Screening for hunger at the hospital

Families bringing children in for annual checkups at Providence Milwaukie Hospital in Portland, Oregon, are now being asked if they are experiencing food insecurity, part of a new statewide initiative titled “Screen and Intervene.” Families experiencing food insecurity are then scheduled for a meeting with an outreach specialist which can help direct them to assistance. Individual clinics in the state participating in the initiative establish their own protocols for helping struggling families.

When the food runs out – Portland Tribune, January 15, 2015

State of the Union and hungry children

There were 12.4 million children in food insecure homes in 2008, now there are 15.8 million food insecure children. While the president’s State of the Union proposals – increasing the child tax credit, increasing wages and paid family leave – are excellent, “it is absolutely appalling that he must encourage Congress to show children that they matter,” writes Mariana Chilton, found of Witnesses to Hunger and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities, in this op-ed.

Do America’s Hungry Children Matter? – BillMoyers.com, January 21, 2015

Headed back to Connecticut, but just briefly

I'm headed back to Connecticut this evening, but just for a few days.  Foodshare has planned a "going away" party (now that I'm already gone away!).  When we discussed having this event in January, everyone was worried that I might be snowed in, here in the North Country.  If you've followed the weather news these last few days, instead, it was Connecticut and other parts of New England that got hit with a blizzard!

But no big deal for us hardy North Country stock and so I will be there even if few others make it.

See you back at the GardenShare office on Monday.

Gloria

What a beautiful idea!

HOMELESS PEOPLE GET PIZZA IN PHILLY

Customers at Philadelphia’s Rosa's Pizza, where a slice is just $1, can choose to buy a slice for a homeless person for just another buck. And 8,400 people have done just that in the past 9 months. They're then able to write a heartfelt message on a sticky note and add it to the wall, where those in need who've benefited from the pay it forward pizza have also written responses of gratitude. 

Source: Huffington Post, 1/15/22, Pizza Plus

Governor's budget proposes cuts to key North Country ag programs

From the Watertown Daily Times:

"Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s proposed executive budget calls for a big reduction in funding for key agriculture programs important to the north country. But agriculture advocates say they’re hopeful legislators will lead efforts to restore funding.

"At first blush, the governor’s 2015-16 budget for programs administered by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets looks bleak compared with this fiscal year. The New York State Farm Viability Institute, which funds critical research to develop commodity crops across the state, would have its funding cut by $1.1 million, from $1.5 million to $400,000. And the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, which received $600,000 this year, would go unfunded altogether. That program serves six counties in the north country."

Read the complete story here.

OVER 50% OF PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE POOR

For the first time in at least 50 years, a majority of U.S. public school students come from low-income families, according to a new analysis of 2013 federal data. In 40 of the 50 states, low-income students (defined as those eligible for free or reduced-price lunches) comprised no less than 40% of all public schoolchildren. In 21 states, such children were a majority of students in 2013. Most of the states with a majority of low-income students are in the South and the West. Mississippi had the highest rate of low-income students—71%. Connecticut, with 36% of students eligible for free or reduced price meals, was among the states, mostly in the Northeast, that were well below the national average.

Source: Southern Education Foundation, 1/16/15, Low-Income Students

And we know that kids from low-income families are likely hungry, affecting their health and their ability to do well in school!

Gloria

Agrituourism conference coming up in Vermont

Join farmers, educators, and service providers in Rutland, Vermont for a two-day exploration of open farms. This conference uses a peer-to-peer educational model with a variety of workshops offered on April 8th. Do you have something to say? Share your story, your strategy, your ideas!

More information at www.uvm.edu/vtagritourism

Registration info coming soon. Participants can register for individual parts of the gathering, including farm tours on April 7 and workshops on April 8. 

Sponsored by USDA Rural Development and the Rutland Regional Planning Commission with additional support from Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL), University of Vermont Extension, Farm-Based Education Network, Vermont Farms! Association, the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. 

This conference aligns with Vermont’s Farm to Plate goals to increase food literacy, farm profitability, and local food availability as well as more opportunities for farms to engage in technical assistance opportunities.