I want to get good food to more kids.
Want to brainstorm on this topic?
email me: wordnerdauthor@gmail.com

I want to help! And I want to find out the scope of the problem, so that the entire community can be informed -- and I want to help find ways to make a difference so that kids + food get and stay connected, too.

First of all, what's already being done in this area? Who is doing it, how effective is it, and how can people add their support to what is, or duplicate what is in other areas? (I'm thinking food banks, churches and synagogues, Carver Center, DHS, Link/WIC, the health department, neighborhood garden organizers, etc.)

Second, where there are needs not being met (holes in the system), what are they? (And can they be understood best at the neighborhood level? Even the block level, in town?)

And third, how can we amend the uderlying situations to get food to hungry children? (Again, community gardens are a potentially useful option, but just a small start ....)

Thank you for bringing this up. Are you going to post what you receive via e-mail? Is it OK to do some of the brainstorming in public, like here? I usually think better if I can play off others' ideas.

The Hunger ACTION GROUP met for the first time on Thurday, August 6th.

We had a very open discussion on the issue of hunger in our community.

Here are the highlights (from my perspective):

First, regarding the existence and causes of hunger, it was observed:
1) Many children in our public schools are hungry.
2) In some cases, community centers are feeding hungry children (even out of pocket, i.e., off-budget).
2) Some parents aren't feeding their children. Some young children are "locked" out of home and hungry--left to fend for themselves.
3) LINK food credits are being sold for cash. When using LINK only "pin numbers" are required, no ID.
4) The school breakfast/lunch programs used to require "poor kids" to out themselves in order to get school lunch (pink slips). Some children prefer not to eat and avoid being humiliated. School buses from some areas may be routinely late, thus "poor" kids don't get to school in time to eat "free" breakfast.
4) Restaurants and grocery stores throw out tons of food daily. Limit options exist for them.
5) School food options have insufficient nutrients and kids aren't given enough time to eat. Schools provide at least one meal for kids, 5 days a week. What about weekends? What about summer and winter break?
6) Transnational agriculture companies say they want to "feed" the world (and so are pushing
genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), but close to a billion people continue to be chronically hungry or malnourished. Profits appear to come before "feeding" people.
7) Children that go hungry (or are malnourished) are not in a position to become productive contributers in our society. They shouldn't be expect to behave in school, learn what is being taught, or serve as positive role models. It might be expected that they would
be unattentive, depressed, sickly, exhausted, or even violent. We don't find the money to nourish them, but we do find the money to put them through the criminal justice system. Where are our priorities?
People don't know that LINK can now be used at the Farmer's Market.

Second, regarding solutions to hunger problem, it was recommended:
1) There problem of hunger and malnutrition in children (and the general population) of Galesburg
(and surrounding areas) must be examined much more closely, then properly identified and publicized.
This should be a top priority for our city.
2) There must be ways to get excess food from restaurants (that is discarded every day)
to a church/community center/soup kitchen so that it gets eaten and laws aren't violated. If laws exist that are blocking good food from being eaten, these laws need to change.
3) More sites (such as community centers) can be established to distribute food, especially
for children. After school and summer programs at these centers can serve as locations where
nutritious food is available.
4) The school lunch program can be improved so that no student feels ashamed about getting free/reduced breakfast or lunch. Poor kids, who might not have access to breakfast foods, can be delivered to school on time, so they can eat breakfast if they need to. The nutritional quality of the food can continue to be improved.
5) More nutritious food can be grown in our community. Empty lots abound in the city. More community food gardens can be developed. Urban agriculture can be expanded.

If we want to get Knox College on board with distributing food to the hungry locally, I work closing in dining services five nights a week.

The burden for potential food-caused illness must be removed from Knox College, overall, and Roger Taylor and Helmut Mayer, specifically (and all of us).

Mine is a rotating schedule, but I never have Tuesdays off so Tuesday as a set night to distribute food might work well, for starters. Beyond that, I wouldn't want to be doing this alone, so if we can get it set, I will gladly do simple distribution with at least one other person, my gas, my vehicle. This means a 9 PM start time, but it also means feeding people who then don't have to go to bed hungry. --diana (diana@thepeopleingalesburg.org)

If there is anyone who can occasionally commit to spending Saturday mornings, 9 AM - noon, at the Farmers' Market, running the Link machine, please let me know! This is a vital service for the Market to provide, but sometimes my work schedule makes it tough or impossible to be there. The Market runs through Halloween, October 31st, this year.

This is a great way to network with community members, Farmers' Market vendors; it's also a good place to talk politics if you wish -- we always have extra chairs, and great conversations!

If you can volunteer your time, please contact me, diana Mackin, at diana@thepeopleingalesburg.org

I am also interested in interviewing, and then writing the stories of interviewees in a manner which will illustrate the issues of hungry people here. BUT I would much prefer to work with at least one other person. Cooperative writing can be fun, and two perspectives in the interview process can create far richer insights and perspectives into the reality being explained to readers.

Contact me at diana@thepeopleingalesburg.org, if interested. Thanks!