This blog is meant to be used as an exchange of ideas on how we as a community can brainstorm and network to bring an end to hunger in Forsyth County.
The ideas come from Adriana Aranha of Brazil and the members of the Zero Hunger Project who have worked for years to reduce hunger in Belo Horizonte by about 80%. In her city, the food production was sufficient enough to feed every person, but many people did not earn enough money to be able to afford a healthy diet. The beauty of this program is that it enables the majority of the people to be able to afford a healthy diet without handouts.
The Fome Zero project of Belo Horizonte is a comprehensive program involving food programs in all schools and child care centers, subsidized "popular restaurants," "popular basket" buses that bring inexpensive staples into Belo's poorest neighborhoods, farmers' markets with controlled prices in areas where the hungry live, nutrition education classes, organic markets and support for sustainable, local food production, gardens in schools and a host of other ideas. The plan is comprehensive, yet costs only a small fraction of the city's budget.
Her website is: http://www.silentkillerfilm.org/interview_aranha.html
Here is a link to an objective overview and analysis of the program, with its advantages and shortcomings listed.
http://www.foodshare.net/newsletter_chutney_current02.htm
It is my hope that Knollwood Baptist Church members, Second Harvest Food Bank, local organizations and neighborhood associations and any other individuals unaffiliated with any particular group or religion will come together here to begin the journey of ending hunger in Forsyth County.
I have posted each of the ideas used in Brazil and have posed ideas and questions for how we might do the same sort of thing here in Forsyth County. My thoughts are only the beginning. With your thoughts, comments, questions and ideas, we can begin to envision how Brazil's zero hunger plan can be set in motion here in Forsyth County.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Belief in Synchronisity
It is amazing to note the number of synchronistic sitings and connections that happened once I decided to create this blog as a way of changing the way we deal with hunger in Forsyth County.
It is my hope that everyone has or will have some synchronous connection in relation to this site, either by way of providing necessary information or contacts or by giving of their time and talents to help bring about a piece of the overall change in the fight against hunger here in Forsyth County.
It's been my experience that when everyone lets go of the seeeming impossibility of a situation and focuses on the positive energy of it vs. the obstacles, miracles always seem to show up here and there, in the most unexpected places.
It is my hope that everyone has or will have some synchronous connection in relation to this site, either by way of providing necessary information or contacts or by giving of their time and talents to help bring about a piece of the overall change in the fight against hunger here in Forsyth County.
It's been my experience that when everyone lets go of the seeeming impossibility of a situation and focuses on the positive energy of it vs. the obstacles, miracles always seem to show up here and there, in the most unexpected places.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Inspiration for this endeavor
Here are a few inspirational quotes that helped lead to the creation of this website. Please add any others that work for you.
Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Christian theologian Walter Rauschenbusch said that the Kingdom of God "...is not a matter of getting individuals to heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven."
Jesus: "...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me...just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." Matthew 25:40-45
Harvard minister Howard Gomes (The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus): "...and every time the faithful pray, in the words ascribed to Jesus, 'Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...' we invoke a confidence in the coming good news not only in heaven but right here on earth."
"Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9
"For if you truly ammend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow...then I will dwell with you in this place..." Jeremiah 7: 5-7
Budd Schulberg (O Magazine):
Isn't everyone a part of everyone else?
Margaret Mead: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Christian theologian Walter Rauschenbusch said that the Kingdom of God "...is not a matter of getting individuals to heaven, but of transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven."
Jesus: "...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink...Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me...just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me." Matthew 25:40-45
Harvard minister Howard Gomes (The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus): "...and every time the faithful pray, in the words ascribed to Jesus, 'Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...' we invoke a confidence in the coming good news not only in heaven but right here on earth."
"Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9
"For if you truly ammend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow...then I will dwell with you in this place..." Jeremiah 7: 5-7
Budd Schulberg (O Magazine):
Isn't everyone a part of everyone else?
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Right to Food, Defined
Belo Horizonte declared that every citizen has a right to food, and everyone in the community seems to support this idea and to help make it happen. The government, the market and the people all have a responsibility of ensuring this right for all citizens. Aranhas argues that if you work with food as a basic right and not as a donation, then you can get the whole population involved in supporting this right for every citizen to have healthy food.
Their marketing efforts included a TV ad (shown in the "Silent Killer" documentary) and billboards (and maybe other things, too--that's all I know of so far).
They defined this right to food as having access to healthy food, and not just to any kind of food:
"Healthy food has to be nutritious, supplied sanitarily, not contaminated, and it has to guarantee people's survival--in all phases of their lives--and has to be produced in a sustainable manner; we can't be polluting the environment," says Aranhas.
Brazil really promotes the organic farmers' distribution of food to the impoverished. They are currently talking with farmers to encourage more of them to become organic farmers to help the environment and to help drive organic prices down.
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--Research how Brazil marketed the idea of food as a basic right to the population to find out how we can get people behind this idea in our community
--Talk to city officials and food bank people to get their feedback and support for carrying this out in our community
Questions:
--How long did it take for this idea to become fully supported by the Brazilian community?
--How can we contact Adriana Aranhas to find out if we can use the same TV spot in our community? It's a wonderfully done spot.
Their marketing efforts included a TV ad (shown in the "Silent Killer" documentary) and billboards (and maybe other things, too--that's all I know of so far).
They defined this right to food as having access to healthy food, and not just to any kind of food:
"Healthy food has to be nutritious, supplied sanitarily, not contaminated, and it has to guarantee people's survival--in all phases of their lives--and has to be produced in a sustainable manner; we can't be polluting the environment," says Aranhas.
Brazil really promotes the organic farmers' distribution of food to the impoverished. They are currently talking with farmers to encourage more of them to become organic farmers to help the environment and to help drive organic prices down.
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--Research how Brazil marketed the idea of food as a basic right to the population to find out how we can get people behind this idea in our community
--Talk to city officials and food bank people to get their feedback and support for carrying this out in our community
Questions:
--How long did it take for this idea to become fully supported by the Brazilian community?
--How can we contact Adriana Aranhas to find out if we can use the same TV spot in our community? It's a wonderfully done spot.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Profile of small size US and Brazilian Organic Farmers
Public TV aired a documentary called "To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig", in which a Santa Monica farmer said that organic farmers are showing that they can pay their workers, pay for the farm's upkeep and make a profit on just 30 acres of land.
LocalHarvest.org lists seven local organic farms, located in Mocksville, Yadkinville and Boonville. I've heard of others in Lexington and Pilot Mountain, too. There are a lot more farmers in our area who are organic, but who aren't certified. Right now, farmers in this area are selling off their land to developers and making lots of money.
