Posts Tagged 'food access'

[Adapted from a Senate Democrats press release.]

Senate Democratic Leader Gretchen Whitmer (23-East Lansing) volunteered on August 3 at the Greater Lansing Food Bank to promote community service, and she is encouraging other Legislative Caucuses to follow suit. She, along with her children and staff, distributed packaged food to those in need.

“As the Senate Democratic Leader, I want to teach my kids and encourage my co-workers to give back to their local community,” said Whitmer. “Being responsible community members, civic engagement and commitment to help the less fortunate are great lessons to learn at any age.”

As a caucus, staff members were encouraged to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, the Greater Lansing Mobile Food Pantry or the Garden Project. In total, more than 20 employees logged over 90 hours of service projects. Various tasks ranged from community gardening, building a wheelchair ramp and distributing food to those in need.

[This story is adapted from Avalon Housing, Inc.'s press release. To read the full story, click here.]

Sen. Rebekah Warren (18-Ann Arbor) and Rep. Jeff Irwin (53-Ann Arbor) and their staffs spent four hours building an outdoor grill for Avalon Housing, Inc. at  Carrot Way Apartments, a 30-unit supportive housing community built in 2005. Carrot Way Apartments was the first new construction of supportive housing for families in Washtenaw County.

“You only need to spend a few minutes at one of Avalon’s properties to see that they are truly building vibrant neighborhoods that residents are proud to call home,” said Senator Rebekah Warren (D – Ann Arbor). “The long-term benefits of supportive housing reach far beyond their walls, however, adding to the fabric of our community and providing an affordable and stable housing option for people throughout the county. I was thrilled to bring my team out to work with them on this LBC volunteer project today and encourage my colleagues to look for opportunities in their districts as well.”

Carole McCabe, executive director of Avalon Housing, was thrilled to have legislators working on the project. “We appreciate the support of our state legislators.  This gave them an opportunity to meet Avalon tenants and be involved in our community. We need the community to understand that supportive housing is the key to ending homelessness.”

Rep. Irwin also supports Avalon’s Mission. “Avalon is an incredible resource for our community.  I am proud to help chip in whenever I can to help provide supportive housing in Ann Arbor.”

Avalon Housing, Inc. is a community based organization created in 1992 to develop, own and manage permanent supportive housing that is affordable to Washtenaw County’s lowest income residents, including people who have experienced homelessness and people with mental and physical disabilities.

[This story comes from Erin Evans, Communications Manager at Wayne Metro Community Action Agency.]

State Representatives Doug Geiss (22^nd District) and Dian Slavens (21^st District) were on hand to help Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency distribute over 30,000 plants for the agency’s Community Garden Program on Monday, May 23, 2011.

This season, Wayne Metro is coordinating 61 community gardens throughout the Out-Wayne County area. During the annual Plant Distribution at Heritage Park in Taylor, staff and volunteers distributed over 700 flats in addition to packages of seeds, garden equipment and garden signs. “The Community Garden Program continues to increase in popularity each year” said Louis Piszker, Wayne Metro CEO. “We’re proud to support 61 gardens this year, as these gardens have a significant impact on the communities and neighborhoods in which they are located.”

Representative Geiss and Slavens volunteered to help at the event as part of the Legislators Building Communities event. The Legislators Building Communities is a summer-long opportunity for legislators to learn more about housing and community development activities through volunteering. The events are led by the Living in Michigan Coalition and a network of statewide and regional housing & community development advocates that is co-chaired by CEDAM and Habitat for Humanity.

Last year, the program’s 50 gardens yielded over 40,725 lbs of fresh produce given to low-income families or food pantries. Wayne Metro supports each of the Community Gardens with plants and seeds and the assistance of Master Gardeners. Community Gardens are required to give all fresh produce that the garden yields to low-income people or local food pantries.

The Community Garden Program was designed to help low-income families and local food pantries increase access to fresh produce and healthy food. For more information on the program, please contact Shirley Moore at (734) 729-7706.