DC's "Hidden" Source of available food

Posted by Greg Plotkin | 14 Jan 2010

Even though I've lived in Washington, DC for more than five years now and have tried to become knowledgeable about the food scene in the city, last weekend was my first trip the Maine Avenue Fish Market, also referred to as "The Wharf" by many locals.

While the market is certainly not a secret - its been a neighborhood favorite for more than two centuries - to tourists it's virtually unknown, and even most transplanted DC residents have no idea there's a fresh fish market located conspicuously under an I-395 overpass, just blocks from the Capitol.

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• Posted in Access, Community, Neighborhoods

The Evil of School Gardens

Posted by Ed Bruske | 13 Jan 2010

Is it possible to write a hatchet job about something as innocent as school gardens? Apparently so. I would not have believed it, but there it is in the otherwise esteemed Atlantic magazine, a venomous screed that would have you believe that gardening constitutes a sinister scheme to take over our nation’s schools; that schools are turning kids into farm workers; that the educational establishment is throwing math and reading to the dogs in favor of growing arugula. It sounds more like satire out of The Onion, or perhaps a goulish Tim Burton storyline. But according to author...

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• Posted in Access, Schools

Food Stamp Expansion: What's the Hold Up?

Posted by Stacy Braverman | 12 Jan 2010

Last week, a woman came to Bread’s Southeast Legal Clinic for help getting food stamps. She had multiple sclerosis, which made cooking a difficult task. On top of that, she was also living on a fixed income of Social Security Disability Insurance — and after paying for rent, utilities, and other costs, food of any kind was tough to fit into the budget. She attempted to apply for food stamps, but she was denied.

That same week, I saw another woman in a strikingly similar situation: in clear need, but denied food stamps. When I calculated the amount of benefits to which the two...

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• Posted in Access

In Support of the Healthy Schools Act: A Good Bill

Posted by Lauren Biel | 11 Jan 2010

In the January 6th edition of themail, Gary Imhoff wrote about ‘bad bills’ that pass from idea to law because of the arrogance and greed of politicians. Incredibly, he singled out the recently-introduced “Healthy Schools Act” as an example thereof. Yesterday, I submitted the following response to Imhoff:

I am on the Advisory Board of the DC Farm to School Network, manage the Glover Park-Burleith Farmers’ Market, and am the parent of a future DC Public School student. I will also disclose that I operate under the assumption that getting healthy...

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• Posted in Gov't Issues, Health, Schools