Volunteer Update: New Volunteer Training and Helpful Videos

For those who are interested, we will be holding our next New Volunteer Training on Monday, September 14th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm.

The training will be located at:

Gleaners Community Food Bank

2131 Beaufait

Detroit, MI 48207

 

Everyone is welcome! Please email Diana Flora at dflora@gcfb.org if you will be attending.

Also, the Operation Frontline in Massachusetts has developed several training videos that are extremely useful. You can check them out on the right side of this page underneath the “OFL Videos” section. This section also includes “Dash of Change,” the documentary developed by the Operation Frontline in Washington, DC.

Examining Food Security in Detroit

What is food security?

After hearing the term “food security” used in the news and by different organizations in Detroit, it may be best to define what it means. The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, a coalition of organizations and individuals interested in battling food insecurity in Detroit, defines the term in a useful, accessible way:

 

Food Security: When all of the members of a community have easy access to adequate amounts of affordable, nutritious, culturally appropriate food.

 

The Detroit Reality:
1. Many Detroiters do not have a grocery store within a mile of their homes
2. “Fast food” has practically replaced home cooked meals in many Black households
3. Detroit’s majority African population is dependent on others to feed it

 

Food insecurity, then, would be the situation that many Detroiters find themselves in - without access to a supermarket or to culturally-appropriate, nutritious foods.

Food Insecurity in Detroit: Chene Market. Photo Credit: Nick Tobier

Food insecurity has become a particularly prevalent problem in Detroit not only because of the high unemployment rate, but also because of the lack of chain and independent grocery stores in large sections of the city. Parts of the city have even been called “food deserts” by a study funded by LaSalle Bank, “Examining the Impact of Food Deserts on Public Health in Detroit.” Food deserts, it says, are “areas that require residents to travel twice as far or more to reach the closest mainstream grocer than to reach the closest fringe food location.” Fringe locations can include gas stations or liquor stores, where fresh produce are not often sold. Larry Gabriel from the Metro Times did an interesting editorial back in 2007 called “Living in the Desert” in response to this study.

Even though the national media has caught on to this “food desert” phenomenon, for Detroiters, it’s nothing new. The city lost its last supermarket chain – Farmer Jack – in 2007, and there are still large sections of the city that are not serviced by independent grocers.

The Closing of Farmer Jack. Photo Credit: The Detroit News

What are organizations like Operation Frontline doing to address food security?

In response to this problem, organizations like the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and Earthworks Urban Farm have worked to address food insecurity in a number of ways, by promoting urban agriculture, policy change, collective action, and community building.

Recently, the Eastern Market Corporation, Greening of Detroit, and Gleaners Community Food Bank have formed the Green Ribbon Collaborative to tackle food access in the city. Together, they have created the Fresh Food Share, which is a neighborhood food distribution program in the near east side. Similarly, the State of Michigan has funded a new program called MI Neighborhood Food Movers, which also delivers fresh produce to the residents of Detroit. This program was profiled in both the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News.

The Fresh Food Share. Photo Credit: Model D

Operation Frontline, however, is different in its approach to address food insecurity. While DBCFSN, Earthworks, and the Green Ribbon Collaborative are doing the necessary work of increasing access to fresh produce, OFL teaches those with limited resources how to cook nutritious, low-cost meals with the materials they have. The classes also push participants to make healthy choices when faced with junk food and fast food. This is an important lesson for both those with access to a supermarket chain and for those who can only go to the corner store.

We do this with the help of our volunteer chefs and nutritionists, who share their knowledge and skills with our participants. The work that OFL does in the community goes well with the efforts of organizations like DBCFSN, working to both use the resources we have and push for change.

For more on how Operation Frontline works in the community, you can view the documentary, “Dash of Change,” that Operation Frontline: DC created:

Welcome to Operation Frontline: Detroit!

I want to personally welcome all of you to Operation Frontline: Detroit’s newest endeavor – a “mixed-use” blog that will be a resource to both volunteers and participants of Operation Frontline, as well as those interested in food security in Southeastern Michigan. This blog is meant to be collaborative amongst anyone who would like to contribute, particularly those who are impacted by OFL.

So what is Operation Frontline?

Operation Frontline is a program offered through Share Our Strength, a national organization based in Washington, DC that works to combat childhood hunger. In order to serve the community better, Operation Frontline is hosted at local nonprofits across the country. In Southeastern Michigan, OFL is hosted by Gleaners Community Food Bank in Detroit, which has a long history of fighting hunger in the Metro area. OFL approaches food security in a way that goes beyond emergency food assistance – it provides nutrition education and cooking classes for low-income folks (most eligible for SNAP, or food stamps), focusing on introducing more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables into participants’ diets. Just as important, the classes also teach how to cook and eat healthily on a budget, often highlighting what foods are less expensive and more nutritious.

Classes are facilitated by a team comprised of a professional chef and a nutritionist, who volunteer their time and skills. Volunteers find that they really do make a positive impact on the participants’ lives, particularly when both come to the table eager to learn.

To learn more about Operation Frontline, visit our About page or the national website at www.strength.org.

What will this blog talk about?

Because food security is such a dire issue in the city of Detroit, particularly during this economic downturn, we wanted to share our knowledge, stories, and aspirations. Every week, you should expect:

The Participant Perspective: Not only will we frequently update the blog with class anecdotes, we’ll also upload photos and videos so that you can better get a sense of what classes are like. We also hope to get the participants involved in posting their own thoughts and experiences.

The Volunteer Perspective: Volunteers are encouraged to post their experiences with the program, providing lessons learned and tips for other volunteers.

Recipes: Once a month, we’ll post a nutritious recipe that costs under $1.40 a serving, showing that it is possible to cook healthily on a budget!

Food Budgeting Tips: Along with the recipes, we will also provide tips for purchasing foods that are both nutritious and inexpensive.

The Larger Perspective: As related issues arise on the city, state, or national level, we will post newspaper articles or links to other websites in order to provide the bigger picture. Hunger is a complex problem in the United States, and we’ll have periodic features on how other organizations are coping with it.