Fall 2021 Community Food Rescue E-Newsletter

Fall 2021

Join us for DMV Food Recovery Week's events coming soon; Why do local farmers love farm to food bank? Food Security in the time of Covid. Read on to learn more.

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DMV Food Recovery Week

Oct. 3-9th. Join Us!

Manna Food Center’s Community Food Rescue (CFR) and the DC Food Recovery Working Group are combining forces again this year to co-host DMV Food Recovery Week. The week’s engaging and enlightening free, virtual and in-person events aim to help individuals and our community become more resilient.

The week’s 12 events include workshops and panel discussions on topics including food system resilience, how to get creative in the kitchen and reduce food waste at home, and the future of food recovery in our region.

The week culminates with No Waste, Big Taste: A Rescued Food Cooking Competition, where local chefs will compete “Chopped” style to turn ugly produce into culinary masterpieces before the eyes of community members in Downtown Silver Spring.

Local Farmers Love Farm to Food Bank

“The pandemic brought to light how fragile our [local food] supply system is,” notes Nazirahk Amen, Purple Mountain Organics farmer, who sees how supporting our local food system is vital to our community’s health and well-being. That’s why he participates in the Montgomery County Farm to Food Bank (F2FB) program.

In a recent survey, we asked farmers what this program means for their business. What we heard is how the program provides much more than the bottom line. Nazirahk sees the financial support of increasing local food production as a commitment to the community's health and well-being. “Locally grown, fresh food is the key to good health, which leads to a stronger community overall. Supporting local also reduces our environmental footprint and provides solid employment for county members,” he says.

A Local and National Look at Food Insecurity in the time of Covid

This fall finds us 18 months into the COVID-19 pandemic. I was recently asked how our community is doing—whether food insecurity is easing, plateauing, or rising. Locally, Manna Food Center reports that food insecurity has nearly doubled among those they serve in Montgomery County since the start of the pandemic.

“Food insecurity is at an all-time high in the United States, partially due to a spike in lost wages resulting from COVID-19. Many families are just one paycheck or a short time period away from not being able to secure adequate food for themselves and their families,” according to Sara East, who recently reported on food insecurity for MoneyGeek.

Even though our county is affluent, hunger is still prevalent and often goes unnoticed, and it is an especially complex issue. In addition to distributing food, Manna’s mission seeks to solve the root causes of hunger through advocacy and education.