Hunger spreading in USA

I've been a huge fan of Bill Moyers for years.  I recently read the following interview regarding the challenges associated with hunger in America today.  

Going to Bed Hungry

April 5, 2013

by Theresa Riley

The United States is the world’s wealthiest nation, yet we still have families and children who don’t have enough to eat. We caught up with Joel Berg of NYC’s Coalition Against Hunger to learn what it means to be food insecure and what we can do to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry.

Theresa Riley: What does it mean to be “food insecure”? How many American children now live in “food insecure” households?

Joel Berg

Joel Berg: Food insecure means families don’t have enough money to regularly obtain all the food they need. It means they are rationing food and skipping meals. It means parents are going without food to feed their children. It means kids are missing breakfasts. And, ironically, because healthy food is usually more expensive than junk food, and because healthier options often don’t even exist in low-income neighborhoods, it means that food insecurity and obesity are flip sides of the same malnutrition coin, so food insecurity may actually increase a family’s chance of facing obesity and diabetes. Fifty million Americans, including nearly 17 million children, now live in food insecure homes.

Read the entire interview here. 

Opportunity Center way "in the dry"

Obesity and Poverty: Access, Volume and Cost

Hunger is real for working people. . .

Providing easy access to nutritious food products has been a core missional function of CitySquare from the earliest days of Central Dallas Food Pantry.

 It is easy to lose sight of the importance of simply providing our neighbors the food they need in view of their low wages and earning power. Often we think of how food distribution can lead to other opportunities for those who come seeking our assistance with the most basic of human needs. But watching a video like this one reminds me that our work of making food available is an end in itself without further consideration.

 My thanks to Michelle Kopel for sharing the video with me.

 

SNAP now works at Dallas Farmers' Market

CitySquare has led the way in opening the Dallas Farmers' Market to low-income customers by helping negotiate the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (SNAP, fomerly known as "food stamps") to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from local producers.

The new policy delivers a true win-win to the market and those who trade there.

Farmers now have a larger market for their produce. Customers now have a grocery venue that supplies fresh, healthy food. Profits and health status both improve!

Rev. Gerald Britt, VP of Public Policy, and his associate, Keilah Jacques worked hard to see this new policy implemented!

Here's a video report from Channel 8!

A "food desert"

Watch for CitySquare Board Member, Dr. Mark DeHaven in this informative and concerning report on access to healthy food in South Dallas.

From the air. . .

So, here's a "bird's eye view" of the goings on at CitySquare's new Opportunity Center at the corner of I-30 and Malcolm X Boulevard!

The blue trucks are drilling rigs brought in to drill 109 wells that extend 250 feet into the earth as a part of our very "green" geothermal H/VAC system.

Progress is fun to watch.

Want a piece of the action?

Lots of great naming opportunities at all fund levels.

Just give me a call or shoot me a note here!

Meeting the First Lady!

Last Friday, I had the amazing honor of meeting and greeting the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

Mrs. Obama visited Dallas to celebrate the great progress of so many Texas schools in preparing and serving more healthy foods to public school students and to promote and extend her "Let's Move" initiative as a remedy for youth obesity. You may link to a video report about her visit by The Dallas Morning News below.

City Council Member, Pauline Medrano (actually my council member) took the photo of our brief chat about CitySquare's Food on the Move program that delivered thousands of meals to low-income children last summer in partnership with PepsiCo and our AmeriCorps team. 

No surprise, I found the First Lady to be down-to-earth, interested in our work and delightful! 

What a great moment. 

To watch the DMN video click here.