February 2016

News

Introducing WhyHunger's New Texting Service to Find Food

WhyHunger is proud to announce the launch of its new Find Food Texting Service that will allow more people than ever to find healthy food in their neighborhood via a simple text message! This is a national service that is critical in making food even more accessible to those in need and it eliminates the extra step of making a call. To find food all you have to do is text your zip code to 1-800-548-6479 to get an instant listing of places in your area where you can go for food assistance.

As part of the Nourish Network for the Right to Food, the WhyHunger Hotline 1-800-5 HUNGRY (1-800-548-6479) refers people in need of emergency food assistance to food pantries, government programs and model grassroots organizations nationally that work to increase access to nutritious food. Help is available by phone Monday through Friday from 9am-6pm EST and now with the new text option, information can be retrieved 24/7.

In addition, WhyHunger continues to add resources (food banks, food pantries, food access sites) to its comprehensive Find Food Database of emergency food providers from around the US with the most up-to-date information about access to healthy food and nutrition services. If you need any further assistance, don't hesitate to call our Hotline number directly, search "find food" or send a text!

Please consider helping us spread the word by downloading and sharing Hotline flyers with your networks and on social media. Available in English and Spanish.

What I Learned From My Mom about Stigma, The Food System and Hope

My name is Betty Fermin and I work at WhyHunger for the Nourish Network for the Right to Food. As part of my work I talk to people on our WhyHunger Hotline who are looking for food and manage this newsletter, which provides a space to share critical thoughts around the systemic change that needs to happen to end hunger and transform the emergency food system. Since I've started writing about how to transform the emergency food system, I have been thinking more and more about my personal connection to this work. The deeper I delve into the work I do, connecting people to food in their area nationwide and sharing information on this growing movement; the connection to what's always happened at home is something I have begun to think about more. Read more here.

Webinar: Tackling Hunger through Organizing & Advocacy

Alliance to End Hunger and WhyHunger are hosting a webinar which features Neighbors Together to discuss the importance of advocacy and organizing in addressing the root causes of hunger.

This webinar will address:

Why advocacy and organizing are important
How one organization, Neighbors Together, incorporated these principles into their program
Where you can find important resources to help you get started

Join us and learn how to create successful initiatives and about resources that can help you along the way on March 16, 2016 at 2:00 PM EST.

What the Media is Getting Wrong about the SNAP 3-Month Time Limit

There has been a good deal of media coverage over the last few weeks about the pending SNAP cuts affecting those the government labels as "Abled-Bodied Adults Without Disabilities," better known as childless adults who may be struggling to get by and typically aren't eligible for other forms of public assistance.

This April, 23 states will re-impose a 3 month time-limit on SNAP benefits - formerly Food Stamps - for hundreds of thousands of low-income adults. As a result, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates at least 500,000 to as many as 1 million SNAP recipients will have their benefits cut off in 2016.

Read more here.

Closing the Hunger Gap Request for Proposals for 2017

Screenshot from CTHG video

In September 2015, the Oregon Food Bank hosted an incredible gathering of over 500 representatives from food banks, farms and organizations focused on health, education and food justice gathered together for three days of critical discussion and action planning towards ending hunger and cultivating a more just food system.

Closing the Hunger Gap is gearing up for the next conference! We are looking for interested organizations to submit proposals to host the 2017 Closing the Hunger Gap conference.

How to apply
Download the request for proposal form for application details. Deadline for proposals is March 20, 2016. Proposals can be submitted electronically to cthg.email@gmail.com

or by mail to:

WhyHunger

Att: Closing the Hunger Gap

505 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2100

New York, NY 10018

Building The Movement

Religion, the Environment and how it affects Indigenous Communities

The Center for Earth Ethics, the Kairos Center and the Center for Latin American & Latino Studies held a panel at the Union Theological Seminary in late January to share their findings on a two-year project: Religion, theEnvironment and Social Conflict in Contemporary Latin America. The project examined the role of religion in the public debate over environmental conflicts and responses to climate change throughout Latin America.

The report back highlighted the relationship between religion and climate change in various areas. It became clear that different religions advocate wildly conflicting and different views on the issues facing the environment - some don't see it as critical issue at all, whereas others encourage social movements for climate justice. For instance, the Pope says we must listen to the "call of the earth and the cry of the poor." The problem is that many people don't believe the environment has anything to do with their faith.