On the other hand, the Durham area has been very successful in synergizing the organic farmers, the local restaurants, the community and the farmer's markets...see link: http://www.goldenbeltarts.com/documents/BonAppetitAmericasFoodiestSmallTownOct08.pdf
In eastern NC, a non-profit organization called the NC Farmworkers Project helps immigrant farmworkers to organize and solve their problems collectively as well as helping them to improve their living conditions (such as providing health services and transportation services). Here is their link:
http://www.ncproyecto.org/lang/en-us/
Most of the food in Brazil is grown by small farmers, yet the big farmers can get financial credit from banks easier than small farmers. Furthermore, vast amounts of land in Brazil are owned by a few people who don't produce anything. How can we research our area to see if the same kind of thing is happening here? Agricultural Extension Service?
Does anyone know if small farmers can get financial credit from banks in this area?
Here is a story which talks about the findings of US farmer trends in the 2007 agricultural census:
http://www.hereandnow.org/stand-alone-player/?fileUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bu.edu%2Fwbur%2Fstorage%2F2009%2F04%2Fhereandnow_0422_2.mp3&fileTitle=Farming
In this story, they mention the growth of small farms and the decline of the middle-sized farms.
Carolina Farm Stewards Association's (CFSA) Regional Director Diana Vossbrinck says that most farms in NC are small vs. the giant farms in California. If the new bill H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, passes Congress, it'll be devastating for most of NC's farmers. H.R. 2749 is sweeping legislation that is meant to clean up the corporate food processors that have been the source of recent widespread food contamination outbreaks. But the bill is “one-size-fits-all,” and treats small family farms and businesses just like multinational corporations. Without changes, H.R. 2749 will create extraordinary hardships for small businesses and farms, and force many to close.
I asked Tim Hambrick of the US Ag. Ext. Service if the farms in Forsyth and the surrounding counties produce enough food to feed everyone below the poverty line in our county (using numbers from the 2000 census): "11.2% (total # living below the poverty line) equals about 21,000 people so it would take a lot of farms to supply that. When you consider that we only produce part of the year, the answer would probably be no, not even in the best of years, if all we produced was pointed towards this 11.2%. We don't have a very well developed fruit and vegetable industry established in this area. If you include surrounding counties, then it's doable on an acreage basis. However, many of our acres are being used to produce crops that would have to be processed in order to be used (wheat, corn, soybeans, beef cattle, dairy).
It would seem that we do not have excessive quantities of fruits and vegetables grown in this area. However, I'd guess that there would be enough to have farmer's markets in impoverished areas to supplement their weekly diets.
Things to do:
--Diana Vossbrinck of CSFA says to talk to the zoning office to find out where the farmland is and how much of it is being used for farming
--Get more farmers in our area to hook up with CFSA for legislative support, educational training and for connections to sell their food to local restaurants
--Research Brazilian farmers to get more details on how the Fome Zero program works for them --Talk with Anna Jensen (Mark Jensen's daughter) of NC Farmworkers Project to see if she can give us insights as to how to most effectively relate to immigrants.
LocalHarvest.org lists seven local organic farms, located in Mocksville, Yadkinville and Boonville. I've heard of others in Lexington and Pilot Mountain, too. There are a lot more farmers in our area who are organic, but who aren't certified. Right now, farmers in this area are selling off their land to developers and making lots of money.
On the other hand, the Durham area has been very successful in synergizing the organic farmers, the local restaurants, the community and the farmer's markets...see link: http://www.goldenbeltarts.com/documents/BonAppetitAmericasFoodiestSmallTownOct08.pdf
In eastern NC, a non-profit organization called the NC Farmworkers Project helps immigrant farmworkers to organize and solve their problems collectively as well as helping them to improve their living conditions (such as providing health services and transportation services). Here is their link:
http://www.ncproyecto.org/lang/en-us/
Most of the food in Brazil is grown by small farmers, yet the big farmers can get financial credit from banks easier than small farmers. Furthermore, vast amounts of land in Brazil are owned by a few people who don't produce anything. How can we research our area to see if the same kind of thing is happening here? Agricultural Extension Service?
Does anyone know if small farmers can get financial credit from banks in this area?
Here is a story which talks about the findings of US farmer trends in the 2007 agricultural census:
http://www.hereandnow.org/stand-alone-player/?fileUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bu.edu%2Fwbur%2Fstorage%2F2009%2F04%2Fhereandnow_0422_2.mp3&fileTitle=Farming
In this story, they mention the growth of small farms and the decline of the middle-sized farms.
Carolina Farm Stewards Association's (CFSA) Regional Director Diana Vossbrinck says that most farms in NC are small vs. the giant farms in California. If the new bill H.R. 2749, the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009, passes Congress, it'll be devastating for most of NC's farmers. H.R. 2749 is sweeping legislation that is meant to clean up the corporate food processors that have been the source of recent widespread food contamination outbreaks. But the bill is “one-size-fits-all,” and treats small family farms and businesses just like multinational corporations. Without changes, H.R. 2749 will create extraordinary hardships for small businesses and farms, and force many to close.
I asked Tim Hambrick of the US Ag. Ext. Service if the farms in Forsyth and the surrounding counties produce enough food to feed everyone below the poverty line in our county (using numbers from the 2000 census): "11.2% (total # living below the poverty line) equals about 21,000 people so it would take a lot of farms to supply that. When you consider that we only produce part of the year, the answer would probably be no, not even in the best of years, if all we produced was pointed towards this 11.2%. We don't have a very well developed fruit and vegetable industry established in this area. If you include surrounding counties, then it's doable on an acreage basis. However, many of our acres are being used to produce crops that would have to be processed in order to be used (wheat, corn, soybeans, beef cattle, dairy).
It would seem that we do not have excessive quantities of fruits and vegetables grown in this area. However, I'd guess that there would be enough to have farmer's markets in impoverished areas to supplement their weekly diets.
Things to do:
--Diana Vossbrinck of CSFA says to talk to the zoning office to find out where the farmland is and how much of it is being used for farming
--Get more farmers in our area to hook up with CFSA for legislative support, educational training and for connections to sell their food to local restaurants
--Research Brazilian farmers to get more details on how the Fome Zero program works for them --Talk with Anna Jensen (Mark Jensen's daughter) of NC Farmworkers Project to see if she can give us insights as to how to most effectively relate to immigrants.
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Research Profile of the Hungry in Forsyth County
I don't have any details on the exact location of malnourished people live in Forsyth County, but WFU researchers have found high rates of hunger among Latino immigrants in Forsyth County (much higher than the national average). These immigrants have jobs and are often ashamed to let others know they are having trouble getting enough food. Plus, they don't have access to food stamps because of their immigrant status.
