Wednesday, February 15, 2012

We are what we eat Ward 2

Our nutritional status, health, physical and mental faculties depend on the food we eat and how we eat it. In ward 2 the access to good quality food has been a challenge to families with low income specially Undocumented Latino families. More than 17 percent of the Ward 2 population lives under the poverty line. Poverty among African- American DC residents jumped nearly one fifth, rising from 23 percent in 2007 to 27 percent in 2010. Poverty stood at 8.5 percent for non-Hispanic White residents and at 15 percent for Hispanic residents in 2010. Many of them children are today hungry and malnourished with serious impact on growth and learning capacity of children and the ability of adults to lead fully productive lives. The Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative (CH/SFSC) in partnership with The Executive Office of the Mayor on Latino Affairs (OLA), and the Capital Area Food Bank are determined to stabilize families, and provide all families with their basic needs.

Roxana Olivas Director of The Mayor's Office of Latino Affairs
helping families receive food services at Seaton Elementary.
There are several agencies across the District that shape how we get food.  There are at least 13 agencies that deal with food in our city! Bread for the City is an amazing agency that provides people in need with food. However the Latino population in Ward 2 is very hard to reach. CH/SFSC has an outstanding record with Latino Families in Wards 1 and 2 which allowed them to partner with OLA to provide a much needed food distribution site at Seaton Elementary located in Ward 2. On January 12, 2012 CH/SFSC alongside OLA, and the National Area Food Bank were able to provide food to over 40 Latino and African-American families for the first time at Seaton Elementary. Seaton will be the first of several food distribution sites that CH/SFSC, OLA, and the Food Bank will coordinate and serve families. 

  

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