Category: General

Produce For People | Capital Area Food Bank

 

Just getting the word out…

The CAFB is making a renewed commitment to provide fresh, nutritious produce to members of our community who are experiencing hunger – many for the first time.

We are issuing an urgent appeal for your support to help us increase the amount of fresh produce we distribute to our more than 700 partner agencies.

The goal of our campaign – Produce for People — is to distribute 30 million pounds of food, including 15 million pounds of fresh produce, by June 30th. We have six million pounds to go and we need your support to reach that goal.

Why is the need so critical? Since 2006, hunger in the Washington metro area has increased by 25 percent and with the current rise in food prices, it’s only getting worse. With 1 in 5 children in the metro area struggling with hunger and with so many families having to choose between paying the mortgage, health care, or paying for utilities, it is imperative that we do more to nourish our community.

via Produce For People | Capital Area Food Bank.

Fredericksburg.com – Community responds to homeless students

Did you know that “nearly 800 students in Spotsylvania and Stafford schools are homeless”? Several stories have appeared in the Freelance Star that highlight the problems of poverty and homelessness.  Many may see the problem as an individual problem… the homeless man on the corner, the begger woman at the library, the young man asking for change at the gas station.  Although these images do summarize the problem, but only up to a point.  Many of the hungry and underprivlaged that we don’t see out in the open are families.  These days families do without, all around, and with joblessness as high as it is, even those that got by 5-years ago just fine, are finding things harder now.  To get a better picture of the sort of issues that face Fredericksburg, take a look at some of these other articles:

Lingering Unemployment Likely to Challenge Obama and the Nation

Social workers aid homeless teens

Fredericksburg.com – Community responds to homeless students.

A Twitter request « Feeding America Blog

JC Dwyer, the Public Policy Director at the Texas Food Bank Network, never imagined a call for help could come from social media. During the 2011 Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, he told Feeding America about a surprising inquiry from a Twitter follower, and why he felt confident this man would get the help he needs through the well-functioning nutrition safety-net that includes  both charitable and government-funded programs.

A Twitter request « Feeding America Blog.