The Farmlink Project’s Post

❗ Don't miss Daniel Wexler's workshop during the The Alliance for a Hunger Free New York's 4th annual Food Summit! 💡 Dan will be hosting an interactive session on Food As Medicine Interventions and #socialdeterminantsofhealth. The session goal is to illustrate how--in addition to income--other social determinants of health pose a barrier to food security; consider the diversity of #FoodisMedicine (FIM) treatment options; and understand the different types of benefits each solution offers, and what interventions might work best for different patients.

Given increased food insecurity in the state, the 2024 Maryland legislative session presented crucial opportunities to strengthen and expand hunger programs at the state level. Maryland has a particularly short session, with only 90 days from early January to early April. The 500+ bills that passed this year are currently being signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore. The two key priorities for Maryland Hunger Solutions this year were (1) increasing the Maryland SNAP minimum benefit to $95 per month, and (2) implementing universal school meals in Maryland. Learn more in a blog about the key priorities and ways to take action. https://lnkd.in/eSp-J6Fe

It’s Hunger Action Month, and today your mission comes from our Government and Public Affairs Manager, Cassidie Bates, who wants you to… Share your story and strengthen our safety net! "I just got back from Washington, D.C., where I’ve been urging lawmakers to strengthen funding for nutrition programs like CalFresh (also known as SNAP – formerly food stamps) and WIC in the 2023 Farm Bill. This bill will affect our ability to fight hunger for the next five years, and we need your help to keep our safety net strong. These programs do more than provide money to buy food — they create opportunities. I know because my mom used WIC, the Woman, Infants and Children program, when she was pregnant with me. That support allowed her to ensure that I got a great start in life, so I could go on to help others today. A strong Farm Bill is critical to ending hunger. If you have a story like mine, please share it! Post how CalFresh or WIC have supported you on social media using #HungerActionMonth and tag us @FoodBankCCS. You’ll help spark important conversations and show the incredible impact these programs make." For more ways to help us advocate, visit Hunger Action Month headquarters. Your voice can make a difference! https://bit.ly/3PDxG6u #hungeractionmonth #endhunger #FarmBillFlyIn

“CRUNCHING” FOR HEALHTY SCHOOL FOOD 🍎   Today, the VFR team is getting involved in Coalition for Healthy School Food (Canada)'s #2024GREATBIGCRUNCH, a nation-wide initiative to promote healthy eating, food literacy, and a Canada-wide healthy school food program.   We’ll be joining schools, organizations, and communities across Canada in taking a synchronized bite into fresh, local apples (or any other crunchy fruit or vegetable).   The Great Big Crunch is a time dedicated to celebrating healthy food at school and highlighting the need for a universal school food program for Canada.   Did you know? 🍎 Canada is the only G7 country without a national school food program. 🍎 Canada is ranked 37th out of 41 countries when it comes to providing healthy food for kids. 🍎 One-third of students in elementary schools and two-thirds of students in secondary schools do not eat a nutritious breakfast before school. 🍎 Only about one-third of children between the ages of four and 13 years eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruit daily. (Photo: Vancouver Food Runners participating in the GREAT BIG CRUNCH!) Click the link to learn more and find out how to participate!

We are thrilled and humbled to be listed alongside 11 other incredible nonprofits as a Food Justice Funding Initiative awardee from The Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. The Food Justice Funding Initiative is a multi-year initiative, designed to advance food justice by ensuring access to healthy, affordable, and culturally relevant foods without barriers. Funded projects reflect community-led strategies to address food insecurity and support Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian Pacific Islanders, and people of color (BIPOC) leaders in creating equitable change to local food systems. FFEN's funding will help to support our goal to advance a culture in hunger relief centered on shopper (food shelf client) priorities. We will focus on creating avenues for individuals accessing food shelf services to have more input, influence, and voice in food shelf sourcing and programming decisions to increase food access and fresh food availability, while simultaneously improving the food shelf shopper experience and overall organizational health. Learn more about all of the critical work funded by the Food Justice Funding Initiative at: https://lnkd.in/g-_8ENc8

