Educate. Advocate. Act now to promote healthy alternatives to hunger

When we hosted our Hunger Workshop in Montgomery last month, participants were most excited to learn about promoting healthy food choices for all Alabamians. We talked about ending hunger by making sure that all Alabamians have access to affordable, healthy and fresh food.  This means making healthy food accessible to low-income families and becoming more aware, as consumers, of how food gets from the farm to our table.

What can you do? Educate yourself. Advocate for better food choices for all of Alabama. And take action to support better choices in your own community.

• Educate yourself – Host a Food, Inc. Potluck Party. Food, Inc. is a documentary that will open your eyes to some of the barriers to getting fresh, healthy food in America.  Be sure to catch it when it airs on APT at 8 PM next Wednesday, April 21.

• Advocate – Join us for the 2010 Offering of Letters Workshop, which we are co-hosting with Bread for the World at Southside Baptist Church on May 1 from 9 am to noon.  Learn how you can advocate to strengthen our nation’s most effective anti-poverty program: the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).  In the meantime, sign this petition to re-authorize the Child Nutrition Act, enforcing higher nutritional standards in our public schools.

• Take action – Community gardening is one way to promote affordable, sustainable, healthy food in your neighborhood.  Patronize your local farmer’s market. Model best practices at your own table.

The Alabama Poverty Project is working to promote better access to healthy and sustainable food sources in Alabama, advocating for better policies and promoting healthy habits. Would you like to host your own Hunger Workshop? Contact Jilleyn Foley, our faith and community partnerships coordinator, for more information.

And congratulations to Jilleyn for being one of only 75 people selected as a Hunger Justice Leader with Bread for the World. Remember again that you, too, can advocate for hunger justice by joining us for theOffering of Letters workshop in Birmingham!

Posted by Robyn Hyden