Mid-Workshop Reflection excerpts by Geoff Trowbridge

Speaking of a visit with Leigh Pettus, Director of Programs and Agency Relations, Geoff said: "It was pretty serious to learn that 1 in 6 Western North Carolinians are classified as food insecure, when the national average is 1 in 8. I wonder how much that's going to increase because of the current recession. I don't think lots of middle class people are necessarily going to be begging on the street soon, but if people are getting laid off from work in big numbers, they're going to be focusing on feeding themselves and may stop giving to the food pantries that form the safety net for the truly destitute. And then it seems to me that those people who are already at risk and just barely getting by due to the help of food pantries may be left out, and then we could be in trouble."

"The way I look at, if people are really hungry, they're going to be hungry today, and though I know the local food pantries and soup kitchens are there for that, if they're sourcing from the big food banks like MANNA, and if those sources get cut off, then they don't have much to fall back upon. "

After the visit to Manna FoodBank where the group spent several hours packing food for the backpack progam: "It was a situation where I wish we all could've slowed down, stopped packing bags, and thought about, okay, what are the ROOT causes of hunger, of food insecurity, of lack of access to healthy, nutritious food? What can we do to address those root causes? Because until we do, I think a lot of the work against hunger, as incredibly important work as it is and will continue to be, may sadly be in vain in the long run."

Food and Kids in action at Isaac Dickson School Garden

Issue Workshop Schedule

January 22nd-----Pre Workshop Reflection (1st mtg. w/grp)
January 27th------Molly Nicholie, ASAP (speaker)
January 29th------Leigh Pettus, MANNA FoodBank(speaker)
February 5th------MannaBundance Backpack Prgm. (service)
February 10th-----Lynette Vaughn-Hensley, BCSD Child Nutritionist (speaker)
February 12th-----Isaac Dickson Elementary School Garden (service w/s students)
February 19th-----Isaac Dickson Elementary School Garden
February 26th-----Isaac Dickson Elementary School Garden
March 5th---------Isaac Dickson Elementary School Garden
March 12th--------Black Mountain Comm. Garden (service w/students)
March 26th--------Tim Rhodes, DSS (speaker)
April 2nd----------Emma Family Food Resources (tour/service)
April 9th-----------Finish up meeting/EXPO (of all WWC Issue Workshops)

Welcome!

This is the blog for the Food and Kids Social Issue Service Workshop at Warren Wilson College. As one of six workshops, each focusing on a certain social issue (AIDS, land conservation, affordable housing, homelessness, and economic justice are the others), we hope to experience a comprehensive view of problems and successes related to food and kids in Western North Carolina.

At the semester's end, we will have taken trips to school and community gardens and a food bank as well as talked to policy makers and community advocates. We will experience this combination of direct service and policy advocacy education to achieve a more complete understanding of the food-related problems affecting children.

This blog will serve as a tool for us to record our experiences as well as a resource to share.