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Panel discussion at Mt. Lebanon library addresses food justice

By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 6 min read
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If you’re not familiar with the concept of food justice, let Molly Patterson explain.

“At a very basic level, food justice would mean that everyone has access to the food that they need, and not just any food, but healthy food,” South Hills Interfaith Movement’s operations coordinator said.

“And to me, it means not just that people can get food from the food pantry at SHIM. Certainly, those emergency sources of food are important and needed for folks in crisis situations or are going to be low-income for a sustained period of time. But ideally, everyone would be able to afford this food on their own.”

Patterson was among the participants in a recent panel discussion at Mt. Lebanon Public Library, in partnership with the nonprofit Repair the World Pittsburgh, addressing the efforts of regional organizations in helping to ensure as many people as possible are fed properly.

The event, the second in a series of four Repair the World-led programs at the library, drew an audience of about three dozen, with some contributing well-received ideas about getting food where it’s needed.

Harry Funk/The Almanac

Harry Funk/The Almanac

David Primm reacts to audience participation during the panel discussion on food justice.

One audience member, for example, suggested a “pay it forward” program, by which a customer could make a food purchase on behalf of someone who could use an extra item or two. And a supermarket employee offered to help her store make provisions for food that otherwise would go to waste.

That’s the mission of 412 Food Rescue, represented at the panel discussion by chief program and impact officer David Primm.

“These are people who are taking perfectly good food that otherwise would have entered the waste stream, people who are taking time out of their day to save that food and take it to one of our nonprofit partners,” he said, and those number more than 500 throughout the region.

Also on the panel was Khara Timsina, executive director of the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh, which works toward strengthening the quality of life for the area’s 5,000 residents who are refugees from the Asian nation of Bhutan.

Harry Funk/The Almanac

Harry Funk/The Almanac

Zack Block, executive director of Repair the World Pittsburgh, moderates the discussion.

“To me, food justice is also making food available to people when they want it and where they live. Not all people have the capacity to drive to or take a bus to a store and buy food, even if they have money,” he said. “There might be neighborhoods that don’t have food stores. And if they don’t have the food they like in the neighborhood, it is not justice to me.”

One component of food justice is providing access to culturally appropriate foods, and Timsina spoke about some of the challenges in that regard.

Harry Funk/The Almanac

Harry Funk/The Almanac

Map data ©2019 Google

“I also see language as a barrier to food justice,” he explained. “Many of us come to the United States without English. And when you don’t have English, even if you have transportation and affordability, you don’t know how to ask if the food you like is available in that store. So sometimes we end up finding nothing, because we don’t know the name.”

Another component, as Patterson mentioned, is access to food that is healthy and nutritious.

Harry Funk/The Almanac

Harry Funk/The Almanac

Molly Patterson

“Hunger, especially in the United States, is also connected to chronic diseases, like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity: kind of counterintuitive,” she said about the latter, “but because the cheap food is often highly processed and not great. And so we want to make sure that while we’re feeding people, we’re not contributing to that problem, which can be challenging.”

SHIM is working on rectifying the situation at its food pantries, in Bethel Park, Baldwin Borough and Whitehall.

“We’re really trying to take a look at what we offer, making sure we give people good, healthy choices, and then making sure they understand the benefits to that,” Patterson said.

Moderating the panel discussion was Zack Block, executive director of Repair the World Pittsburgh. The organization’s final two events at Mt. Lebanon Public Library are on April 14, addressing education inequity, and on May 19, with the theme “Take Action!” Both are from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

For more information about the library, visit www.mtlebanonlibrary.org.

About the organizations

Repair the World was founded in 2009 to make meaningful service a defining element of American Jewish life. The organization’s signature program, Repair the World Communities, engages young adults in social change around education and food justice in neighborhoods in Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and New York City.

In most communities, a city director supports a cohort of fellows, ages 21-26, who make a yearlong service commitment to Repair the World. They work closely with local nonprofits to create impactful volunteering and education opportunities.

Visit werepair.org/our-local-work/our-cities/pittsburgh.

412 Food Rescue partners with food retailers, nonprofit organizations and volunteers to bring healthy food directly to those experiencing food insecurity.

According to the organization, Americans waste 62.5 million tons and spend $218 billion annually in “growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of food that is never eaten.”

Those who download and register on 412’s Food Rescue Hero app can receive notifications and specific instruction for available real-time rescue opportunities. Volunteers also can commit to a scheduled rescue each week between designated food donors and nonprofit partners.

Visit 412foodrescue.org.

Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh provides programs such as career workshops, community gardening, leadership and empowerment training, programming for children and senior citizens, counseling and cultural preservation.

Many in the community arrived in the United States as refugees following a series of initiatives to remove Lhotshampa, or ethnic Nepalis, from Bhutan, a small kingdom in the Himalaya Mountains between China and India.

Visit www.bcap.us.

South Hills Interfaith Movement has been providing food, clothing and services to people in need in Pittsburgh’s southern suburban neighborhoods since 1968. With teams of dedicated volunteers, donors and partners, SHIM is working to reduce the effects of suburban poverty among the working poor, unemployed, families, single parents, senior citizens, women and the high concentration of refugee families in the organization’s service.

Visit shimcares.org.

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