Today's Friday affirmation: Food Education Standard #7: We can advocate for food choices and changes that impact ourselves, our communities, and our world 🗺️ 💙 💪 We believe that young people have the power to make meaningful changes to their food systems. That's why our Food Education Fellows end their school year by leading a food advocacy project with their students. Every food advocacy project looks different: some classrooms choose to advocate for changes in their cafeteria by meeting with their school nutrition and administration, some start food drives or share tables to combat food waste in their school, some practice talking with friends, family, and even local businesses about changes they want to see made. Food advocacy means something different to all of us, but ALL acts of advocacy are important steps in changing our food system for the better! What does food advocacy look like for you? #foodadvocacy #foodeducation #fridayaffirmation #foodsystemschange #pilotlightchefs #studentadvocacy #foodsystems

Standing united against the pressing issue of food insecurity at the Junior League of San Diego's Annual Impact Forum. This year, our mission is clear: Educate, Inspire, Act. With one in four San Diegans facing the challenge of food insecurity, the need for collective action is urgent. The Impact Forum served as a platform for a robust panel discussion and Q&A, featuring insights from esteemed experts, including Hayley Bratt, Amy Ellis, Javier Guerrero, Dr. Julie A. Elginer, Patty O'Connor, Naomi Young, and Christina Pascucci. Their expertise and dedication inspire us to delve deeper into the issues surrounding food insecurity. Our goal is threefold: to educate the community on the realities of food insecurity, to inspire new ideas and approaches, and most importantly, to catalyze meaningful action. Past Impact Forum outcomes, like JLSD’s Diaper Bank and Period Pantry, demonstrate the power of collective efforts. This year's focus is particularly crucial as the challenges intensify with inflation and rising costs. Join us in the mission to Educate, Inspire, Act. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of those affected by food insecurity. 🌟 #JLSDImpactForum #EndFoodInsecurity #EducateInspireAct PATH Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank Coastal Roots Farm Feeding San Diego San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)

This is such an important perspective about food.

Stop ✋️. There is no need for a "new National School Fund Program", provinces already have their own programs, stop pretending. Leave provincial matters alone. Federal Government is not responsible to feed children, if you feel guilty axe the tax so food will be more affordable for all Canadians, families with children or not. We don't need to rely on you, to pay from our tax dollars things we don't need, like this food program, free drugs, $10.00 child care and "free dental care", no such thing as free, our tax dollars pay for everything. Instead of the above useless programs, start building homes for homeless and supplement provincial food banks. Do something right, do something decent and do something worthwhile instead of wasting our money and sending it out of the country. Take care of Canadians for once and stop pretending. Do the right thing. Canadians are first, not last as you have been treating us.

Yesterday, we gathered with lawmakers and community partners in #Hartford to share the extremely troubling, updated food insecurity numbers for Connecticut released as a part of Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap report. You can view the full conference here: https://lnkd.in/eJAZUuC8. At 16:15 you can find remarks from Larry Chiucarello, a pantry director in Plymouth describing the real challenges that rising costs of food, declining government resources and increased need have had on food banks, food pantries and the people they serve. We’re hopeful that while these increases are dire that they will help to illustrate the need for strong, protected nutrition programming to support the reality our partners and the people we serve are facing. In Connecticut… 468,150 people are food insecure, a 23% increase or around 90,000 additional people. That’s 1 in 8 residents, compared to 1 in 10 last year.  1 in 6 children are food insecure.  Food insecurity continues to disproportionately impact communities of color with 1 in 4 Black persons and 1 in 4 Hispanic persons in Connecticut experiencing food insecurity compared to 1 in 11 White, non-Hispanic persons.  The cost per meal is now $4.27 compared to $3.84 last year. As we await the language for the #FarmBill this week, we hope that any proposed language for nutrition programming will protect SNAP, TEFAP and CSFP to invest and support in our partners and the people we serve.