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[Cross-posted on the Bread for the City blog] This past week Bread for the City was awarded a grant from Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States for the DC Food System Organizing Workgroup. This grant will provide the resources and support needed to build upon the almost a year and a half of work by [...]
At the end of the day, the “Community Brainstorm: Building a Healthy, Hunger-Free DC” session provided interested attendees the opportunity to participate in a discussion about how to build a more just, nourishing food system in DC. As shown by the turnout at Rooting DC, countless nonprofits and individuals are involved in food politics in this city; this session offered space to think about collaborating and creating change.
The food system impacts the environment, the economy, and people, yet there is no centralized agency responsible for it; in DC, at least 13 different city agencies play a role in shaping our local food system.
Carl Rollins of Common Good City Farm pointed out that if we want to change the local food system, we need to get involved—there are currently too few players deciding on the policies, and most of them are non-profit service providers, not necessarily DC residents who have the most at stake. With many groups and nonprofits focused primarily on emergency food distribution, we aren’t always thinking about how to improve the system itself.
Alicia Cameden of the Capital Area Food Bank then explained the concept of a food policy council, which has the potential to improve DC’s fragmented food system. Food policy councils in other cities and states engage with government policy, grassroots projects, businesses and food workers. They serve as forums for the discussion of food issues and coordination between the various sectors of the food system, and can influence government policies.
We broke into four groups to discuss what a healthier, more just food system in DC would look like, and to brainstorm city-wide, grassroots initiatives that could address some of the current problems. At the end, each group shared just a few of their favorite ideas, which included these:
Only an hour long, this Community Brainstorm was not intended to create answers but rather to gather interested individuals, begin ongoing conversations, and get ideas flowing. There will be many more chances to share ideas at future sessions, which will be hosted by these and other groups in the upcoming months. In addition, a survey is being created that will explore barriers to food access as well as some of the things that are working well in DC neighborhoods.
There are many ways to get involved, such as helping with the survey or attending or hosting an upcoming discussion. For more information, contact Allison Burket at aburket@breadforthecity.org.
The session was sponsored by the DC Food Justice Coalition, Bread for the City, SHIRE, DC Hunger Solutions, Common Good City Farm, Ecolocity, Groundwork Anacostia, Healthy Solutions, MWPHA Health Disparities Committee, ROC-DC, and others.
[Cross-posted from DC Fiscal Policy Institute's The District Dime.]
Does a highly profitable, high-end supermarket chain really merit an $8 million tax break to encourage it to open a store in a development-rich area of the District? That’s the question that will be posed to the DC Council when it considers a property tax abatement proposal, reported last week by the Washington Post, to bring a Whole Foods near Nationals Park.
The city should be investing in economic development to create jobs, attract businesses and residents, and revitalize neighborhoods. However, the District’s elected leaders have adopted a slew of tax abatements in recent years with no process to differentiate the worthwhile projects from the not-so-worthwhile. In the case of Whole Foods’ proposal, it’s perfectly reasonable to wonder why the project would need any subsidy in the first place, given the amount of development that has already been attracted to the area. And it is perfectly reasonable to ask what benefits the developer will provide the city in return.
[Cross-posted from The Fight Back.]
“Once they get their foothold in D.C. we can never go back,” said Gary Cha, owner of Yes! Organic Market, which has seven stores, all located in the District of Columbia. “Washington is a very small city to have four Walmarts… Having just one Walmart can have a devastating effect. I can’t imagine the lawmakers, the councilmembers, the politicians letting four Walmarts come to D.C.”
Gary Cha at Yes! Organic Market
The Washington Post noted, “Last fall, Wal-Mart announced initial plans to open stores in Wards 4, 5, 6 and 7, and it has followed with a carefully orchestrated campaign to win support and disarm critics. It says that its stores would create 1,200 retail jobs… and would generate an estimated $10 million annually in tax revenue for the city.”
Cha challenges Walmart’s claims: “For every job that they bring, one-and-a-half to two jobs are lost, so it’s not a net gain of jobs.” A joint study by Hunter College and Bill de Blasio, the New York City Public Advocate, reached the same conclusion: “Wal-Mart is trying to take advantage of the current economic downturn by promising an immediate infusion of jobs and investment dollars in city neighborhoods that have been hit hard by the recession. Considering the body of independent research that clearly demonstrates Wal-Mart’s negative long-term impacts on local economies, it would be shortsighted to allow this destructive retail monopolist to enter the New York City market via the Trojan Horse of ‘job creation.’”
Regarding the estimated tax revenue D.C. would reap from Walmart’s arrival, Cha said, “[While] they’re bringing [in] about $10 million a year [in] sales tax… if the sales mostly come from existing business, that’s not a new tax that they’re generating, it’s just simply shifting from what small business owners [are already] paying.”
In his store on Georgia Avenue, the movie “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price” plays continuously. It’s part of Cha’s effort to help educate the community. “A lot of people have no idea what Walmart does… I didn’t know that much about Walmart until I started doing research and it’s very scary… I’m concerned not just for my stores, but [for] a lot of other people because this is where I’ve been doing business for thirty years. This is my home.”
Much of D.C.’s vibrant nonprofit community has remained silent on Walmart’s attempt to enter the District. The Washington Post noted, “Wal-Mart’s charitable foundation has provided grants and donations to D.C. nonprofit organizations in recent years, including more than $2 million in fiscal 2010.” Additionally, Walmart’s charitable foundation pledged $25 million for last year’s controversial D.C. teachers’ contract. Initially the contract stipulated that if then-Chancellor Michelle Rhee left town, so could the money.
