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Young anti-poverty advocates discuss hunger in
DC over a meal. Photo: Amanda Abrams |
It’s popular to complain that DC is a transient town; a place where people invest in their careers but don’t give much thought to the city they live in. That’s what made the Oct. 24 event at Big Bear Café so unusual. The one-room Bloomingdale coffee shop, at 1700 First St. NW, was packed with people in their late 20s and early 30s and buzzing with loud conversation, but the topic wasn’t who’s who on the Hill or which band is visiting the city next. Rather, it was hunger in Washington and how it can be addressed.
Actually, the subject was technically “food security.” That’s the term that’s used these days: it comprises not only hunger but also access to safe, healthy food, from both a geographic and an economic perspective. With as many as 20 percent of the District’s children affected by food insecurity, there are a lot of local organizations trying to alleviate the problem. But until recently, they lacked a public forum to discuss the issue.
Enter www.dcfoodforall.com. It’s a new blog launched by a wide variety of Washington organizations focused on food security in the city. Some of the groups are classic service providers, like SOME and the DC Central Kitchen. Others, like DC Hunger Solutions, advocate for better policies. And still other groups take a hands-on approach, organizing “gleaning” trips to local farms to harvest food that can be served to the homeless or creating new community gardens.
“We had a lot to say about food and were meeting people doing interesting things,” explained Greg Bloom, who works in communications at Bread for the City and will serve as the blog’s managing editor. “So, we thought, we need one channel where we can talk about improving local food infrastructure.”
The Big Bear event celebrated the blog’s soft launch, but the details are still being worked out. Enthusiasm, though, is running high. “We’ve had overwhelmingly positive responses – it’s been really impressive,” said Joni Podschun, a policy analyst on hunger issues and one of the blog’s coordinators. “There’s so much going on here, so it’s an opportunity to combine our efforts.”
At the event, big red buttons saying “End Hunger 2015” were being given away at the door, and young people focused on anti-poverty issues were discussing their programs and plans. And naturally, no one was letting a great opportunity to drink beer and eat freshly gleaned food in the form of a broccoli frittata, eggplant salad, and an apple crisp pass them by. |
