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Washington
DC - Commissioner
Salim Adofo, Chairman of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C
and the Ward 8 Farmers Market have partnered to combat food
insecurity in the east of the river community of Ward 8. A Food
Access Meeting will be held by Commissioner Adofo and the Ward 8
Farmers Market to plan steps to increase market capacity and
address food insecurity in the ward. The meeting will be held at
the UPO Petey Greene Community Service Center on October 18th
at 6 p.m. The center is located at 2907 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave
SE.
According to
Adofo, "Access to quality food, fresh fruits and
vegetables, is not only a public health issue, it is a public
safety issue, and it is an economic development issue. By
expanding the Ward 8 Farmers Market, food insecurity can be
addressed, as well as opportunities for local businesses. With an
expanded farmers market, residents can find a consistent array of
affordable fresh food vendors, and residents who receive snap
benefits have the opportunity to purchase twice as much food as
they would have been able to purchase in a traditional grocery
store, for the same price."
According to the
US Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is defined as the
lack of access to nutritionally adequate and safe food. Ward 8 is
characterized by a severe lack of full-service grocery stores,
which contributes to food insecurity. Due to the decrease in access
to healthy and affordable food, the burden on health and public
safety has increased.
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