alabama possible from the alabama poverty project

Site Navigation

Archive for the ‘health’ Category

What we’re watching: Food, Inc.

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

We are in love with the spring weather – and the return of farmers markets. Robyn bought some great cheese from Wright Dairy last weekend at Pepper Place, and we all went to the market at Birmingham’s Waldorf School a few weeks ago. I got farm fresh eggs, mushrooms and sweet potatoes. Let me tell you, I had some fantastic breakfasts with those eggs!

Tonight, we are all planning to watch Food, Inc. at 8 p.m. on APT. I first saw Food, Inc. last fall at the Bottletree Café – and I think it is a really engaging look at how our food is produced.

I highly recommend taking the time to watch it tonight – and then going to a farmers market this weekend! Here’s where you can find one near you.

-Posted by Kristina Scott

Tags: farmer's markets, food security, industrial food
Posted in health | 1 Comment »

Eat, pray, grow: hunger, faith, and community gardens

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

APP hosted Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: A Hunger and Food Security Workshop last Thursday at Capitol Heights Baptist Church in Montgomery. Over 50 attendees came together to break bread and to share information, new ideas and strategies for fighting hunger in the Montgomery area.

We heard from local hunger relief programs (Montgomery Area Food Bank, Angel Food Ministries, Montgomery FBC Caring Center), community gardening experts (Montevallo Seed to Table, Jones Valley Urban Farm) and DHR representatives (Food Assistance Program, JOBS Employment Program) about ways to get fresh, healthy, and delicious food to our friends and neighbors.

DHR representatives Patricia Huffman, Margaret Green and Mary Lois Monroe explain the benefits available from family assistance programs, as well as the challenges of accessing these resources.

One of the best ways you can address the interrelated issues of hunger, rising food costs and malnutrition in your own neighborhood is to start a community garden. See this Slate article for suggestions on how to get started, as well as our Resource page on Community Gardening.

Edwin Marty of Jones Valley Urban Farm and Leanne Read of Montevallo Seed to Table talk gardening.

Thank you to Pastor Warren Culvert and Capitol Heights Baptist Church for graciously hosting the event; Ama Shambulia, director of West End Community Gardens for catering our delicious, fresh, and and local vegetarian lunch; Trevor Jaggers at Starbucks Vestavia and Tina Gilliland at Starbucks Hoover for food and coffee donations.

For more resources from the event, see our Montgomery Hunger Resource Guide.

Posted by Robyn Hyden

Tags: 2nd most obese state, civi engagement, community development, community gardens, community input, food insecurity, grocery tax, hunger, Hunger Workshop, most diabetic state, school lunch program, workshops
Posted in environment, Fighting Poverty with Faith, health, Hunger and Food Security, Making A Difference | 3 Comments »

1 in 8 get help at food banks

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Feeding America recently released its 2010 Hunger Report, which showed that one in eight Americans — 37 million — received emergency food help last year. That’s up a whopping 46% from 2006.

In Alabama, the Food Bank of North Alabama and the Food Bank of the Chattahoochee Valley participated in the study.

Here are some highlights from the North Alabama food bank:

31% of the members of households served by The Food Bank of North Alabama are children under 18 years old
24% of households include at least one employed adult
Among households with children, 77% are food insecure and 37% are food insecure with very low food security

And from the Chattahoochee Valley:

45% of the members of households served by The Second Harvest Food Bank of the Chattahoochee Valley are children under 18 years old
28% of households include at least one employed adult
Among households with children, 68% are food insecure and 32% are food insecure with very low food security

Read the full report here.

Want to know more about what you can do here in Alabama? Well, save the date for APP’s Give Us This Day our Daily Bread Hunger Workshop, which will be held on Thursday, March 18, in Montgomery. Details will follow soon. . .

Tags: food bank, give us this day our daily bread, hunger
Posted in Economics & Employment, health | No Comments »

Help stop hunger – 2010 Crop Walk

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

CROP Walk Logo

Join us at Caldwell Park to walk away poverty and hunger Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 2:30!

The CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) walk is a community event calling on neighbors to walk together to take a stand against hunger and poverty in our world.

If you want to fight hunger around the block and around the world join us for the Birmingham CROP Hunger Walk. We encourage the active involvement of teams and individuals from public and private schools, civic and cultural groups, area businesses and all faith groups.

There is no fee to participate but each walker is encouraged to raise at least $100. 25% of the money you raise will benefit stay right here in Birmingham and 75% will help international poverty relief efforts. The Birmingham CROP Hunger Walk hopes to raise $30,000 in 2010. And every walker gets a free CROP Walk t-shirt!

If you would like to participate or need more information visit http://www.bhamcropwalk.org or contact John Duke at 205-939-1408. You can also email John at jduke@alabamapoverty.org.

Tags: crop walk, food security, hunger
Posted in Economics & Employment, health | 1 Comment »

When there isn’t enough food on the table

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Sometimes my weeks have a theme, and this week’s theme is definitely hunger. As we hear up for Thanksgiving and the holiday season, I guess we are all thinking about those families who struggle to put food on the table.

The Greater Birmingham Community Partners 2009 Food Summit is taking place as I write this. If you are in Birmingham, and want to take part in the Summit you still have a couple of opportunities – tonight there is a movie night at Urban Standard and tomorrow there is a community garden tour, lunch at Jones Valley Urban Farm and the first Growing Together community gardening class.

Auburn is also thinking about hunger during their Hunger Awareness Week. Alabama Rural Ministries’ Lisa Pierce is living in a box this week to raise money and awareness about hunger in Alabama. You can learn more about her efforts here.

While preparing for my talk yesterday at the Food Summit, I came across this survey from Ask Alabama. A shocking 63 percent of adults surveyed said that they think “a lot” or a “fair number” of families are cutting back on meals due to the economic downturn.

If you want to help address hunger in your community, here’s a resource list we produced this summer for our Give Us This Day Hunger Workshop. If you have other resources you would like to add, please leave them in the comments.

Posted by Kristina Scott

Tags: alabama rural ministries, community gardens, food security, greater birmingham community food partners, holidays, hunger, jones valley urban farm, thanksgiving
Posted in health | No Comments »