By Megan Burks
San Diego Veg Week and CalFresh Challenge Change Diets, Minds
This week, San Diego social media let us in on a lot more than the usual “who went where with whom” status updates. I found out exactly what some San Diegans were putting in their bellies—Councilwoman Marti Emerald was all about Italian food this week.
That’s because it’s San Diego Veg Week, which calls on residents to skip meat for seven days to highlight the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. Many participants shared their highs and lows on Facebook.
It’s also the final day of Hunger Action Month, which was aimed at raising awareness about food insecurity in the United States. To do her part, Jennifer Tracy of the San Diego Hunger Coalition challenged herself to eat on a CalFresh budget of $30.52 a week. She recorded her diet and thoughts on Facebook.
She experienced what many in City Heights do, even shopping at the neighborhood’s farmers market and Albertson’s. On the menu were whole grain cereal, strawberries, almond milk, broccoli and hummus wraps, bean burritos, eggs, peanut butter and honey.
By the middle of the first day, she could barely wait for dinner. By the second day, her hunger interfered with work.
| “The real issue that keeps nagging me is my anxiety about being hungry—almost as much as the hunger itself. When I finished my food at 2 p.m. on Monday and knew I had nothing else to eat for hours until I got home, I felt nervous. What if I got hungry again? What if I couldn’t focus? Hunger, and the fear of hunger have begun to take up residence in my mind. I don’t know what it is like for people who struggle with this on a regular basis, but in my conversations with people in need of food assistance, it is clear how much this issue weighs on them.”
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More than 200,000 households in San Diego County rely on food stamps to buy groceries.
Find the San Diego Hunger Coalition on Facebook.
Another Community Garden, Another Mouth Fed
Southeastern San Diego has taken City Heights’ lead by chipping away at food insecurity one community garden and farmers market at a time. This week, Mount Hope celebrated the groundbreaking of the area’s second community garden on the corner of Market and Denby streets.
Photo Credit: Sam Hodgson
After six months, open plots will be available to gardeners from outside the neighborhood, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
For food news, follow Roots of Change @RootsofChange.
El Cajon Struggles to Provide Services for Refugees
Many of City Height’s programs to improve food security grew out of support for the neighborhood’s large refugee population. Its community gardens have comforted residents who were farmers before coming to the United States and its farmers market provides hard-to-find produce for Vietnamese and Burmese refugees.
The neighborhood has been called a refugee hub and has a lot to teach about welcoming people who fled violence and political unrest. El Cajon could be looking for some lessons.
The east county city has experienced an influx of Iraqi refugees and has had trouble meeting their needs. Last week, County Supervisor Dianne Jacob organized a meeting with refugee officials and hospital and school representatives.
“The areas of need basically are employment, health, mental health services, job skills training, English classes, translation services, and unless we get the help needed, the problems will only get worse,” Jacob told KPBS.
What advice would you give to El Cajon? What were some of the struggles City Heights faced as refugees began moving into the neighborhood. Which struggles remain? Tell us in a comment.
Follow the International Rescue Committee @theIRC for information about refugees all over the world.
Obama Administration Nominates Vietnamese Refugee to Ninth Circuit
Proof of how far refugees can go in the United States: the Obama administration nominated Jacqueline H. Nguyen, a Vietnamese American who fled Vietnam as a young girl, to serve on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
According to Multi-American, Nguyen’s family lived in a tent city in Camp Pendleton before moving to Los Angeles. Nguyen attended Occidental College and University of California, Los Angeles.
Follow Multi-American @Multi_American.
Buul to Share Story of His Journey to Somalia
Local refugee leader Abdimalik Buul has won admiration for traveling to Somalia to deliver aid to famine victims. He’ll be back in City Heights Sunday to share his experiences at a town hall conference hosted by the Somali Youth League of San Diego. Hear his story 4 p.m. Sunday at the East African Community and Cultural Center, 4061 Fairmount Ave., Suite A.
Find the Somali Youth League of San Diego on Facebook.