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Farmers’ Markets Grow To Help Underserved CommunitiesFarmers’ markets have gained a mass following in recent years by bringing fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables into cities and towns across the country. Despite this expansion, farmers’ markets and the organic movement have come to be perceived as somewhat inaccessible to a majority of people—merely upscale, luxury alternatives to more conventional stores. While many people, especially those in low-income urban areas and isolated rural communities, remain underserved by these markets, organizations and activists have recently begun to advocate for bringing farm produce into these neglected areas, benefiting both communities and farmers in the process. Food Stamps Gain Broader Acceptance In less affluent neighborhoods, organizations are working to expand the use of Food Stamps at farmers’ markets. Though the Stamps have been accepted at many markets for some time, the Federal SNAP program went paperless in 2004 to encourage more participation. However, the cost of installing the necessary electronic benefit terminals – approximately $1,100 – left many markets behind. “There’s a large expense associated with putting a terminal in each farmer’s hand,” says Jeff Cole, the executive director of the Federation of Massachusetts Farmers’ Markets 1. Since 2004, though, nonprofit groups and the federal government have partnered with state organizations, ranging from the Maine Agriculture Department to Massachusetts’ Food Project, to offset the cost of the terminals. By all accounts, the push is beginning to take effect: by the end of FY 2008, food stamp purchases at farmers’ markets totaled $2.7 million at 753 markets, a 34% increase from the previous year. Nutritional Food for Women and Children Another affordability program is run by the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC. The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) , provides locally grown produce to low-income pregnant and post-partum women, and to children up to age 5. The FMNP is funded by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), which subsidizes program costs, allowing participants to buy from the more than 16,000 approved farmers. In 2008, 2.3 million participants received free produce, and farmers were compensated more than $20 million. Reaching Out in Rural America In some areas, farmers’ markets are going mobile to serve isolated communities. In Oregon and Washington, the non-profit Gorge Grown Network runs the Gorge Grown Mobile Famers’ Market, a delivery truck which brings blueberries, corn, snap peas, and tomatoes to rural communities lacking local markets (and in some cases, grocery stores). And in Pennsylvania, Baarda Farms, already a known commodity from their own farm and from the Slate Belt Farmers Market, has reached out to another underserved population: senior citizens. Their “Veggie Van” stops at 21 retirement communities weekly, supplying healthy produce to last through the week. The excitement generated by the “Veggie Van” has vastly increased traffic at Baarda Farms’ other sales locations, while providing a valuable and nutritious community service, and perhaps, a model for the continued development of the 21st century farmers’ market. Notes 1 Zezima, Katie. "Food Stamps, Now Paperless, Are Getting Easier to Use at Farmers’ Markets." The New York Times Online. 20 Jul. 2009. Accessed 8 Aug. 2009 Sodexo Needs “Helping Hands” to Set Food Donation Record
What began just four years ago as Sodexo Campus Services’ “Cans Across America” food drive has taken the next great leap forward to become “Helping Hands Across America,” spanning all of Sodexo’s business units in a determined effort to collect and distribute 200 tons of non-perishable food. On November 12, 2009 Sodexo is aiming to shatter the existing “Guinness World Record for Largest Food Drive by a Non-Charitable Organization in a 24 Hour Period (Multiple Locations)” of 388,381 pounds. Last year, Sodexo’s effort collected close to 370,000 pounds of food, double the previous year’s results, and provided sufficient food for 250 families to enjoy one meal a day for an entire year. The donated food was distributed to food banks, many of those in partnership with the Sodexo Foundation. For Sodexo Employees Here’s how you can be a contributor to this epic, world record challenge and help your neighbors at the same time. The Helping Hands Across America promotion begins October 19 and culminates with the event to break the world record on Nov. 12. So you can start your food drive as early as October 19 or as late as November 11 and still play a part in the world-record drive. Stimulus Package Serves Up Billions in Nutritional AidFor the millions of Americans concerned about the impact of hunger and poor nutrition on their neighbors, the “Economic Stimulus Package” passed by Congress earlier this year contains much good news in the form of billions of dollars committed to help feed the hungry and improve poor nutrition. The most robust segments of American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) nutritional programs total more than $20 billion in food aid, dispensed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), the recipient of more than $19 billion over a five-year span, provides nutrition assistance and education to 32.2 million low-income families and individuals. The funding increase boosts the monthly benefit for a family of four by $80 a month, easing the challenge of creating three healthy meals every day. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the enhanced benefits at Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, one of the oldest farmer’s markets in the country and the largest redeemer of SNAP benefits in the state, with 15 merchants accepting more than $1.1 million last year. The Market embodies a key part of SNAP’s mission to improve nutrition by offering only fresh and locally-produced foods. Food banks will receive nearly double the amount of food as in recent years. At the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, Executive Director Clyde W. Fitzgerald said he expects to receive 5.2 million pounds of food this year, “…most welcome as the increased demand is so strong and so sustained.”1 To meet the surge in food bank needs nationwide, ARRA stimulus money has purchased:
Other beneficiaries of the ARRA Food Assistance Stimulus Package include: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children or WIC ($500 million), The National School Lunch Program ($100 million), and Emergency Food Assistance funding ($150 million). To learn how much help your state has received and how funds are being specifically used to combat hunger and promote improved nutrition, log on to www.recovery.gov.
