On this week's show we take a look at food assistance from a few different angles.
What people need is skills, opportunity and well paying jobs, not food boxes.
We talk with Noreen Springstead, Executive Director of WhyHunger, about the proposal from The Whitehouse to give Food Stamp recipients a box of food in place of half of their benefits.
And we follow Farm to Family Fund volunteers as they gather up fresh, local produce from a local winter farmers' market, and deliver the goods to organizations providing food assistance.
Farm to Family Fund (FFF) is one program of Healthful Food For All Fund. They operate under the umbrella of the Center for Sustainable Living, and the Bloomington Winter Farmers' Market. Farm to Family pays participating farmers at the Winter Farmers' Market half price for food they have left over at the end of the market each Saturday. Then they deliver the produce (and sometimes eggs, and sometimes meat) to The Rise!, Community Kitchen of Monroe County, and Mother Hubbard's Cupboard.
Teresa Birtles of Heartland Family Farm notes that it's a win-win situation, honoring both the farmer, and the people who need the food.
Earth Eats tags along on a snowy Saturday in February, and talks with founders Janice Lilly and Deborah Piston-Hatlen about the process.
Plus, what does your local food pantry offer that you might not be able to buy in a store?
Stories On This Episode
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A controversial deer cull might have a silver lining.
Off-Farm Income Makes Up Majority Of Farmers' Incomes
An estimated 82 percent of farm income will come from off-farm jobs, and about half of farming families will rely on insurance by off-farm employers.
Senate Ag. Committee Chair Says Crop Insurance Is Key
Protections for farmers against catastrophic losses could make passing a farm bill simpler.