Press coverage of Walmart’s effort has ranged from non-confrontational to nonexistent. Cha pointed out that, on average, Walmart spends more than $6.5 million a day on advertising. Washington City Paper noted on Feb. 14, “Last week, Wal-Mart execs met with writers and editors of the Washington Post. This week the editorial board writes an editorial how Wal-Mart would be a welcome addition to the District (which follows a similar-themed column from [Washington Post columnist] Robert McCartney). Put yourself in for a raise, Wal-Mart press guy!” The Post’s pro-Walmart editorial stated, “Unsubstantiated criticism should not be allowed to derail a private investment that, on balance, appears to be to the advantage of the District and its residents.”
“Being a business owner in D.C. since 1982, this is where I make a living, ” said Cha. “I care about where I do business and I hate to see not just my business, but other small businesses suffer because of allowing Walmart to come in [to D.C. and do] what they’ve done elsewhere.”
This post is the fourth in a series from Bread for the City intern Allison Burket exploring the basics of food, hunger, and politics in the District.
In my previous post about food and hunger in the District, I began to explore the political landscape of DC’s food system. We learned there is no shortage of DC agencies that shape how we get food – at least 13 agencies deal with food in our city! – yet no one agency or governing body is responsible for ensuring that DC residents have access to healthy, affordable food.
Meanwhile, moving beyond the public sector, there are numerous efforts throughout the food system to ensure DC residents can enjoy healthy and affordable food.
What if they and others could work together better to tackle the interconnected issues of nutrition, employment, poverty, hunger, and the degradation of our environment? What if these groups had a unified voice in the halls of City Council?
A Food Policy Council in DC?
Cities across the country face similar challenges as those in DC – a fractured food policy-making environment, separate organizations addressing different pieces of a broken food system, and lack of transparency and community input in policy decisions. In response, many areas have brought together some combination of non-governmental organizations, citizens, advocates, and government, forming what are often known as food policy councils. (See this DC Food For All post about the Detroit food movement, and the policy council in that city.)
Food policy councils can serve as a forum for food issues, a network to coordinate community action, and a space to address some of the tangible injustices at work in our food system. They do a wide range of work in other cities, counties, and states — from gathering and communicating information about a food system, to crafting policy platforms, to developing collaborative projects to address immediate needs.
Bread for the City is interested in seeing something like a food policy council form in DC, but we also recognize that it will need to include more than policy wonks and non-profit providers if it is to be truly reflective of the interests of our diverse communities. A food policy council would ideally be born of a grassroots, city-wide movement for wellness and food sovereignty that includes residents who themselves have the most at stake in radically changing the food system.
That’s why we’re part of a larger conversation with groups like Groundwork Anacostia, the Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Collaborative, Ecolocity, and ONE DC. Together, we’re hosting a series of brainstorming sessions around the city, starting 3:30-4:30 pm this Saturday at Coolidge High School, as part of Rooting DC – an annual, free urban gardening forum. (Register for Rooting DC by calling 202-638-1649, or learn more about the whole conference by visiting the website.)
We’ll be discussing and envisioning: What would it look like for all DC residents had access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food? What is an idea you have for moving the city, your neighborhood, or your self in that direction? The hope is that the discussion generated from this and upcoming sessions can then shape the formation something like a food policy council – or something completely new and different – in DC. We hope to see you there!
Posted in Action, Community, Events, Food Security, Government Issues, HAFA, Health, urban agricultureAfter the first round of votes last week, the DC Council is expected deliver the final to vote this Tuesday to approve the FEED DC Act, putting in place a program to support healthy food access across the district. Based on the public-private partnership programs designed to draw full-service grocery stores to underserved areas in [...]
A recent announcement by the Washington Post that Wal-Mart is planning on opening four stores in the District has prompted concern from labor unions and advocates for food justice in DC. The Washington Post described Wal-Mart’s strategy as “aggressive” as they aim to build four large stores across DC by 2012. This “aggressive” strategy includes [...]
This blog post is part of a series on the importance of safety net programs and the need for a more progressive income tax, to pay for the investments our city needs. Find out more here.
When I think about money and my childhood, I remember my parents talking about their credit card debt and being told at McDonalds that our family could not afford Happy Meals. I knew we didn’t have money for the extras like weekly trips to eat out, but it was only as a young adult that I understood just how little my parents were working with.
When I took a few classes at the local public high school, my Mom sent me to the school office to ask about Free and Reduced Lunch. I brought home the income requirements and found out that we were well within the limits for Free Lunch. Then, when my parents became pregnant with my little brother, we signed up for the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program.
Our family had just one income by choice — my father worked and my mother stayed home to raise and educate me and my siblings. Despite our economic situation, I have a lot of privilege — I have white skin, we were considered middle class because of my father’s job, and I received a fabulous education, among other things.
I’m deeply grateful for the food programs that helped stretch our budget. Thanks to the WIC program, Free Meals, and — as a recent college graduate — Food Stamps, I had a healthy, happy, parent-filled childhood, and the financial support to get started in a new city. It’s been four short years since I graduated from college and moved to DC, and I’m in a job that I love, doing good work and contributing to the tax base. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share my privilege and help grow the investments that were made to get me where I am today.
Unfortunately, the support I received as a young adult is not guaranteed for all DC residents who need it. Funding has been cut for safety net programs like IMA Service Centers, where people apply for Food Stamps. At the same time, our income tax structure has stayed the same — the top tax bracket (8.5%) starts at $40,000/year. Save Our Safety Net and other groups are suggesting a better choice: the City Council should create a new tax bracket of 9.5% for income over $200,000. For less than the cost of a latte a day to most households in the top 5%, our city could bring in about $75 million in new revenue. If you agree that we need more investments in the safety net, take action by sending an email to Vince Gray today.
What kind of a safety net do you want to have, for yourself and your neighbors? What tax structure would help us make the public investments our city needs?