In Forsyth, 15.8 percent of those surveyed reported children had had to go all day without food in the past year and 21.8 percent reported that children were hungry because they couldn't afford more food. And yet the researchers also found that only 12.9 percent of those in forsyth reported receiving food from a food pantry compared to 25 percent of those in eastern North Carolina.
The immigrants in the mountain counties are better off because of the year-round nature of the Christmas tree industry. More than 60 percent of survey participants both in eastern North Carolina and Forsyth participated in the school lunch program.
The rates of hunger and food insecurity were considerably above nationally collected statistics among the general population, among Hispanics alone, and other low-income populations.
"Compared with the rest of the world, the United States enjoys relative freedom from food insecurity and hunger," said WFU researcher Sara Quandt, PhD. "National data showed that 82.4 percent of U.S. households with children were food secure, 13.3 percent were food insecure without hunger and 4.3 percent reported hunger."
She added, "Policy makers need to reconsider access to food programs..."
To read more about this, see: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/523626/
There is a large community of Hispanics (about 600) that live just behind Forsyth Tech. There is also a large Hispanic population around NCSA and in Waughtown. I'm told there are many more areas where Hispanic immigrants live--does anyone know where these are?
According to the 2000 US census for Forsyth County, 11.2% of the population and 4.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.3% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. These census figures do not include the Hispanic immigrants (who are afraid to be documented as aliens); so there are many others of different ethnic and racial origins who would likely benefit from a Zero Hunger program in our county.
From what's listed on Local Harvest.org, it seems that the food grown in our area is not near the areas where people are going hungry.
More demographic analysis needs to be made to determine how to adapt Brazil's plan to our county. We need to map out areas where access to healthy food is limited or non-existent. We need to determine what other difficulties stand in the way of healthy food: financial, education, inability to leave home (disabled, area not safe, etc.). This will help us more accurately address what needs to be done. WFU's Sara Quandt is currently working on research concerning the accessibility to fresh food in impoverished areas.
Research shows that many people who are malnourished in the U.S. have jobs, but can't afford to buy fresh food after they pay rent and utilities.
Questions/Things to Research:
--Does anyone know how find out where these immigrants are living and where others are living who are below the poverty line in our county?
--Find out how many of the women surveyed in our county know about and use the WIC program--about 40%.
In Forsyth, 15.8 percent of those surveyed reported children had had to go all day without food in the past year and 21.8 percent reported that children were hungry because they couldn't afford more food. And yet the researchers also found that only 12.9 percent of those in forsyth reported receiving food from a food pantry compared to 25 percent of those in eastern North Carolina.
The immigrants in the mountain counties are better off because of the year-round nature of the Christmas tree industry. More than 60 percent of survey participants both in eastern North Carolina and Forsyth participated in the school lunch program.
The rates of hunger and food insecurity were considerably above nationally collected statistics among the general population, among Hispanics alone, and other low-income populations.
"Compared with the rest of the world, the United States enjoys relative freedom from food insecurity and hunger," said WFU researcher Sara Quandt, PhD. "National data showed that 82.4 percent of U.S. households with children were food secure, 13.3 percent were food insecure without hunger and 4.3 percent reported hunger."
She added, "Policy makers need to reconsider access to food programs..."
To read more about this, see: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/523626/
There is a large community of Hispanics (about 600) that live just behind Forsyth Tech. There is also a large Hispanic population around NCSA and in Waughtown. I'm told there are many more areas where Hispanic immigrants live--does anyone know where these are?
According to the 2000 US census for Forsyth County, 11.2% of the population and 4.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.3% of those under the age of 18 and 7.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. These census figures do not include the Hispanic immigrants (who are afraid to be documented as aliens); so there are many others of different ethnic and racial origins who would likely benefit from a Zero Hunger program in our county.
From what's listed on Local Harvest.org, it seems that the food grown in our area is not near the areas where people are going hungry.
More demographic analysis needs to be made to determine how to adapt Brazil's plan to our county. We need to map out areas where access to healthy food is limited or non-existent. We need to determine what other difficulties stand in the way of healthy food: financial, education, inability to leave home (disabled, area not safe, etc.). This will help us more accurately address what needs to be done. WFU's Sara Quandt is currently working on research concerning the accessibility to fresh food in impoverished areas.
Research shows that many people who are malnourished in the U.S. have jobs, but can't afford to buy fresh food after they pay rent and utilities.
Questions/Things to Research:
--Does anyone know how find out where these immigrants are living and where others are living who are below the poverty line in our county?
--Find out how many of the women surveyed in our county know about and use the WIC program--about 40%.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Community Gardens
Here is an excerpt from an article that explains how Brazil is using community gardens to subsidize food for the hungry:
Unused lots in the city were developed into community gardens to help the poor be able to afford healthy organic vegetables at a low cost.
The city of Governador Valadares is an example. There are 46 gardens and a weekly production that services 7 thousand people. The beneficiaries are social groups in situations of food insecurity, mainly pregnant women, mothers who are breastfeeding, children up to six years, students, unemployed and low-income farmers.
In Belo Horizonte there are 85 community gardens. One of them supplies 50 families with fresh fruits and vegetables free of pesticides. The foods are also used for children attending the health center.
In 2004, the Ministry of Social Development and Combating Hunger (MDS) entered into agreements with the State and 18 cities to support the development of community vegetable gardens. I couldn't tell from the translation of this article, but it looks like MDS subsidized some of the farming costs for these gardens.
The full article is here:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/ascom/revistas/mds/restaurantes.htm&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286
Winston-Salem has several community gardens, and more seem to be popping up all the time. One is in Old Salem, where they place harvested food in boxes and set them next to the road for people to pick up. The Children's Home also has a big community garden that is run by volunteers. Their food is given to the Food Bank, where it is donated to more than 400 non-profit partner agencies that serve people at risk of hunger and others in need from Boone to Burlington. A community garden was started in the Waughtown area, but there were a few problems with it. I'll try to find out what they were and post them here. There may also be one at Maple Springs United Methodist Church on Reynolda.
Ellen Kirby is an expert on community gardens and lives here in Winston-Salem. She has started community gardens in NYC and has written a book on Community Gardens. She has agreed to be a resource for us if we need her. You can view her blogs at:
kirbyplant.blogspot.com and gardencoachingws.blogspot.com
She suggested that Knollwood start a community garden on our grounds.
