Food

Supervisors oppose federal efforts to limit food stamps

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — The county Board of Supervisors voted July 30 to oppose federal efforts to limit food stamp eligibility, which would affect an estimated 40,000 Los Angeles County residents. Supervisor Hilda Solis recommended sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and the county’s congressional delegates.

Published

5 years ago

August 5, 2019

Oakland Post

By Mark Ridley-Thomas

LOS ANGELES — The county Board of Supervisors voted July 30 to oppose federal efforts to limit food stamp eligibility, which would affect an estimated 40,000 Los Angeles County residents.

Supervisor Hilda Solis recommended sending a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and the county’s congressional delegates.

“The Trump administration is proposing callous rules that would limit Americans’ access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, referred to as CalFresh in California,” Solis said. “Such action would affect 3 million Americans who rely on the nation’s most successful anti-poverty program to access healthy food. L.A. County recognizes that food insecurity is a matter of public health, and these heartless proposed rule changes would have a pronounced effect on county residents.”

The proposed rule would take away states’ ability to extend eligibility to households with incomes up to 200% of the federal poverty line or roughly $50,000 a year for a family with two children. That flexibility was granted by Congress in 1996.

Federal officials estimate that nearly 8% of beneficiaries qualify under expanded eligibility, which the Department of Agriculture calls a “loophole.” The department pointed to the case of a Minnesota millionaire who qualified for food stamps after applying to highlight what he viewed as taxpayer waste.

“Too often, states have misused this flexibility without restraint,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a statement issued last week. “The American people expect their government to be fair, efficient and to have integrity — just as they do in their own homes, businesses and communities. That is why we are changing the rules, preventing abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it.”

The Agriculture Department also wants to exclude beneficiaries with more than $2,250 in eligible assets from receiving food stamps. The department estimates an overall savings of more than $2 billion annually from the proposed changes.

The county’s Department of Public Social Services estimates that more than 120,000 California households — including 40,000 in Los Angeles County — would be affected.

Members of the board and education advocates said children would be the biggest losers.

An estimated 500,000 children nationwide could lose their automatic eligibility for free school meals under the proposal, according to Los Angeles County Office of Education Superintendent Debra Duardo.

“Research has shown that access to free and reduced-price school meals allows low-income students to stay engaged and learn,” Duardo said in a statement issued after the board vote. “Removing this access would have a detrimental impact on student academic performance and success in school.

Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said that children represented 60% of CalFresh beneficiaries in 2016, the last year for which data is available.

“Those who stand to lose … are those who are the most vulnerable among us,” Ridley-Thomas said, which includes seniors on fixed incomes and community college students, many of whom experience “food insecurity.”

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of reliable access to enough affordable, nutritious food.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said the proposed change is part of a larger pattern.

“It feels like the current president has announced a program called the War on the Impoverished,” Kuehl said, drawing a contrast with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of a War on Poverty in 1964.

The proposed rule change is subject to a 60-day public comment period.

“Those who stand to lose … are those who are the most vulnerable among us.”

This article appeared in the Wave Newspapers.

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Marin City Historical & Preservation Society Hosts Fish Fry, Family Picnic and Gospel Concert Oct 11-13

The Marin City Historical and Preservation Society will host its Heritage Family Picnic at the Rocky Graham Park in Marin City, on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 12-6 p.m. The Marin City Historical and Preservation Society is a program of Performing Stars of Marin.

Published

2 days ago

October 15, 2024

Oakland Post

Rocky Graham Park. Bottom left: Andre Thierry. Photos and logo courtesy of Marin City Historical & Preservation Society.

By Godfrey Lee

The Marin City Historical and Preservation Society will host its Heritage Family Picnic at the Rocky Graham Park in Marin City, on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 12-6 p.m.

The Marin City Historical and Preservation Society is a program of Performing Stars of Marin.

There will be community, activities, and food. Chef Jordan Alexander of Jordan’s Culinary Creations will prepare the delicious fried chicken picnic lunches exclusively for the reserved table area. All the meals will include two pieces of fried chicken, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, and string beans with a side of bread.

A ticket for one meal and one seat in the reserved open table is for $25. Each table can accommodate eight people and has umbrellas. This single-seat purchase is on a first-come, first-served basis. A table for eight people, and eight meal tickets, can be reserved for $160.

Two other Marin City Historical & Preservation Society events will happen that weekend.

On Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Manzanita Recreation Center, 630 Drake Ave., will be the Friday Night Fish Fry, featuring Andre Thierry Accordion Soul Music, and Chef Samuel Gilmore from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to cook the feast of freshly fried fish, red beans, rice, and coleslaw.

Georgia Wade, who is featured in the cookbook “Grandmothers Feed Us Love,” will be selling her delightful homemade desserts. Cold beverages, including beer and wine, will also be available for purchase.

On Sunday, Oct. 13, the First Missionary Baptist Church, at 501 Drake Ave. in Marin City, will be presenting their “Old Time Gospel Revival” featuring inspirational, live gospel music from 3-6 p.m. The Spiritual Keys, from Oakland, CA, will be performing. The event is free and for all ages.

For more information and to buy a ticket, go to www.preservemarincitylegacy.org/events-2

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Richmond’s First ‘Mobile Vendor Plaza’ Opens for Business

The very first Mobile Vendor Plaza brought a variety of food options to a parking lot in Downtown Richmond on Saturday, Sept. 21. It also brought the promise of more markets just like it to come. The market was held in the lot at 1401 Macdonald Ave., near the BART parking garage. It will open every Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., offering foods such as tacos, pupusas, sandwiches, and also refreshing drinks, according to the city.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 2, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of the City of Richmond.

The Richmond Standard

The very first Mobile Vendor Plaza brought a variety of food options to a parking lot in Downtown Richmond on Saturday, Sept. 21.

It also brought the promise of more markets just like it to come.

The market was held in the lot at 1401 Macdonald Ave., near the BART parking garage. It will open every Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., offering foods such as tacos, pupusas, sandwiches, and also refreshing drinks, according to the city.

Announced in August, the new market is a partnership between the City of Richmond and Richmond Farmers Market. It is the first of the Mobile Vendor Program, which aims to provide a place for sidewalk vendors to conduct business in a regulated manner.

All mobile vendors can participate for free, but vendors must be registered with the City with a Special Business Activity Permit. For more about the program, go to https://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/4685/COMING-SOON—Mobile-Vendor-Market.

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Bay Area

Jumpy House, Car Show and Good Food Mark Marin City Labor Day Celebration

Many people came out and enjoyed the Marin City Labor Day celebration, which was held on Monday, Sept. 2 on the grass of 100 Drake Ave. The celebration featured a a jumpy house for kids, food, music, and a car show.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

From top to bottom, left to right: Event planners Lulu and Antoinette, Annette Henry, Shannon Bynum, and Lamesha Bynum. Next row: Ain Ashby, Krystal Rose and Vincenzo Bezerra. Bottom: Melba Banks and Darrell Roary, car show with Dennett Colescott’s white 1966 Dodge Charger on the left. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Antoinette and Lulu, who also organized the celebration event, gave out backpacks and school supplies. The Books and Blends table, manned by Krystal Rose and Vincenzo Bezerra, gave away donated books.

Annette Henry, Shannon and Lamesha Bynum manned the Marin County Cooperative Team (MCCT). They were collecting names for the Marin City email newsletter and was announcing the launch of the “Vision Project” — a holistic mentorship program for Marin City Transitional Age Youth, ages16 to 25.

The Vision Project, according to the flyer, involves mentorship from a non-parental adult who plays an important role in promoting healthy development for youth within a strengths-based, advocacy framework.

Mentees and mentors are provided a monthly stipend for active participation.

“Mentees have their own mentor who they meet with weekly one-on-one for at least 2 hours,” according to their FaceBook Page. “With their mentor’s support, mentees set goals within their Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to foster success within life skills, employment, education, mental health, healthcare, housing and other critical support/needs.”

MCCT also announced their drug overdose treatment training every Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Starbucks patio in the Gateway Shopping Center, 110 Donahue St. The training will help you learn the signs of a fentanyl overdose, train to reverse an overdose with Narcan®, and to get free Narcan® so you’re always prepared.

The food was good. Among the many food booths were: Ain Ashby who served her Torani-flavored lemonade, Lester and Diema who served their turkey legs that was large enough for leftovers, and Melba Banks, of Pieman Sweets, displaying her pies.

Tiffany Richards was displaying her purses for sale.

Close to two dozen classic cars were being displayed in the parking lot, three of them being the Oldsmobile Cutlass. One was a yellow, 1972 model owned by Darrell Roary. Dennett Colescot of San Rafael also displayed his car, a 1966 Dodge Charger.