Food Council Impact Highlights: June 2021

Thank you to our partners and supporters for their continued contributions to our work. Read on for more information about our achievements in June 2021!

Community Engagement and Network Building:

During the month of June, the Food Council hosted _ meetings attended by nearly _ community members, including _ working group meetings, two Food Security Community Calls,  three virtual trainings, and advocacy discussions with local elected officials. In total, the Food Council participated in over 60 community engagements this June, connecting with over 250 local residents, businesses, nonprofits, and government leaders. 

Communications Highlights: 

• Our communications team shared over 100 social media posts (on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) related to food assistance resources and distribution events, and our website received nearly 1,500 visits to pages pertaining to food security resources. 
• In an effort to continue building the capacity of local food system partners, we shared 4 local food system  job openings with approximately 2,000  of our partner organizations.  

Food Security Highlights:

• • The Food Recovery and Access Working Group (FRAWG) continues to meet on a biweekly basis, during our Food Security Community Calls with the food assistance community and anti-hunger advocates throughout the County. 
    • Through our bi-weekly Food Security Community Calls, the Montgomery County Food Council offered providers an overview of evaluation concepts and tools, via special remarks from Christie Balch of Sharp Insight. We also featured opportunities to learn about state-wide anti-hunger advocacy efforts through presentations from Maryland Hunger Solutions. Campus-level food security efforts were also highlighted by remarks from Montgomery College and Universities of Shady Grove representatives. 
    • During the Community Updates portion of our Food Security Community Calls, we reported on a recent USDA Study on Constraints to Adequacy of SNAP Allotments and discussed the barriers that participants in federal nutrition assistance programs face in providing their households with a healthy diet.  We also shared information about the USDA’s plans to invest $1 billion to purchase healthy food for food insecure Americans while building back food bank capacity.
    • Through the Food Council’s Food Recovery and Access Working Group, we provided Food Assistance Providers with information about a request for proposals from the Food for Montgomery Fund at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, which focuses on building a more resilient, efficient, nimble, and equitable food security system across Montgomery County.  We publicized information sessions about this opportunity as well. 
    • The Food Council connected Food Assistance Providers with the opportunity to provide feedback to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) on factsheets about managing diabetes.
      • Please join us! Everyone is welcome to participate in the Food Security Community Calls. Please register in advance here.   
• In June, FSCAB members continued to implement their personal Advocacy Plans, including actions taken to increase access to federal benefits programs (such as SNAP and WIC), researching food insecurity issues experienced by residents who are 65 or older; increasing access to local food assistance resources, such as food banks and delivery services; and raising awareness about insecurity issues, as they intersect with racial equity issues. Some specific actions included contacting residents directly who had previously requested information about food assistance resources, and attending community meetings to engage with other organizers and advocates working to reduce food insecurity in the County. 
• Virtual Trainings: 
  • Virtual Trainings completed in June: 
    • On June 10th, the Food Council coordinated a virtual training focused on “Introduction to Food Assistance Resources,” offered in Spanish and co-hosted in partnership with Catholic Charities. Attendees received an overview of food insecurity in the County and the network of resources developed by the Montgomery County Food Council and our partners, such as the Online Food Assistance Resource Directory, the County’s Food Assistance website, and information about federal nutrition benefits. Recognizing that food insecurity is an interconnected challenge, the Montgomery County Food Council will also share lists of resources and organizations that can support residents who are trying to meet other basic needs, such as housing, utilities, mental health assistance, primary care, and more. 60 people attended including staff members from Catholich Charities and from Identity Inc.  
    • On June 22nd, the Food Council offered an Introduction to Food Assistance Resources virtual training in English. 29 people attended, including representatives from Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington, CASA, Community CHEER, Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington, St. Camillus Food Pantry, and the Indonesian American Association as well as several other organizations. 
    • On June 24th, the Food Council collaborated with DHHS to offer “Data Privacy and Confidentiality for Food Assistance Organizations,” which engaged 34 people, 96% of whom reported that they would recommend this training to someone else in their network. Participants included representatives of  American Muslim Senior Society, Catholic Charities, Mid-County United Ministries, Inc., Nourishing Bethesda, Islamic Center Of Maryland, and the UpCounty Hub at BlackRock Center for the Arts. 
    • Participant satisfaction: In evaluation surveys conducted during the trainings, 96% of attendees reported learning something new from the session they attended and 99% of attendees would recommend the training to someone else.  
  • Watch the recorded sessions here! 