Starting and maintaining a community garden is an intensive process. You can view how it's done at:
http://communitygarden.org/learn/starting-a-community-garden.php
Another alternative to community gardening is to educate and encourage individual families to build and cultivate their own square foot gardens, where you can grow lots of vegetables in a tiny space because of the richness of the soil. Here's a link and a possible helper for this type of project:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jun/06/this-back-40-can-fit-anywhere-proponent-hopes-to-s/
There's an organic garden grown in vacant lots in the downtown area that was an intergenerational project, involving two Boy Scout troups, the Urban League and the Senior Community Service program. They spent about $100 on the project. The N.C. Cooperative Extension Agency donated plants and rain barrels to help conserve water. Earth Touch (a part of the City's Parks and Rec. Dept.) donated recycled wood for the raised beds and offered their horticultural expertise. The area has five 6 x 8' beds and one 10' pot. Here is a link to the Journal article about this garden:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jul/27/how-does-your-garden-grow-urban-league-program-put/news/
Another idea would be to help a school get a garden started, preferably a school in an impoverished area. Here is a list of NC schools who have gardens:
http://www.kidsgardening.com/school/registrysearch.taf
A recent Diane Rehm radio talk show (NPR) hosted Darrin Nordahl, author of Public Produce .
The author explains how growing food in urban, public spaces can help feed the hungry, supplement the existing agribusiness model, and promote good health for all. Upon hearing this story (nearly a full year after starting this blog), I realized that this type of idea has grown quite rapidly in just the last year. Here's the link to the show:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/10/21.php#29618
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--oversee the startup of a community garden in the Hispanic community located behind Forsyth Tech
--volunteer at the Children's Home Community Garden to get a better understanding of how it works
--work with the city to locate spaces where different groups can start a community garden around the city
--Start a community garden on our church grounds and deliver the food to the health center or to the Hispanic community near Forsyth Tech.
--Start a community garden with another church in an impoverished area--we'd help them get started and possibly help them find other organizations to help them tend the garden
--develop some sort of training and help in getting square foot gardens started in impoverished neighborhoods (we'd probably need corporate sponsors for this)
--Help a school in an impoverished area get an organic garden started so that they can use the produce for their lunches
Please post other thoughts, questions and ideas you have about community gardens.
Questions:
--Is MDS someone that would financially support community gardens for the underprivileged in this area?
Unused lots in the city were developed into community gardens to help the poor be able to afford healthy organic vegetables at a low cost.
The city of Governador Valadares is an example. There are 46 gardens and a weekly production that services 7 thousand people. The beneficiaries are social groups in situations of food insecurity, mainly pregnant women, mothers who are breastfeeding, children up to six years, students, unemployed and low-income farmers.
In Belo Horizonte there are 85 community gardens. One of them supplies 50 families with fresh fruits and vegetables free of pesticides. The foods are also used for children attending the health center.
In 2004, the Ministry of Social Development and Combating Hunger (MDS) entered into agreements with the State and 18 cities to support the development of community vegetable gardens. I couldn't tell from the translation of this article, but it looks like MDS subsidized some of the farming costs for these gardens.
The full article is here:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/ascom/revistas/mds/restaurantes.htm&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286
Winston-Salem has several community gardens, and more seem to be popping up all the time. One is in Old Salem, where they place harvested food in boxes and set them next to the road for people to pick up. The Children's Home also has a big community garden that is run by volunteers. Their food is given to the Food Bank, where it is donated to more than 400 non-profit partner agencies that serve people at risk of hunger and others in need from Boone to Burlington. A community garden was started in the Waughtown area, but there were a few problems with it. I'll try to find out what they were and post them here. There may also be one at Maple Springs United Methodist Church on Reynolda.
Ellen Kirby is an expert on community gardens and lives here in Winston-Salem. She has started community gardens in NYC and has written a book on Community Gardens. She has agreed to be a resource for us if we need her. You can view her blogs at:
kirbyplant.blogspot.com and gardencoachingws.blogspot.com
She suggested that Knollwood start a community garden on our grounds.
Starting and maintaining a community garden is an intensive process. You can view how it's done at:
http://communitygarden.org/learn/starting-a-community-garden.php
Another alternative to community gardening is to educate and encourage individual families to build and cultivate their own square foot gardens, where you can grow lots of vegetables in a tiny space because of the richness of the soil. Here's a link and a possible helper for this type of project:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jun/06/this-back-40-can-fit-anywhere-proponent-hopes-to-s/
There's an organic garden grown in vacant lots in the downtown area that was an intergenerational project, involving two Boy Scout troups, the Urban League and the Senior Community Service program. They spent about $100 on the project. The N.C. Cooperative Extension Agency donated plants and rain barrels to help conserve water. Earth Touch (a part of the City's Parks and Rec. Dept.) donated recycled wood for the raised beds and offered their horticultural expertise. The area has five 6 x 8' beds and one 10' pot. Here is a link to the Journal article about this garden:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jul/27/how-does-your-garden-grow-urban-league-program-put/news/
Another idea would be to help a school get a garden started, preferably a school in an impoverished area. Here is a list of NC schools who have gardens:
http://www.kidsgardening.com/school/registrysearch.taf
A recent Diane Rehm radio talk show (NPR) hosted Darrin Nordahl, author of Public Produce .
The author explains how growing food in urban, public spaces can help feed the hungry, supplement the existing agribusiness model, and promote good health for all. Upon hearing this story (nearly a full year after starting this blog), I realized that this type of idea has grown quite rapidly in just the last year. Here's the link to the show:
http://wamu.org/programs/dr/09/10/21.php#29618
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--oversee the startup of a community garden in the Hispanic community located behind Forsyth Tech
--volunteer at the Children's Home Community Garden to get a better understanding of how it works
--work with the city to locate spaces where different groups can start a community garden around the city
--Start a community garden on our church grounds and deliver the food to the health center or to the Hispanic community near Forsyth Tech.
--Start a community garden with another church in an impoverished area--we'd help them get started and possibly help them find other organizations to help them tend the garden
--develop some sort of training and help in getting square foot gardens started in impoverished neighborhoods (we'd probably need corporate sponsors for this)
--Help a school in an impoverished area get an organic garden started so that they can use the produce for their lunches
Please post other thoughts, questions and ideas you have about community gardens.
Questions:
--Is MDS someone that would financially support community gardens for the underprivileged in this area?
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Holding Farmers Markets in Impoverished Areas
The Brazilian government worked with the city of Belo Horizonte to develop price controls on the local organic farmers' produce and got them to bring their produce directly to the areas where the poor live. The city would send out the week's prices per stand to the radio stations, and they'd announce the prices of each vendor's food to help keep the prices low. At 50% below their usual store price, the farmers sold a much greater volume and were still able to make a nice profit. And the people were able to afford healthy organic food. The city gives the farmers free space to help offset the price control prices. In the end, the consumers pay less and the farmers earn more.
