What’s the low-down on hunger and food assistance in Los Angeles? Last week,a small RootDown LA crew, including Andres Chopin, Ana Torres (pictured above) and new Programs Manager, Shara Prophet, attended a Hunger Action LA training on food security issues in our communities. This training, held at the Community Health Councils building and co-hosted by Inner City Struggeles, was created to equip individuals with the tools they need to address their state senators and neighborhood council leaders at Hunger Action Day in Sacramento on May 17th.
We had the pleasure of meeting with some of LA's most enthusiastic and passionate community leaders including Frank Tamborello, community educator and Executive Director of Hunger Action LA.
We discussed the many issues surrounding food security such as child nutrition, fast food chains monopolizing our neighborhoods, food deserts, and the limited access to more healthy and nutritious foods.
The training also helped to dispel our various confusions about CalFresh. Some of us thought only adults with dependents could get food assistance. Did you know, CalFresh is available to anyone whose income falls within the eligible income bracket? You can check to see if you are eligible for CalFresh benefits as well as sign up online at http://www.calfresh.ca.gov.
Though RootDown LA will not be able to make it to Hunger Action Day this year, we walked away from the training with a wealth of information about what's going on with food assistance and securities in our community. Hunger Action LA, Community Health Councils and Inner City Struggles - we appreciate the invite and thanks for helping us help others to make healthy food more affordable for all!
