The Nourish DC Collaborative awarded a total of $400,000 in grants in March to nine different businesses located in Wards 5, 7 and 8 to address the ongoing problem of food accessibility.
Content categorized as Food Deserts

Delivering to food deserts: The people and organizations trying to improve food accessibility in DC

Emergency SNAP benefits may expire this year — but DC’s food insecurity crisis won’t
Emergency SNAP benefits are set to expire this summer amidst a growing food insecurity crisis in the District. Here’s how food banks, markets and distribution centers are adapting to accommodate low-income residents who rely on these benefits.

Changes are coming to local fresh food initiative Produce Plus
After working with the nonprofit D.C. Greens for seven years, the D.C. Department of Health is contracting with a new administrator for the city’s Produce… Read more »

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 »