222 More Meals

Yesterday we posted about the many Thanksgiving treats we’re preparing for our clients this week as well as what we are incredibly thankful for- supporters like YOU. (Read yesterday’s post here.)

Today- with Thanksgiving only a day away - GiveCorps is giving us a chance to fund 777 meals for our neighbors in need AND to give back to those who donate ($10 off at Alonso’s & Loco Hombre!). During our first promotion on GiveCorps, a Baltimore-based website guided by the idea of “Give Local. Get Local.,” we reached our goal of $1,000 in one day. Now, we’re trying to raise just $400 more to provide 222 additional meals.  

How can you help?

1.       Make an online donation to our Moveable Feast project “Providing Hope Through Meals” on GiveCorps.

2.       Mail a check payable to the GiveCorps Foundation with “Moveable Feast” in the memo line to: The GiveCorps Foundation, PO Box 5606 Baltimore, MD 21210.

3.       Mobilize your network by pushing the project to your Facebook and Twitter communities!

As you look forward to feasting with your family this Thanksgiving, help us make sure that others are able to enjoy a healthy holiday meal as well.  

Here's to food, family and good health this holiday season!

Funding & Service Update

Thank you for your amazing support and encouragement over these past few months! It is with great happiness that we announce that, effective October 15^th, Moveable Feast was able to return our clients to full service.  While the federal financial delays created a lot of initial uncertainty, they also forced us to reevaluate our priorities and services, which have resulted in a few noteworthy changes:

1.       Moveable Feast will make the move that many Association of Nutrition Service Agencies (ANSA) programs have done to reduce grocery foods and provide a more healthy and nutritious balance of prepared foods, groceries and fresh produce. This will result in a 30% increase in our meal production and a decreased distribution of canned goods.

2.       Clients demonstrating the greatest need will receive 18 prepared meals, delivered twice weekly.

3.       Other clients will receive 12 prepared meals per week consisting of lunch and dinner entrees, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables as available.

4.       Children and caregivers will be added back to service on an individual need basis.

 With these adjustments, we believe we can better serve our clients and assure the fulfillment of our mission. Thank you for proving how strong and enthusiastic a support base we really have here at Moveable Feast.

Only together can we FEED people | FIGHT disease | FOSTER hope.

Food Day

If you visit Moveable Feast today, you’ll notice something a little different when you walk into the building: a welcome table set up with all sorts of information about food stamps, nutrition and a collection of a week’s worth of food that you can buy with $30 (the average SNAP benefit in Maryland).



To see the list of food purchased and more on the Food Stamp Challenge, click here.



This display celebrates Food Day- October 24^th- as a day to “push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way.” Sponsored by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Day furthers the following goals:

1.       Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

2.       Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness

3.       Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

4.       Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms

5.       Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids

6.       Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

At Moveable Feast, food is central to our mission, and every day we witness the powerful effects that access to good nutrition has on the health of our clients and their families. Join us in observing Food Day by attending a local event, signing a petition and spreading the word!

A few Food Day events around the city include:

Food Day Teach-In: Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future is hosting a series of food-related presentations, ending at 3pm.

National Food Day Event in Pigtown: Check out activities emphasizing healthy eating and talk to representatives from various Baltimore organizations that work to improve access to healthy foods. 2:30 @ George Washington Elementary School

Vegetarian—Food Day Dinner: A dinner hosted by The VRG for World Food Day at 5pm tonight @ Mr. Chan’s Szechuan Restaurant (registration required).

Find out more ways to get involved on the Food Day website.

Homelessness on the Rise in Baltimore

No one should be sick, poor, alone and hungry. That’s what we believe at Moveable Feast, and why, beyond delivering food to people’s homes, we also provide meals for homeless men and women through a number of Baltimore City shelter services, including Jobs Housing Recovery as well as Code Blue Shelter.

Late last week, Morgan State released their 2011 Homeless Point In Time Census Report, and the results are disturbing. At any point in time, there are 4,088 individuals considered homeless in Baltimore, a 19.6% increase from their last census in 2009. Chronic disease was cited as one of the top three health concerns that impact the homeless population, and the study noted that, overall, “rates of HIV among the homeless are at least three times higher compared to the general population.” Even as homeless individuals experienced increased health issues, relatively few of them reported receiving treatment, including only 3.9% of those struggling with HIV/AIDS.

Those numbers—the thousands of men, women and children without a home and battling illness--- are hard to completely comprehend. The sad fact of a growing homeless population in Baltimore, however, makes the work we do --- putting nourishing food on the table for those who still have homes and those struggling to regain housing--- even more important.   

To read the full report, click here.

September is Hunger Action Month

Can you count how many times a week the words “I’m hungry” come out of your mouth? At Moveable Feast we’re guilty of it too; we’re ‘hungry’ while waiting in the microwave line to heat up our lunches or when sauntering up to our volunteer manager’s office to see what extra snacks he has to offer in between meals. Food is certainly crucial for all of us, but unlike our clients, not many of us have experienced the pangs of true hunger or the anxiety over finding our next meal.  

That’s why September as Hunger Action Month is so important. It’s a chance to put things into perspective for the fortunate among us and a chance to take action to help the over 500,000 Marylanders living below the federal poverty level.  While only a week and a half remains in September, there are a number of ways to participate:

1.       Dine Out & Save Lives

Moveable Feast’s 18^th Annual Dining Out for Life event is tomorrow, September 22^nd! Eating out with friends, family and coworkers Thursday is one easy way to FEED people, FIGHT disease and FOSTER hope. There are over 40 participating restaurants who will be donating 20-50% of proceeds to Moveable Feast. Click here for the full list.

2.       Food Stamp Challenge

While Maryland Hunger Solutions’ official Food Stamp Challenge started Monday, you can still check out their online Food Stamp Challenge Diary. These articles are written by people who commit to the challenge of feeding themselves for a week on a $30 budget (the average amount of food stamps people get in MD). Their diary entries will provide a glimpse into some of the challenges that food insecure people face on a daily basis.

3.       Feeding America

Help Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks, spread the word about Hunger Action Month by watching their celebrity videos (one of which is below) and sharing them with your friends. Their goal is to reach 1 million people by 9/30/11.  



Ending Hunger Now

Recently, TED, an innovative series of conferences on “Ideas worth spreading,” posted a talk by Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN’s World Food Program. In her 18 minutes on the stage, Sheeran tackles the topic of global malnutrition and her vision for ending hunger now.

While Sheeran primary speaks to the devastation of hunger and starvation internationally, her message still applies to our struggle with food in Maryland:

1.       Access to food, not abundance of food, is a major barrier to addressing hunger (think Baltimore food deserts*, lack of transportation or low mobility, poverty)

2.        80% of people worldwide have no food safety net  (our clients struggle with both poverty and severe illnesses--- most have no traditional support system to turn to in times of crisis)

3.       Addressing hunger is more than a compassionate cause – there are true economic benefits gained by investing in healthier citizens (on the local scale, think lower emergency room costs, more self-sufficient and unified families, more productive community members)   

Here at Moveable Feast, we believe that healthy, nutritious food is a right – and we provide it at no cost to both our clients and their dependent children – knowing that at the very core of what we do is hunger relief.  

As Josette Sheeran puts it, “We cannot afford to not invest in the access to adequate, affordable nutrition for all of humanity.”  

*According to the CDC, food deserts are areas where residents lack access to affordable foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet.