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During the first week of March, Abigail was eager to present a lesson on food security to students at Chautauqua elementary as they kicked off their March Food Drive. A week later the schools closed down, and on March 25th Governor Inslee announced the stay at home order, and all non-essential businesses and activities were prohibited.
The global pandemic of COVID-19 disproportionately affected marginalized populations such as the elderly and refugees. In collaboration with Food Innovation Network (FIN), the International Rescue Committee New Roots program and HAH VISTA Anastasia coordinated the delivery of 50 bags of fresh produce weekly to low-income seniors in SeaTac and Tukwila.
Since March, Massachusetts has had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and the state is now seeing a staggering proportion of the community facing food insecurity.
The Green Urban Lunch Box (GULB) is a food justice non-profit organization and urban farm based in Salt Lake City, Utah. GULB created the Community Huddle Program to cultivate community engagement and foster relationships with volunteers and staff. The ultimate goal is to facilitate a
While most food banks faced the decision of either continuing modified food distribution or closing their facilities due to the risks of COVID-19, the South Seattle College food pantry (SSC), a 2nd-year King County Farmers Share participant, is juggling both!
At the Vashon-Maury Community Food Bank, the Harvest VISTA, Abigail Findley, is creating an equitable and transparent Farm to Food Bank purchasing system.
The seed campaign morphed into developing a program around “Resiliency Garden Kits,” where folks could send a photo of a location on their property that they wanted to cultivate into a publicly accessible vegetable garden..
The idea for a refugee community art project focuses on art functioning as a proud representation of refugees in the Tucson community and a platform to express creative, mental, and emotional wellness.
The Palouse region of eastern Washington and northern Idaho grows lentils and wheat of international demand, and is also home to countless small farms who work with local restaurants and farmers markets. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many avenues for distribution and income have disappeared or have been severely constricted.
After a number of planning conversations, the cross-organizational team decided to carry out distributing the funds through “CSA-style” contracts, an approach which some KCFS agencies used last year.
Harvest VISTA Anastasia Ryseff serves at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) New Roots Program. New Roots at the IRC Seattle works with refugee, immigrant and vulnerable communities in South King County to improve food access and community wellness. New Roots provides individuals and families space
No one prepares to be a Harvest VISTA during a pandemic. That wasn’t in the online AmeriCorps training manual. Not many people think volunteer work is going to be exciting. What an extraordinary time to be a volunteer!
As a VISTA about to end my service year, this was supposed to be an exciting time – moving on to the next phase, going happily forward into the next chapter. It’s still exciting, but in more of a horror movie ‘don’t open that door’ kinda way. All the things I had planned are now on hold or canceled, and the future is uncertain at best.
Food accessibility and sovereignty is crucial during this because convenience has dissipated and overridden the average individual’s ability and knowledge to produce and prepare their own food. A large number of individuals haven’t been exposed or taught traditional means of cooking or growing.