Hunger outreach growing beyond work duties From social welfare examiners checking a client’s cabinets for food to the school cafeteria staffers serving free and reduced price lunches, CSEA members working in many different jobs witness firsthand the impact childhood hunger has on a staggering number of our youngest New Yorkers. One in four New York households with children reported an inability to afford food, according to a 2011 report from the non-profit Hunger Action Network. That’s a statistic that many CSEA members have kept in mind as they build relationships with other concerned citizens and groups via the union’s Strong Communities Work initiative. Members are joining the conversation about childhood hunger and working with others aimed to find a sustainable solution. In Central New York, CSEA even hosted a community forum on the topic. In the meantime, members are also lending immediate aid. In Ulster County, members of the Southern Region Strong Communities Work group joined a burgeoning community garden movement. This summer, members from the mid-Hudson Valley built, planted and eventually harvested a garden full of fruits and vegetables built adjacent to an existing community garden near the Julie Noble at a community garden in Kingston. Kingston YMCA. Not only did members donate the harvest to residents without the means to afford healthy, fresh produce, they also invited campers from a City of Kingston summer camp program to help out and learn about the growing process. CSEA members have also supported backpack food programs in many communities across the state. With many children relying on school breakfasts and lunches as a main source of nutrition, schools and non-profits are providing backpacks filled with kid-friendly non-perishable food items to keep them fed over the weekend when school is not in session. This summer, the Clinton County Local sponsored a fund-raising dunk tank to support a program feeding North Country children. Growth in living wage jobs is key to solving New York’s hunger problem, but it’s clear that CSEA members are doing their part on and off the job to keep children fed. — Jessica Ladlee November 2015 The Work Force 5
The Work Force - November 2015
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