Working Group and Committee Meeting Highlights: 

• The Environmental Impact Working Group (EIWG): The June EIWG meeting was held on Tuesday, June 1st, 9:30-11AM. We wrapped up our discussion on the Food Waste Reduction and Composting Education series. This featured a discussion on HB248, and opportunities to expand community-scale composting in Montgomery County. Guest speakers included Delegate Emily Shetty, Kate Medina, Charles Koiner Center for Urban Farming, and Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reliance. 
  • The next Environmental Impact Working Group meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 3rd. Please click here for more information. 
• The Food Economy Working Group (FEWG) The June Food Economy Working Group meeting was held on Wednesday, June 16th, 9-10:30AM and featured presentations from Julie Verratti and Roderick Johnson from the U.S. Small Business Administration on outreach to small businesses and current and forthcoming federal resources for businesses and farms. The meeting also included a Scaling a Food Business panel discussion featuring Margarita Womack (Mas Panadas), Penelope Cudjoe (AMAC Foods), Mike Houston (Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op), and Natalie Vandenburgh (4P Foods). The panel discussion and Q&A was moderated by Sophia Maroon (Dress It Up Dressing).
  • The next Food Economy Working Group meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 28th, find more information here. 
• The Food Education Working Group (FEdWG): The June FEdWG Meeting was held on Tuesday, June 22nd. During the meeting, attendees learned about the policy and advocacy efforts the DC Food Policy Council led in creating a Community Advocacy Guide in response to the DC Council’s Nutrition Equity Amendment Act of 2021. The presentation was given by two DC Food Policy Council Members, Kristy McCarron and Tambra Raye Stevenson, who are co-chairs of the Nutrition and Health Working Group. The meeting also featured a discussion around the Food Council’s Food Literacy Assessment, and how the food education landscape has changed since the release of the FLA in July 2019. Attendees also discussed their organization’s food education plans for the future, and suggested how the Food Council can advocate for increased food education opportunities. To facilitate this discussion, the Food Council invited key stakeholders and informants that contributed to the original report in 2019. 26 attendees participated in the meeting.
  • Those interested in joining the next Food Education Working Group meeting on Tuesday, July 27th, can sign up for updates on this Working Group here. 
• The Gardening Subcommittee: The June Gardening Subcommittee meeting was held on Wednesday, June 23rd. During the meeting, attendees learned about the PolliNation DC project spearheaded by the Smithsonian Institution to record the impact pollinators in the DC area have on the plants in DC and Montgomery County community gardens. Robert Costello, National Outreach Program Manager & Dr. Gary Krupnick from the National Museum of Natural History presented about the PolliNation DC project and the importance of pollinators. Thorne Rankin & Sally Shea from DC Natives also presented about the work capacity building work they lead to build pollinator friendly gardens in DC. 18 attendees participated in the meeting. 
• The Benefits Outreach and Enrollment Workgroup convenes conversations among organizations that work on outreach and/or enrollment, in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) such as Maryland Hunger Solutions, City of Takoma Park, Catholic Charities, and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. The June meeting included a discussion on the end of the COVID-19 state of emergency in the State of Maryland and the truth behind SNAP and P-EBT with hopes of debunking the Myths. 

Policy and Advocacy Highlights: 

• The Policy Committee submitted written testimony to County Council regarding Thrive 2050 encouraging a more intentional consideration of food systems issues in the Plan recommendations. 
• Heather Bruskin represented the Food Council as a Member of the Maryland Food System Resiliency Council at its first meeting, and was elected Co-Chair of the Council along with the Executive Director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency. 
• The Food Council signed on to a letter with Maryland Hunger Solutions encouraging release of Older Adult SNAP participation data by the State of Maryland. 

Thanks to all of our partners for continuing to support our efforts! Check back next month for another update. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.