The farmer's markets were essential, because no food was being grown in impovererished areas. This was stated as one of the best things they did to help fight hunger. Adriana Aranhas frequently visits local farmers to encourage more of them to participate in this farmer's market program and to grow organic produce.
I'm not sure how this would apply to our area. Does anyone know someone who works for the city? It'd be nice to have someone help out who has some knowledge of how things like this get approved in our city government. I'd imagine the Cooperative Extension Agency might be able to help if you pick this aspect to focus on. They may have a list of organic farmers in Forsyth County.
In looking at the USDA site, I found some interesting facts about farmer's markets: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3010362&acct=wdmgeninfo
Here are some highlights from this site:
Gleaning is an alternative to conventional market entrance fees for vendors, USDA requires that vendors participate in a USDA food-gleaning program. This strategy works effectively, as USDA formed a partnership with the D.C. Central Kitchen to collect all food and/or food products donated by farmers at the close of each market day. With donated food and/or food products from USDA, wholesalers, food banks, and other sources, the organization prepares over 2,500 meals daily and distributes them to adults and children in more than 80 nonprofit shelters and feeding programs throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Identifying the Market Site
Preliminary identification and assessment of a market site are essential in determining the feasibility of the project. Give initial consideration to : -- Location: Identify a site with optimum visibility from streets and walkways. -- Space: Assess the number of vendors the site will accommodate. -- Availability: Determine days and hours the site is available. -- Restrictions: Determine if restrictions prevent non-Federal consumers from attending.
Forsyth County has several farmer's markets, some of which are new:
Dixie Classic Farmer’s Market, Dixie Classic Fairgrounds, Winston-Salem (Enter parking area off 27th St.) Saturdays 6am-1pm. Local and non local vendors.
Krankie’s Local Market, 211 E. 3rd St., Winston-Salem. (336)-723-7189. Tuesdays 11am-1 pm. Krankie’s Local Market features locally grown foods from farmers using sustainable
methods. The market is a joint effort between Krankie’s Coffee and Triad Buying Co-op
Inc.
Casanova’s Coffee & Fudge, 6275 Shallowford Rd, Lewisville. (336)-946-2407. Saturday: 8am-12pm. Local vendor from Lewisville, vegetables, fruit, & sometimes eggs.
The Children’s Home, 1001 Reynolda Rd. Winston-Salem. (336)- 721-7600 Email: kmacpherson@tchome.org Tuesday: 10am-12pm, Thursday: 4pm-6pm. Squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons, flowers, herbs, and other seasonal crops are for sale. All produce grown by The Children’s Home.
Downtown City Market, Corner of 6th and Cherry St. Winston-Salem. Tuesday & Thursday: 9am-1pm. May – September. Local and non local vendors.
Gary’s Produce 6225 Strieter Rd, Pfafftown. (336)- 945-5964. Currently Thursday: 9-4pm, Call ahead for hours of operation. All produce is grown by one local farmer, all produce is organic.
Reynolda Farmer's Market is in the old Pink Mink store on Reynolda (near Buena Vista Rd.). I think it's open most days of the week. Local fruits and vegetables from NC, SC and VA. Also bakery items from Ollie's and that other local bakery downtown.
--The City Beverage on 915 Burke St. holds an organic farmer's market every 1st and 3rd
Saturday from 12-4pm. The farmers from Yadkinville's Shore Farms sell their organic produce here.
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--Research, brainstorm and implement new ways to encourage more organic farmers to come to Forsyth County. (includes coming up with new ways to get the community and restaurants to support organic farmers)
--Work with CFSA, CHANGE, the city and other organizations to research and implement ways to encourage existing organic farmers in our area to set up price controlled and/or regularly priced farmer's markets in impoverished areas
--See if Nature's Path Health Food Company would be interested in helping out in our area--they've bought 2200 acres of organic farmland and have made it available to experienced organic farmers. They also support the Rodale Institute which has a program that encourages and educates farmers about organic farming
Questions: --Does gleaning of the farmer's markets exist in Forsyth County?
--How would the farmer's market food be delivered? By the farmers, or would a third party, such as the Food Bank, become involved in distribution?
--Do our farmer's markets have EBT (Electronic system that allows a recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits)? Some farmer's markets do:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/
The farmer's markets were essential, because no food was being grown in impovererished areas. This was stated as one of the best things they did to help fight hunger. Adriana Aranhas frequently visits local farmers to encourage more of them to participate in this farmer's market program and to grow organic produce.
I'm not sure how this would apply to our area. Does anyone know someone who works for the city? It'd be nice to have someone help out who has some knowledge of how things like this get approved in our city government. I'd imagine the Cooperative Extension Agency might be able to help if you pick this aspect to focus on. They may have a list of organic farmers in Forsyth County.
In looking at the USDA site, I found some interesting facts about farmer's markets: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3010362&acct=wdmgeninfo
Here are some highlights from this site:
Gleaning is an alternative to conventional market entrance fees for vendors, USDA requires that vendors participate in a USDA food-gleaning program. This strategy works effectively, as USDA formed a partnership with the D.C. Central Kitchen to collect all food and/or food products donated by farmers at the close of each market day. With donated food and/or food products from USDA, wholesalers, food banks, and other sources, the organization prepares over 2,500 meals daily and distributes them to adults and children in more than 80 nonprofit shelters and feeding programs throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.
Identifying the Market Site
Preliminary identification and assessment of a market site are essential in determining the feasibility of the project. Give initial consideration to : -- Location: Identify a site with optimum visibility from streets and walkways. -- Space: Assess the number of vendors the site will accommodate. -- Availability: Determine days and hours the site is available. -- Restrictions: Determine if restrictions prevent non-Federal consumers from attending.
Forsyth County has several farmer's markets, some of which are new:
Dixie Classic Farmer’s Market, Dixie Classic Fairgrounds, Winston-Salem (Enter parking area off 27th St.) Saturdays 6am-1pm. Local and non local vendors.
Krankie’s Local Market, 211 E. 3rd St., Winston-Salem. (336)-723-7189. Tuesdays 11am-1 pm. Krankie’s Local Market features locally grown foods from farmers using sustainable
methods. The market is a joint effort between Krankie’s Coffee and Triad Buying Co-op
Inc.
Casanova’s Coffee & Fudge, 6275 Shallowford Rd, Lewisville. (336)-946-2407. Saturday: 8am-12pm. Local vendor from Lewisville, vegetables, fruit, & sometimes eggs.
The Children’s Home, 1001 Reynolda Rd. Winston-Salem. (336)- 721-7600 Email: kmacpherson@tchome.org Tuesday: 10am-12pm, Thursday: 4pm-6pm. Squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons, flowers, herbs, and other seasonal crops are for sale. All produce grown by The Children’s Home.
Downtown City Market, Corner of 6th and Cherry St. Winston-Salem. Tuesday & Thursday: 9am-1pm. May – September. Local and non local vendors.
Gary’s Produce 6225 Strieter Rd, Pfafftown. (336)- 945-5964. Currently Thursday: 9-4pm, Call ahead for hours of operation. All produce is grown by one local farmer, all produce is organic.
Reynolda Farmer's Market is in the old Pink Mink store on Reynolda (near Buena Vista Rd.). I think it's open most days of the week. Local fruits and vegetables from NC, SC and VA. Also bakery items from Ollie's and that other local bakery downtown.
--The City Beverage on 915 Burke St. holds an organic farmer's market every 1st and 3rd
Saturday from 12-4pm. The farmers from Yadkinville's Shore Farms sell their organic produce here.
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--Research, brainstorm and implement new ways to encourage more organic farmers to come to Forsyth County. (includes coming up with new ways to get the community and restaurants to support organic farmers)
--Work with CFSA, CHANGE, the city and other organizations to research and implement ways to encourage existing organic farmers in our area to set up price controlled and/or regularly priced farmer's markets in impoverished areas
--See if Nature's Path Health Food Company would be interested in helping out in our area--they've bought 2200 acres of organic farmland and have made it available to experienced organic farmers. They also support the Rodale Institute which has a program that encourages and educates farmers about organic farming
Questions: --Does gleaning of the farmer's markets exist in Forsyth County?
--How would the farmer's market food be delivered? By the farmers, or would a third party, such as the Food Bank, become involved in distribution?
--Do our farmer's markets have EBT (Electronic system that allows a recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits)? Some farmer's markets do:
http://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt/
Friday, May 15, 2009
Encourage Growth & Prosperity of Local Organic Farmers
Organic produce is still more expensive in Brazil, but the Fome Zero Program is actively encouraging more farmers to grow organic to help offset the higher prices.
Here is a story which talks about the findings of US farmer trends in the 2007 agricultural census:
http://www.hereandnow.org/stand-alone-player/?fileUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bu.edu%2Fwbur%2Fstorage%2F2009%2F04%2Fhereandnow_0422_2.mp3&fileTitle=Farming
In this story, they mention the growth of small farms and the decline of the middle-sized farms. One farmer from Vermont talks about how Vermont's farm-friendly tactics help farmers. He mentioned a tax exemption on farm buildings and right-to-farm laws.
Here is an article about right-to-farm laws:
http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pdf/myth_buster_2.pdf
Here's another website that lists several bills about organic farming and supporting NC farmers:
They encourage people to write their constituents about the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund (HB 618 & 684): "North Carolina leads the nation in loss of farmland. This fund would provide four million dollars to support programs that protect family farms and preserve our natural resources before its too late and grow sustainable farming. Now is a critical time to support funding for farmland preservation projects that will help develop sustainable and profitable farms, support farm families now and for future generations, and grow rural economies..."
The details of HB 684 are listed on this website:
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H684v2.pdf
If this bill passes, it may be easier to get more local organic farmers in our area.
I don't understand legislative issues, but it looks like HB 618 has already passed, which approves $4 million for easements to preserve NC's farmland:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H618v1.pdf
Here's a site that gives you an overview of NC's farmers, their produce info and their issues:
http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/
CFSA (Carolina Farm Stewards Association) has just hired Diana Vossbrinck as the Regional Coordinator for the Upstate of SC and the Western Piedmont of NC. Through their regional staff, they plan on leveraging CFSA’s resources and experience to "organize the public support for local, fair and organic food that is growing all over the Carolinas into a powerful movement for far-reaching policy and market changes." (from CFSA email)
Diane's email address is: diana@carolinafarmstewards.org.
Ideass of how we can get involved:
--work with CFSA to figure out a way to give incentives to Hispanics to lease nearby tracts of farmland so they can become organic farmers for their own community
--Work with CFSA and other organizations to get the banks to give special farm credits for small farmers to help them get started.
--Work with CFSA and other organiztions to give incentives to owners of big tracts of farmland to lease out parts of it to small organic farmers
--access a list of uncertified organic farmers to find possible vendors to sell their produce in imipoverished areas
--Come up with incentives to help farmers preserve their farms (bills in NC House right now address this very issue)
Here is a story which talks about the findings of US farmer trends in the 2007 agricultural census:
http://www.hereandnow.org/stand-alone-player/?fileUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bu.edu%2Fwbur%2Fstorage%2F2009%2F04%2Fhereandnow_0422_2.mp3&fileTitle=Farming
In this story, they mention the growth of small farms and the decline of the middle-sized farms. One farmer from Vermont talks about how Vermont's farm-friendly tactics help farmers. He mentioned a tax exemption on farm buildings and right-to-farm laws.
Here is an article about right-to-farm laws:
http://www.landstewardshipproject.org/pdf/myth_buster_2.pdf
Here's another website that lists several bills about organic farming and supporting NC farmers:
They encourage people to write their constituents about the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund (HB 618 & 684): "North Carolina leads the nation in loss of farmland. This fund would provide four million dollars to support programs that protect family farms and preserve our natural resources before its too late and grow sustainable farming. Now is a critical time to support funding for farmland preservation projects that will help develop sustainable and profitable farms, support farm families now and for future generations, and grow rural economies..."
The details of HB 684 are listed on this website:
http://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H684v2.pdf
If this bill passes, it may be easier to get more local organic farmers in our area.
I don't understand legislative issues, but it looks like HB 618 has already passed, which approves $4 million for easements to preserve NC's farmland:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2009/Bills/House/PDF/H618v1.pdf
Here's a site that gives you an overview of NC's farmers, their produce info and their issues:
http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/
CFSA (Carolina Farm Stewards Association) has just hired Diana Vossbrinck as the Regional Coordinator for the Upstate of SC and the Western Piedmont of NC. Through their regional staff, they plan on leveraging CFSA’s resources and experience to "organize the public support for local, fair and organic food that is growing all over the Carolinas into a powerful movement for far-reaching policy and market changes." (from CFSA email)
Diane's email address is: diana@carolinafarmstewards.org.
Ideass of how we can get involved:
--work with CFSA to figure out a way to give incentives to Hispanics to lease nearby tracts of farmland so they can become organic farmers for their own community
--Work with CFSA and other organizations to get the banks to give special farm credits for small farmers to help them get started.
--Work with CFSA and other organiztions to give incentives to owners of big tracts of farmland to lease out parts of it to small organic farmers
--access a list of uncertified organic farmers to find possible vendors to sell their produce in imipoverished areas
--Come up with incentives to help farmers preserve their farms (bills in NC House right now address this very issue)
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Subsidized Restaurants--a better way of life for the poor
Belo Horizonte has two subsidized restaurants that feed 6000 people a day a basic no-frills lunch. The people pay a small charge and the city pays twice that. I'm not sure how they decide who gets to eat at this restaurant.
Here's one article about the restaurants:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/noticias/restaurante-popular-de-belo-horizonte-servira-10-mil-refeicoes-dia&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286
They are designed to help people who can't afford to eat nutritionally and to help low-income workers who make their main meal of the day outside the home. They're usually frequented by the unemployed, students, retirees and elderly residents who are homeless.
These restaurants give the public access to healthy food at affordable prices. It sort of seems like a K&W, except even more affordable.
The Solidarity Network of Popular Restaurants is for vulnerable groups and workers who, for lack of time or resources, can not access a healthy meal at least once a day.
In Belo Horizonte, workers pay R $ 0.25 for breakfast, U.S. $ 1.00 for lunch and $ 0.50 for a soup served at night. The city subsidizes 50% of meals served to employees. The weekly menu prioritizes food quality, cost and regional foods. Foods are purchased from traders, plus greens and vegetables are purchased from small producers in the region.
Many people can't get to these restaurants, and the city brings meals to them. (This is similar to Meals on Wheels, where volunteers bring meals cooked by the Food Bank to those who aren't able to get their own food.)
Here is a link to another article about popular restaurants, with the highlights listed below:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/ascom/revistas/mds/restaurantes.htm&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286
This year, the MDS (Ministry of Social Development & Combating Hunger) invested about $32,000 in the purchase of 10 tons of fruit pulp, benefiting 30 local farmers. The objective was to reduce the monthly amount of subsidies and at the same time create jobs in farming around the city.
According to a survey conducted by the Municipal Department for External Supply of Belo Horizonte, 53% of users of the popular restaurants have income of up to two minimum wages, which in most cases is not sufficient to access a supply of quality food, which contributes to the situation of food insecurity and malnutrition in the country. According to the National Food Security (Consea), the poorest families spend most of their income on food. This was the condition of life for most Brazilians. Now miniumum wage workers are able to spend less money on good quality food, and they're able to save a little money, too.
The program of popular restaurants, according to the Consea, has the effect of social inclusion and promotes local production. It also generates direct jobs for the same population in a situation of food insecurity. In Belo Horizonte, for example, the services of popular restaurants are outsourced. Only supervision, financial control, preparation of menus and realization of purchases through bidding, are responsibilities of municipal authorities.
The two restaurants generate 110 direct jobs between managers, nutritionists, experts in nutrition, stockman, and kitchen assistants, cooks and janitors. The People's Restaurant is a priority program for major urban centers and metropolitan regions. Other organizations that help this endeavor are the Purchase of Food from Family Agriculture (EAP), community gardens and crops, and programs that train workers and training of professionals in the field of gastronomy.
Ways we can get involved:
--Work with the city and state to encourage the exploration and development of a popular restaurant(s) in our area where people could easily access it every day (maybe near the Health Center?)
--Work with the Second Harvest Food Bank to see if they could start one of these restaurants. Research shows that our statistics of the malnourished are similar to those in Brazil. Minimum wage earners who spend most of their money on food and as a result, have no savings for electricity, transportation and other basic needs.
Please post any questions, ideas, comments you have about subsidized restaurants.
Here's one article about the restaurants:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/noticias/restaurante-popular-de-belo-horizonte-servira-10-mil-refeicoes-dia&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=2&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286
They are designed to help people who can't afford to eat nutritionally and to help low-income workers who make their main meal of the day outside the home. They're usually frequented by the unemployed, students, retirees and elderly residents who are homeless.
These restaurants give the public access to healthy food at affordable prices. It sort of seems like a K&W, except even more affordable.
The Solidarity Network of Popular Restaurants is for vulnerable groups and workers who, for lack of time or resources, can not access a healthy meal at least once a day.
In Belo Horizonte, workers pay R $ 0.25 for breakfast, U.S. $ 1.00 for lunch and $ 0.50 for a soup served at night. The city subsidizes 50% of meals served to employees. The weekly menu prioritizes food quality, cost and regional foods. Foods are purchased from traders, plus greens and vegetables are purchased from small producers in the region.
Many people can't get to these restaurants, and the city brings meals to them. (This is similar to Meals on Wheels, where volunteers bring meals cooked by the Food Bank to those who aren't able to get their own food.)
Here is a link to another article about popular restaurants, with the highlights listed below:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://www.mds.gov.br/ascom/revistas/mds/restaurantes.htm&ei=u4UDStGGLdnHtgeK2_j4Bg&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=9&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Drestaurante%2Bpopular%2Bbelo%2Bhorizonte%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GZEZ_en-GBUS286US286
This year, the MDS (Ministry of Social Development & Combating Hunger) invested about $32,000 in the purchase of 10 tons of fruit pulp, benefiting 30 local farmers. The objective was to reduce the monthly amount of subsidies and at the same time create jobs in farming around the city.
According to a survey conducted by the Municipal Department for External Supply of Belo Horizonte, 53% of users of the popular restaurants have income of up to two minimum wages, which in most cases is not sufficient to access a supply of quality food, which contributes to the situation of food insecurity and malnutrition in the country. According to the National Food Security (Consea), the poorest families spend most of their income on food. This was the condition of life for most Brazilians. Now miniumum wage workers are able to spend less money on good quality food, and they're able to save a little money, too.
The program of popular restaurants, according to the Consea, has the effect of social inclusion and promotes local production. It also generates direct jobs for the same population in a situation of food insecurity. In Belo Horizonte, for example, the services of popular restaurants are outsourced. Only supervision, financial control, preparation of menus and realization of purchases through bidding, are responsibilities of municipal authorities.
The two restaurants generate 110 direct jobs between managers, nutritionists, experts in nutrition, stockman, and kitchen assistants, cooks and janitors. The People's Restaurant is a priority program for major urban centers and metropolitan regions. Other organizations that help this endeavor are the Purchase of Food from Family Agriculture (EAP), community gardens and crops, and programs that train workers and training of professionals in the field of gastronomy.
Ways we can get involved:
--Work with the city and state to encourage the exploration and development of a popular restaurant(s) in our area where people could easily access it every day (maybe near the Health Center?)
--Work with the Second Harvest Food Bank to see if they could start one of these restaurants. Research shows that our statistics of the malnourished are similar to those in Brazil. Minimum wage earners who spend most of their money on food and as a result, have no savings for electricity, transportation and other basic needs.
