EYE OPENER - FLOW OF FOOD TOUR
Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich hosted a "Flow of Food Tour" this morning for a group of about twenty civic leaders, including myself and Rep. Berta Gardner. The tour coincided with "National Hunger Awareness Day."
First stop on tour was the Food Bank of Alaska (FBA) on Spar Avenue. Since its inception, FBA has distributed over 40 million pounds of food throughout Alaska. The food is aquired from non-salable food from the food industry, US government comomodities, and local food drives. The food is distributed from the warehouse to more than 300 non-profit agencies, faith based organizatiuons, domestic vioolence shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, and day care facilities.
Stop two was the Boys and Girls Club in Mountain View and its "Kid's Cafe." For many of the children in this area, this may be the only nutritious meal they get all day.
Next we inspected the Downtown Soup Kitchen on 4th Avenue. Chris Keffalos, Director of Initatives for Grace Alaska told us that last year 90,000 hot meals were given to hungry Alaskans. The Soup Kitchen is a faith-based program that also provides services such as showers and free laundry, socks, and footwear.
The last tour stop was at "New Hope on the Last frontier" at 13th and E Street. It is the first full "client choice" food pantry in Alaska. Client choice pantries allow clients to "shop"(with a shopping cart) for food they need and which best fits their personal needs and culture. As many as 170 families "shop" at New Hope in the one day a week it is open.
The tour was an "eye opener." There are many reasons why folks go hungry. Hunger is never the fault of the children. When someone is hungry, it makes it even harder to find a job, get education or job training, get healthy, or recover from an abuse problem This food program makes me proud to be an Alaskan.
First stop on tour was the Food Bank of Alaska (FBA) on Spar Avenue. Since its inception, FBA has distributed over 40 million pounds of food throughout Alaska. The food is aquired from non-salable food from the food industry, US government comomodities, and local food drives. The food is distributed from the warehouse to more than 300 non-profit agencies, faith based organizatiuons, domestic vioolence shelters, soup kitchens, senior centers, and day care facilities.
Stop two was the Boys and Girls Club in Mountain View and its "Kid's Cafe." For many of the children in this area, this may be the only nutritious meal they get all day.
Next we inspected the Downtown Soup Kitchen on 4th Avenue. Chris Keffalos, Director of Initatives for Grace Alaska told us that last year 90,000 hot meals were given to hungry Alaskans. The Soup Kitchen is a faith-based program that also provides services such as showers and free laundry, socks, and footwear.
The last tour stop was at "New Hope on the Last frontier" at 13th and E Street. It is the first full "client choice" food pantry in Alaska. Client choice pantries allow clients to "shop"(with a shopping cart) for food they need and which best fits their personal needs and culture. As many as 170 families "shop" at New Hope in the one day a week it is open.
The tour was an "eye opener." There are many reasons why folks go hungry. Hunger is never the fault of the children. When someone is hungry, it makes it even harder to find a job, get education or job training, get healthy, or recover from an abuse problem This food program makes me proud to be an Alaskan.
posted by Blogs by Rep Bob Lynn | 10:00 PM
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