Content categorized as Food Deserts

Extra food assistance for the pandemic is ending in September. DC’s budget may not cover the difference

The pandemic deepened food insecurity for many D.C. communities. With SNAP benefits decreasing soon, advocates are worried the District’s plans won’t be enough.

This mobile grocery store is making fresh foods available throughout Ward 8

Curbside Groceries, a mobile grocer, commutes to seven designated locations in Ward 8 each week to provide residents with more than 100 produce, meat, fish, baking, and condiment options.

Urban farming in a food desert

With only one full-service grocery store to serve more than 80,000 residents, urban farming and a community-supported agriculture program are meeting important nutrition needs.

This pilot program allows health clinics to prescribe produce to improve health, supported by grocery vouchers

Health clinics in D.C. may now prescribe produce to patients with chronic conditions in order to issue assistance to afford healthy food that will mitigate those conditions.

Southeast DC residents march in “grocery walk” against food deserts

D.C. residents took part in a “grocery walk” in protest against the lack of healthy food access in Southeast D.C. Together, Wards 7 and 8 have only three grocery stores to serve more than 150,000 residents.

Study: Higher Frequency of Food Deserts in D.C.

A new report found that food deserts make up 11 percent of Washington, D.C. and are concentrated heavily in areas of poverty and low transportation.

Markets Provide Free Nutritious Food to Students, Families

Joyful Food Markets is a monthly pop-up market run by Martha’s Table and the Capital Area Food Bank that gives the families of elementary students in Wards 7 and 8 free produce and nonperishable groceries at monthly community events. Each enrolled child at the 21 schools where Joyful Markets are currently held can receive 23 pounds of food. Martha’s Table also hosts free pop-up markets at Rita Bright and Fort Stanton community centers.

Council Debates How to Court Grocers East of the River

The D.C. City Council discusses what parts of the District are considered “food deserts” and how to bring grocery store access to these areas.

Hello, My Good Customers

Let’s all thank God for the warm weather! In my last article, I wrote about growing up in North Carolina. Those were the best years… Read more »

Urban Agriculture Takes Root In Columbia Heights

Tucked between Washington Hospital, the Soldiers’ Home and McMillan Reservoir in Columbia Heights sits nearly three acres of grass that remained empty for years. After… Read more »

The Art of a Salad

The beauty of a salad is that it’s tasty and intriguing when you prepare it to your liking with the food or ingredients available in… Read more »

Being Half-Vegan

Being half vegan is great for people that love meat and can’t give it up completely. The next step is to become vegetarian. I’m half… Read more »

Mugged in Chester, P.A.

As a former reporter and photojournalist covering the three poorest and most ethnically diverse counties in Colorado, I have done my share of public interest… Read more »

A New Model For Food Deserts

The nation’s first non-profit grocery store recently opened its doors in the struggling community of Chester, Pennsylvania. Fare & Square has a goal of providing… Read more »

Cooking as easy as 1, 2, 3…

Many of us remember the days of hiding our vegetables under the table or feeding them to a pet. We can still hear the echo… Read more »

Miriam’s Kitchen Celebrates 30 Years of Helping

Miriam’s Kitchen served its first breakfast to the homeless on Oct. 6, 1983. It has been thirty years since that first simple meal of eggs,… Read more »

Recent Film Shows Hunger as a Policy Issue

Nationally, 50  million people in the United States do not always know where they will find their next meal, anti-hunger activists say. Locally, more than… Read more »

Faithful Heeding Call to Serve

Interfaith collaboration to help the poor is a hot topic right now among religious leaders. That was evident in megachurch pastor Rick Warren’s recent speech… Read more »

Grocer Welcomed by Hungry Shoppers

Reporting on the opening of a Giant Food supermarket in Congress Heights, which has long been considered a food desert.