Please post any questions, ideas, comments you have about subsidized restaurants.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
What the Zero Hunger Program Does for Women, Children and Elders
Brazilians working on the Zero Hunger program realized that they needed to target their help to the ones most vulnerable (both socially and biologically) to hunger: children, pregnant women and the elders.
Many preschoolers were malnourished. "Food is not a material luxury. If people don't eat, they don't live," (This was a comment from Adriana Aranhas in the documentary The Silent Killer: the Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger).
The government provides three meals a day at all daycare centers, and this alone has helped to reduce children's mortality rate by 41% in Belo Horizonte. The grade schools give free lunches to the children in areas where hunger is prevalent. The city pays for the cost of the daycare lunches with a little help from the federal government.
They also have established a health center where mothers who come in for nutrition for their children are educated about making healthy eating choices. This includes learning how to make a nutrient-rich mixture of wheat bran, powdered eggshell, powdered manioc leaf and wheat flour.
The health center staff teaches the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables, of eating fewer products that contain chemicals and they also help people learn how to avoid waste when preparing food. Their belief is that it's not enough to just hand out food. They have to be educated to reinforce lasting healthy eating habits. Getting them involved at the health center in this way also helps keep them from losing contact with the mothers. Just handing out the nutrient rich mixture would not be enough to make a lasting change.
Another important change was made in the medical records area: all children who arrive at the health center and are underweight are considered victims of malnutrition. Previously, they were documented as victims of diarrhea or some other malnutrition-related disease. This change helps reflect malnutrition more accurately.
They also educate people on obesity that comes from eating too few whole grains and too few dark leafy vegetables which are rich in fiber, vitamins and vitamin complexes. They teach the women specific ways to include these types of food in their diet.
I talked with WIC director Mayte Grundseth of Forsyth County, and she says that WIC does one-on-one counseling with families, based on a nutritionist's analysis of how that family is at risk. WIC also has infant feeding classes, breastfeeding classes and will soon have classes on how to meet toddlers' needs. The parents are required to attend the first breastfeeding class, and that's the only class they're required to attend. Families can also access a nutritional education site online.
There is a farmer's market that comes to WIC two times in the summer. Grundseth says that the Health Center documents which children are underweight, but they do not document the cause of being underweight as "malnourished". The big news with WIC is that they're going to get vouchers for fresh fruit and vegetables this fall. They can use these vouchers at farmer's markets or at grocery stores. But they can't use the vouchers at farmer's markets unless the produce is grown in the same county the person lives in. This is a big problem, because very few farmers actually grow food in Forsyth County. Most of it comes from surrounding counties. These vouchers come from the USDA.
WFU researcher Sara Quandt is currently researching food accessibility to grocery stores and restaurants for impoverished people in our county.
Questions:
--How close is our center to the people who are malnourished?
--Investigate other agencies (such as the YWCA, Goodwill Industries, Imprints and Salvation Army) to see if they offer education classes about nutrition
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--Write the USDA and see if we can get the policy changed about the vouchers used at farmer's markets being restricted to food grown in just one county
--Have various agencies teach mothers a nutrient-rich infant formula they could make on their own, similar to the one in Brazil
--Find out more about what's being done and what's not being done in our area in comparison to what Brazil is doing for the nutritional health of mothers, children and the elderly.
--see if we can get a farmer's market started at some of the other agencies like Goodwill, around the time that classes are being held for women and the elderly (and even have the farmers teach one of the classes)
Many preschoolers were malnourished. "Food is not a material luxury. If people don't eat, they don't live," (This was a comment from Adriana Aranhas in the documentary The Silent Killer: the Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger).
The government provides three meals a day at all daycare centers, and this alone has helped to reduce children's mortality rate by 41% in Belo Horizonte. The grade schools give free lunches to the children in areas where hunger is prevalent. The city pays for the cost of the daycare lunches with a little help from the federal government.
They also have established a health center where mothers who come in for nutrition for their children are educated about making healthy eating choices. This includes learning how to make a nutrient-rich mixture of wheat bran, powdered eggshell, powdered manioc leaf and wheat flour.
The health center staff teaches the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables, of eating fewer products that contain chemicals and they also help people learn how to avoid waste when preparing food. Their belief is that it's not enough to just hand out food. They have to be educated to reinforce lasting healthy eating habits. Getting them involved at the health center in this way also helps keep them from losing contact with the mothers. Just handing out the nutrient rich mixture would not be enough to make a lasting change.
Another important change was made in the medical records area: all children who arrive at the health center and are underweight are considered victims of malnutrition. Previously, they were documented as victims of diarrhea or some other malnutrition-related disease. This change helps reflect malnutrition more accurately.
They also educate people on obesity that comes from eating too few whole grains and too few dark leafy vegetables which are rich in fiber, vitamins and vitamin complexes. They teach the women specific ways to include these types of food in their diet.
I talked with WIC director Mayte Grundseth of Forsyth County, and she says that WIC does one-on-one counseling with families, based on a nutritionist's analysis of how that family is at risk. WIC also has infant feeding classes, breastfeeding classes and will soon have classes on how to meet toddlers' needs. The parents are required to attend the first breastfeeding class, and that's the only class they're required to attend. Families can also access a nutritional education site online.
There is a farmer's market that comes to WIC two times in the summer. Grundseth says that the Health Center documents which children are underweight, but they do not document the cause of being underweight as "malnourished". The big news with WIC is that they're going to get vouchers for fresh fruit and vegetables this fall. They can use these vouchers at farmer's markets or at grocery stores. But they can't use the vouchers at farmer's markets unless the produce is grown in the same county the person lives in. This is a big problem, because very few farmers actually grow food in Forsyth County. Most of it comes from surrounding counties. These vouchers come from the USDA.
WFU researcher Sara Quandt is currently researching food accessibility to grocery stores and restaurants for impoverished people in our county.
Questions:
--How close is our center to the people who are malnourished?
--Investigate other agencies (such as the YWCA, Goodwill Industries, Imprints and Salvation Army) to see if they offer education classes about nutrition
Ideas of how we can get involved:
--Write the USDA and see if we can get the policy changed about the vouchers used at farmer's markets being restricted to food grown in just one county
--Have various agencies teach mothers a nutrient-rich infant formula they could make on their own, similar to the one in Brazil
--Find out more about what's being done and what's not being done in our area in comparison to what Brazil is doing for the nutritional health of mothers, children and the elderly.
--see if we can get a farmer's market started at some of the other agencies like Goodwill, around the time that classes are being held for women and the elderly (and even have the farmers teach one of the classes)
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