I have been attending the webinars for the conference. As someone on the front lines of food security in a rural food desert, it feels a bit pie-in-the-sky and the plans are so grand, I'm not sure they will reach us in time. Please remember our voices when you go. We don't have until 2035 to make it the way things are going. And we don't want another food bank, we need help to grow our local food economy and to preserve the few resources we still have.
Pandemic economics have been harsh out here in the boonies and the stories just aren't being told. Please listen and remember us when you go...
Hey there, I help run a program in Vermont called Everyone Eats which has become a model that pays local restaurants and local food producers to feed people experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. Feel free to email me and I can share how we are nourishing our rural communities. Dan@localvore.co
We have no excuse for not bringing an end to hunger in this country--and working with countries around the world to feed all of humanity. I remember the words of the late Robert F Kennedy, “if not us, who? And if not now, when?” Create the political will now to make it happen. It’s up to all of us.
The challenge with a new agency will be oversight and accountability. We learned recently of the extent of fraud with the pandemic with billions being “lost” or fraud is dispersing the money to those really needing it. How will this be addressed. I’m all for Government to assist and private enterprise but you have to know the mistrust that this brings when we read about all the millionaires and billionaire who got Covid relief and all the crooks who took advantage and there was little to no oversight and accountability. You are a good man, you make your organization work but you have to watch that the new agency has honest people, checks and balances. All the best in your efforts.
I belong to a small United Methodist Church called the Gathering at Scott Memorial UMC in VirginiaBeach, Virginia. We have a program called Fresh Food Wednesdays. Every Wednesday morning we go to the Amazon Warehouse and pick their donations which include fresh vegetables, meat ,cereals etc. We then take it back to our church and offload it and fill "banana " boxes with the food we get and then we partner with the Foodbank and they bring us pallettes of food from local grocery stores like Food Lion, Costco ,BJ'S and Sam's club. We usually fill 250-300 boxes each week. We give out this food in the afternoon to our " clients" , they get a box of veggies, a bag of three meats and a grocery bag filled with pantry items! We feed anywhere from 1200- 1500 people each week! All with volunteers! We have been doing this since Covid started!
I can't wait to hear how this goes and follow your progress in getting this done! Thank you once again Chef, for caring about the whole world and actually doing something ( a lot!) to make things better.
Fantastic idea! Would anyone care to bring up the subject of vertical farming? I understand that it requires just 10% of the water that conventional farming needs, and takes up way less land. No sprays required, as there are no or very few pests, and very little disease. Maybe some farmers could be given incentives to switch over from conventional farming. It will help save the planet!
Thank you for bringing much needed awareness, strategy, and clearly defined responsibility to this issue. This initiative makes me so excited and there are many specific statements you made in this post that had me clapping out loud as I read! I will be sharing this great news with everyone I know in that hopes that it’s something we can all encourage our representatives to get behind.
I had a similar "Lunch Ladies" experience growing up; and I also did not have to buy my own pencils, notebooks and text books.
It is amazing how State Governments, and the National Government have chosen to cut funds over the years from the most important things in life. There is no excuse for not providing healthy food to schools. Thank you Chef for all your work on this issue (and many other food issues of course).
I love this and hoping much good will come from it. I'm specifically interested in the oversight component where it would take on the inspection duties of the FDA. So much "junk" (for lack of a better word) is allowed in our food and it would be wonderful if this new agency along with ensuring the availability of food in quantity could also help boost the quality.
In the 50’s 60’s when I was going to school we had a dozen or more women who worked in the school kitchen. They made home style meals and fresh bread every day. There was a protein, vegetables and starch, plus the fresh bread, fruit, dessert and milk, of course. The price went from a nickel when I was in 1st grade to fifty cents in high school. It provided jobs and kids had at least one nutritious meal a day! And everyone loved the lunch ladies. They wore white uniforms & hair nets. Maybe because I was young, but I remember them all being older women who looked like my grandmother. So homey and comforting.
I’m really looking forward to listening in this week.
Something I’ve learned over the past few years is that when state governments have their departments of human services communicate with departments of commerce they can leverage federal funds to help boost local economies and reduce food and nutrition insecurity. I think this will be key for the NFA to encourage and establish this type of communication so we can solve problems more efficiently together and not keep our different government agencies in their own silos.