1 Cooper, Michael; “Stimulus Law Bolsters Food Bank Offerings,” New York Times, July 29, 2009Cooper, Michael; “Stimulus Law Bolsters Food Bank Offerings,” New York Times, July 29, 2009
Halloween Means Fun and Philanthropy
In Baltimore, Halloween for Hunger, a student-led food drive, provides literally tons of assistance to the region’s hungry. High schoolers leaflet targeted neighborhoods on October 28, then collect food donations from porches, stoops and steps on Halloween. Local shelters and soup kitchens receive the consolidated donations, which help provide thousands of meals to those in need. In 2008, the students collected and donated more than two tons of food. ChicagolandHalloween.com has again teamed up with the Greater Chicago Food Depository for the second annual “Haunts Against Hunger” food drive. Residents can choose to have their home designated a “Collection Haunt,” a neighborhood drop off point for donations of sorely needed non-perishable foods. It’s another great way for kids to learn that they can help others while still helping themselves to fun and candy. In Boston, the venerable Project Bread, famed for its annual Walk for Hunger, has implemented a Halloween E-card fundraiser to help thousands of needy local children. For a $5 donation, folks can send a fun, personalized, Halloween E-card to friends and family. The donation will buy healthy food for hungry kids, while the card helps raise awareness that there are nutritionally deprived children throughout the state. Golfers in Scottsdale, Arizona are planning to scare away hunger with Halloween Havoc Night, a 9-hole “glow ball” night golf fundraiser to benefit WasteNOT, a group that helps feed those in need throughout the region. Participants get a barbecue dinner, raffle opportunities, and get to hit the links in full costume. These are just a few examples of the many grassroots programs that make use of the incredible popularity of Halloween to raise important funds and food to combat hunger. There’s certain to be a similar program or event in your area to which you can contribute time, money, or assistance. Just search online for Halloween and hunger fundraisers in your community. Detroit Moves to Tackle Food Deserts
Detroit, the home of the struggling American auto industry, has suffered a persistent and severe economic malaise over the last decade, and as a result is home some to some of the worst food deserts in the country. This city of 800,000 lacks even one major food store chain, and a full 20% of residents have no automobile transportation, making shopping in suburban markets a nearly impossible undertaking. To combat this situation, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm launched a pilot food service program in conjunction with MI Neighborhood Food Movers, to provide nutritious produce to city neighborhoods. The four-month trial program began in late August, funded by a $75,000 state loan. MI Neighborhood Food Movers brings vendor trucks into many of Detroit’s most underserved neighborhoods with reasonably priced produce—“almost like ice cream trucks,” says Kim Trent, of the Governor’s Southeastern Michigan office.1 Eventually, the program aims to establish sustainable local businesses by building strong markets for their products within the city. The pilot program includes three vendors, including Peaches & Greens, a model company that began as a roving market in 2008 before successfully adding a permanent location. As the program expands, organizers expect to add many more local vendors and to develop accessible, permanent, and badly needed produce markets within the city. Multimedia Resources
1 Harkai, Rachel. Online Posting. Model D Media 25 Aug. 2009 Article ArchivesSTOP Hunger eZine Issues Vol. 4 Issue 3: STOP Hunger eZine - October 2009 Special Edition: $5,000 scholarships for community service Vol. 3 Issue 6: STOP Hunger eZine - November 2008
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October 2009 – Volume 4/Issue 3
In this issue: Easing Student Hunger Doesn’t End On Friday
As millions of students head home each weekend with their ever-present over-stuffed backpacks firmly in place, many children’s packs contain more than books and papers. They’re loaded with the gift of a hunger-free weekend, thanks to Backpack Food Programs in operation at school districts nationwide. At 22 of those districts, the Backpack Food Program is a collaboration between Sodexo, the individual school district, and the local food bank with key funding provided by the Sodexo Foundation. Every Friday, and before holidays and vacations, Backpack Food Programs discreetly distribute packs filled with non-perishable, nutritious food to students who are supported by free or reduced school meal programs. Emblematic of the united, team-driven effort, food items are supplied by local-partner food banks, while Sodexo managers and team members provide volunteers to collate and distribute the backpacks. The participating Sodexo school accounts were supported by Sodexo Foundation grants totaling $42,500 in the 2008/2009 school year. The dramatic impact of Sodexo’s Backpack program commitment can be seen in the aggregate numbers. Across our 22 accounts Sodexo:
The participating Sodexo-partnered school districts may be different in size, need, and geography but they’re similar in terms of the dynamic benefits the Backpack Food Program provides. In Connecticut, the East Hartford Public School District serves an average of 48 students each week, spanning grades K-12. Sodexo GM Marci Noquiera said that, “The number of students we serve has nearly quadrupled in just three years,” as her outreach expanded via 1-on-1 meetings with every school principal in the district. This past May, Marci and her Sodexo team partnered with local food bank FoodShare and raised nearly $1,400 through its first “walkathon,” with all proceeds going directly to the Backpack program. “Where there’s a need to feed, you have to participate and help,” she added. Across the country in Forest Grove, Oregon, Sodexo GM Fran Scott’s team assists an average of 10 kids each week. “The partnerships we’ve forged within the district, the Washington County Oregon Food Bank, and the Columbia YMCA have made all the difference in making the program work,” said Scott. Participating students are presented with a “shopping” list from which they can choose their own backpack food items. “These kids can actually control a small part of their lives by picking what foods they want,” said Fran. “They know someone cares about them and our efforts to ensure healthy eating actually keep many of them in school.” |
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On November 12, Help Sodexo Break Guinness World Record TM
In 1950, 
In many of America’s cities, poor and elderly consumers struggle to find healthy and affordable food. Supermarkets have moved out of these areas to the suburbs, and fresh foods have become either unavailable or inaccessible as a result of high prices and unreachable locations. These enclaves are known as “food deserts”; areas that may have plenty of liquor stores and fast food restaurants but little or no access to healthy, balanced food. This leaves less expensive (and less healthy) foods the only option, resulting in a marked increase in childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other nutrition-related health problems.