Archive for the ‘Action’ Category

Posted by Annabeth Roeschley | February 22nd, 2010

On last Monday’s rally in protest of Safeway’s upcoming closure on March 6, I heard much besides the volume of aggravated voices.

Amid shouts of “Save our Safeway!” I heard the cry to “make it better!” In between the chanting refrains were speeches about upcoming actions by local leaders and stories from local residents. The crowd standing outside on this cold President’s Day included some faithful patrons of the store who had fought hard to get it there in the first place, and kept fighting to keep it open when a Safeway closed ten years ago at Rhode Island and Florida Ave NE. Among the signs and banner were familiar faces, neighbors, hugs.

This neighborhood deserves better and knows it. Tambra Stevenson noted on this blog that the silver lining of this loss is an opportunity for something better. She visions a “true community center for wellness.” That sounds like a vision I can share – but I do not want to jump ahead so quickly that I miss what my neighbors are saying right now.

Posted by Brynn Slate | February 12th, 2010

Get ready to be rocked to your roots. Robert Egger has a record of putting ideas into action and after hearing his presentation at Rooting DC on February 20, you’ll be inspired to jump out of your chair and get to work. This dynamic go-getter founded DC Central Kitchen in 1989 by connecting the dots between food need and food waste—a landmark idea at the time. The organization now produces 4,000 meals a day for Washington’s hungry and provides cycle-breaking education and support through its Culinary Job Training program.

Egger knows DC’s foodscape intimately. In addition to furthering the success of DC Central Kitchen, he chairs the Mayor’s Commission on Nutrition and is actively working to get more local food into schools. His talk at Rooting DC (“Breaking through the Barriers—The Business of Better Food for All,” from 11:45 to 12:45) will spread his infectious enthusiasm for food equality by laying out ideas for what could come next—if we work for it.

As a frequent traveler, Egger speaks to groups around the country and observes other cities’ unique problems, as well as their bold initiatives. He started The Campus Kitchens Project as a replicable model that’s been implemented by 20 universities across the US. As he travels, he keeps an eye out for trends that could become lasting solutions. “Trends are potential. Trends are maybes,” he says.

Posted by Rhea Kennedy | February 10th, 2010

On Tuesday, sixth grader Tammy Nguyen brought down the White House with some choice words. Leading up to a much-anticipated announcement in the State Dining Room, Nguyen described how she helped grow a rainbow of vegetables in a kitchen garden on the “first lawn.”

“My friends and I have learned a lot about change, about eating healthy food, and making the right choices,” the former Bancroft Elementary School student explained. “My classmates and I plan to keep that color on the plate–and I don’t mean M&Ms,” she said.

Nguyen then introduced First Lady Michelle Obama, who summoned all hands on deck to bring the Bancroft students’ experience to every American child in the interest of better health. She outlined a detailed initiative, called Let’s Move, to curb the startling rate of childhood obesity (about one in three children is overweight or obese, she said), and save the nation’s kids from preventable diseases. Such an initiative can also create jobs and help fish the budget out of a deficit. That can only happen, Obama said, if many sectors work together and the action starts immediately.

“Instead of just talking bout this problem, instead of just worrying and wringing our hands about it, let’s do something about it,” said the first lady. “Let’s act…. let’s move.”

A new Task Force on Childhood Obesity will propel the initiative.

Posted by Rhea Kennedy | January 22nd, 2010

With aftershocks continuing to slam Haiti, we’re all struggling to grasp the losses the earthquake has claimed. Deciding how to help is yet another challenge. Why not start with food? Here are five ways to take action as a food lover and supporter of food access.

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 Ed Bruske | January 7th, 2010

By Ed Bruske

Contributing Editor

Washington Post garden columnist Adrian Higgins today lends his voice to the growing movement behind backyard chickens in the nation’s capitol with a front-page spread in the paper’s Home section.

Higgins recounts the story of Caryn Ernst and how D.C. police and animal control agents swooped down on her family’s Capitol Hill home in June when they discovered that Ernst and her daughters were raising some chickens in their back yard as part of an elementary school science project. After the chickens were taken away, Ernst started digging into D.C. law and discovered that it is nearly impossible to raise backyard chickens in the District of Columbia. Animal control regulations require that chickens be kept at least 50 feet from the nearest residence.

Ernst took her concerns to local Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), who, with Ernst’s assistance, drafted a new law that would ease restrictions on keeping chickens. That bill is now in the hands of Councilmember David Catania (R-At Large), pending a hearing before the Council’s Committee on Health, which Catania chairs.

Posted by Louise Thundercloud | December 8th, 2009

So here’s my question: since low self-esteem leads to repeat homeless, shouldn’t self-esteem building be offered more often to end the cycle of homeless? Where food is concerned, couldn’t more opportunities be aimed directly at the homeless community in the form of shift work, enabling the person to earn groceries they want & are able to fix themselves, thereby providing an avenue for empowerment?

Posted by Jeffrey Wankel | December 4th, 2009

[Cross-posted from Beyond Bread.]

In my time as coordinator of Bread for the City’s Glean for the City program, I witnessed many ways in which our food system is shaped by human biases about food that often have nothing to do with taste or nutrition.

These are important waste issues. As many farmers explained over the harvest season, you can’t judge an apple by its skin.