The panel that was assembled contended that religion does have a role to play in social movements and that there is an important need for action to bring about justice. This belief has proven to be a good tool for organizing and collaborating at the intersection of religion and environment. The panel went on to say that the right to a safe environment must remain essential because the most vulnerable communities are the ones suffering because of environmental and ecological changes. The relevance of how indigenous people have been robbed of their land and now are facing further displacement was addressed by Mindahi Crescencio Bastida Mu�oz, the Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for Earth Ethics. Churches, Munoz pointed out, have been complicit in bringing in mostly processed foods to indigenous communities which are often referred to now as "oppression food" by these same indigenous communities. The churches have contributed to the phenomenon worldwide whereby these communities have lost their traditional practices of producing and eating certain kinds of foods that also have deep cultural significance. Over time - due to the introduction of processed foods coupled with the displacement of tribes from their indigenous homelands - these communities have become both physically and spiritually separated from the plant and wildlife that has been an important part of their diets, and their shared knowledge of traditional foods has been stifled for generations. Mu�oz pointed out that spiritual practices and traditional medicines also became forbidden or set aside with the introduction of western ways. As processed foods became the norm, diets alongside the environment suffered which has led to diabetes, hypertension and other diet-related diseases in epidemic proportions. The road to health for these communities will include a return to traditional foods and plant-based medicine. Mu�oz ended his segment by bringing us back to the connection between the environment and our spiritual lives. He said: "we cannot separate nature from what we are."

What We're Reading Now

"The Hidden Hunger on College Campuses"

The latest edition of the Idea Clearing House, a newsletter by the Finding Solutions to Poverty & Inequality Alliance, highlights the article originally published in The Atlantic "The Hidden Hunger on College Campuses" by Laura McKenna. In addition to tuition and fees, students have an accumulation of things to pay for such as books, supplies, transportation, housing and food. This doesn't even account for unexpected expenses. All of this makes food insecurity among hard-working college students a reality - and a difficult one for many of us to face. College students are becoming increasingly more food insecure and there has been a continual rise of food pantries on college and university campuses nationwide.

"Our economy for the 1% is bad news for most Americans, but particularly Americans of color"

The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) released their 2016 Asset and Opportunity Scorecard: "The Steep Climb to Economic Opportunity for Vulnerable Families" which highlights how the wealth inequality in the United States is far greater than income inequality, and that the disparities are vast between the white households and African American and Latino households.

Andrew Yarrow, a senior research advisor for Oxfam America who focuses on low-wage work and inequality in America, highlights some policies that Oxfam and CFED have reported on that could make a difference, such as paying workers higher wages.

Read more here.

Resources

Exploring Stories of Innovation series

Beginning in 2012, Growing Food Connections (GFC) conducted a national scan and identified 299 local governments across the United States that are developing and implementing a range of innovative plans, public programs, regulations, laws, financial investments and other policies to strengthen the food system. GFC conducted exploratory telephone interviews with 20 of these local governments. Exploring Stories of Innovation is a series of short articles that explore how local governments from across the United States are strengthening their community's food system through planning and policy. The series highlights some of the unique planning and policy strategies used by some urban and rural local governments to enhance community food security while ensuring sustainable and economically viable agriculture and food production. The first four articles in the series featured the City of Seattle, Washington, Baltimore City, Maryland, Cabarrus County, North Carolina and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

And GFC has just released 5 new free publications. The new cities include:

For more information and to download these free publications, visit their website.

Report: Fixing Food: Fresh Solutions from Five U.S. Cities

The Union of Concerned Scientists has released a report, which presents case studies of programs from five U.S. cities that are helping residents grow and sell healthy food, training the next generation of farmers, and bringing healthy food to places where people gather. Read Fixing Food here.

In This Issue

Introducing WhyHunger's New Texting Service to Find Food

What I Learned From My Mom about Stigma, The Food System and Hope

Webinar: Tackling Hunger through Organizing & Advocacy

What the Media is Getting Wrong about the SNAP 3-Month Time Limit

Closing the Hunger Gap Request for Proposals for 2017

Religion, the Environment and how it affects Indigenous Communities

"The Hidden Hunger on College Campuses"

"Our economy for the 1% is bad news for most Americans, but particularly Americans of color"

Exploring Stories of Innovation series

Report: Fixing Food: Fresh Solutions from Five U.S. Cities

Please verify that your organization's profile is accurate in the database. To update your record, email
database@whyhunger.org. If your organization is not in the database, please join us here.

The WhyHunger Hotline number is 1-800-5-HUNGRY. Please update your records and find outreach materials here.

Nourishing Change is a space to share critical thoughts around the systemic change that needs to happen to end hunger and transform the emergency food system. We want to hear from you! Email us at nourish@whyhunger.org

Nourish Network for the Right to Food

WhyHunger

505 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2100

New York, New York 10018

nourish@whyhunger.org

212-629-8850

Contributors: Betty Fermin and Debbie Grunbaum