Existing comment:
Alexander Moore, DC Central Kitchen
QUOTE:
"Show me a person who's food insecure and has enough money. Hunger -- ‘food insecurity' -- is a symptom of poverty and injustice. If we just talk about ameliorating daily hunger, we're missing the point."
CONTEXT:
In Washington, DC, nearly 1 in 5 residents lives in poverty -- one of the highest poverty rates in the country. DC also has a higher level of income inequality than any state in the country, with that inequality largely falling along racial lines.
TAKE ACTION:
Support efforts that take a holistic approach to addressing hunger,from directly providing people with food to creating living wage food jobs that offer a pathway out of poverty. Achieving food justice will require a variety of solutions.
Marian Peele, Capital Area Food Bank
QUOTE:
"Even though [the pandemic] is unprecedented, our staff is very resilient. We're committed to providing to the community: the operations staff, the truck drivers, the guys that pull the order, folks that work in the warehouse and operations. We've been here. We have to be here because we have seniors who have to eat and food that has to be delivered."
CONTEXT:
Before the pandemic, more than 400,000 individuals in the Washington, DC region were already experiencing food insecurity. The Capital Area Food Bank's "Hunger Report 2020" predicted a 48 to 60 percent increase in the number of local people struggling to eat.
TAKE ACTION:
There are many food justice organizations and mutual aid groups working to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Washington, DC region. Look them up, get involved, and support their work. |