and I ask that the Councilmember ensure the full funding of the DC Healthy Schools Act in the Fiscal Year 2011 budget.” Follow this link to find your ward.

Tell them: “I also believe that DC Council should take a balanced approach to closing the budget gap – it should choose to raise revenue rather than cut the Healthy Schools Act and human services. Other vital programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Adult Job Training, Grandparent Caregiver, Childcare Subsidies, Interim Disability Assistance, and the Local Rent Supplement Program are on the chopping block. I encourage the Council to vote for a one percent income tax increase on income above $200,000 to help fund these programs.”

3) Email your Councilmember directly to tell him or her you fully support the Healthy Schools Act and a balanced approach to closing the budget gap.

And share this Action Alert with your networks. We must act now! The Council will vote on the Budget Gap-Closing Plan on Tuesday, December 7.

Thank you for your continued efforts and support.

(For more information, please call me at (202) 986-2200 x3041.)