I have been attending the webinars for the conference. As someone on the front lines of food security in a rural food desert, it feels a bit pie-in-the-sky and the plans are so grand, I'm not sure they will reach us in time. Please remember our voices when you go. We don't have until 2035 to make it the way things are going. And we don't want another food bank, we need help to grow our local food economy and to preserve the few resources we still have.
Pandemic economics have been harsh out here in the boonies and the stories just aren't being told. Please listen and remember us when you go...
Hey there, I help run a program in Vermont called Everyone Eats which has become a model that pays local restaurants and local food producers to feed people experiencing food and nutrition insecurity. Feel free to email me and I can share how we are nourishing our rural communities. Dan@localvore.co
Thanks. I would love to hear more.
THANK YOU for your leadership as well as all the ways you are feeding the hungry.
We have no excuse for not bringing an end to hunger in this country--and working with countries around the world to feed all of humanity. I remember the words of the late Robert F Kennedy, “if not us, who? And if not now, when?” Create the political will now to make it happen. It’s up to all of us.
The challenge with a new agency will be oversight and accountability. We learned recently of the extent of fraud with the pandemic with billions being “lost” or fraud is dispersing the money to those really needing it. How will this be addressed. I’m all for Government to assist and private enterprise but you have to know the mistrust that this brings when we read about all the millionaires and billionaire who got Covid relief and all the crooks who took advantage and there was little to no oversight and accountability. You are a good man, you make your organization work but you have to watch that the new agency has honest people, checks and balances. All the best in your efforts.
I belong to a small United Methodist Church called the Gathering at Scott Memorial UMC in VirginiaBeach, Virginia. We have a program called Fresh Food Wednesdays. Every Wednesday morning we go to the Amazon Warehouse and pick their donations which include fresh vegetables, meat ,cereals etc. We then take it back to our church and offload it and fill "banana " boxes with the food we get and then we partner with the Foodbank and they bring us pallettes of food from local grocery stores like Food Lion, Costco ,BJ'S and Sam's club. We usually fill 250-300 boxes each week. We give out this food in the afternoon to our " clients" , they get a box of veggies, a bag of three meats and a grocery bag filled with pantry items! We feed anywhere from 1200- 1500 people each week! All with volunteers! We have been doing this since Covid started!
I can't wait to hear how this goes and follow your progress in getting this done! Thank you once again Chef, for caring about the whole world and actually doing something ( a lot!) to make things better.
Fantastic idea! Would anyone care to bring up the subject of vertical farming? I understand that it requires just 10% of the water that conventional farming needs, and takes up way less land. No sprays required, as there are no or very few pests, and very little disease. Maybe some farmers could be given incentives to switch over from conventional farming. It will help save the planet!
"Food is not the problem. Food is the solution." Such powerful words! And thank you for all you do, Chef!
Chef ROCKS!
Thank you for bringing much needed awareness, strategy, and clearly defined responsibility to this issue. This initiative makes me so excited and there are many specific statements you made in this post that had me clapping out loud as I read! I will be sharing this great news with everyone I know in that hopes that it’s something we can all encourage our representatives to get behind.
I had a similar "Lunch Ladies" experience growing up; and I also did not have to buy my own pencils, notebooks and text books.
It is amazing how State Governments, and the National Government have chosen to cut funds over the years from the most important things in life. There is no excuse for not providing healthy food to schools. Thank you Chef for all your work on this issue (and many other food issues of course).
I love this and hoping much good will come from it. I'm specifically interested in the oversight component where it would take on the inspection duties of the FDA. So much "junk" (for lack of a better word) is allowed in our food and it would be wonderful if this new agency along with ensuring the availability of food in quantity could also help boost the quality.
In the 50’s 60’s when I was going to school we had a dozen or more women who worked in the school kitchen. They made home style meals and fresh bread every day. There was a protein, vegetables and starch, plus the fresh bread, fruit, dessert and milk, of course. The price went from a nickel when I was in 1st grade to fifty cents in high school. It provided jobs and kids had at least one nutritious meal a day! And everyone loved the lunch ladies. They wore white uniforms & hair nets. Maybe because I was young, but I remember them all being older women who looked like my grandmother. So homey and comforting.
I’m really looking forward to listening in this week.
Something I’ve learned over the past few years is that when state governments have their departments of human services communicate with departments of commerce they can leverage federal funds to help boost local economies and reduce food and nutrition insecurity. I think this will be key for the NFA to encourage and establish this type of communication so we can solve problems more efficiently together and not keep our different government agencies in their own silos.