current projects at Cooperative Extension

One of the things I've been working on at CCE is a listing of "Free Meals." Each of the eleven farmers' markets that Cornell Cooperative Extension FMNP (Farmers' Market Nutrition Program) team goes to is in a low income area. There are many soup kitchens and food pantries that exist in these communities, but the residents may be unaware of them. My role has been to locate food pantries and soup kitchens near to where the markets are (walking distance) by using a very interesting mapping system on Google maps. The Coalition Against Hunger's website has a link to a flagged map of these locations. I also called all of these places to make sure I have the most current information, as well as times they are open.
Another component of this project is information from the Free Summer Meals for Kids Program. Every summer the New York State Department of Education puts out a list in June detailing the locations that kids can receive free meals throughout the summer. Most of these are at schools or community centers. Also by using Google maps, I was able to find out which locations are close to the market sites. I then created lists that will be posted at each market that describe where free food is available. This is a concept that my supervisor came up with last year. This year there will be a sign on the table at each market. It is our hope that people who are hungry will be more connected to accessing food.
As I was working on this project I met a number of challenges. The first was technical. I am not an apt computer user and navigating my way through online research took time. Next, I had to swallow some of my shyness when calling so many people about the listing of pantries. Recognizing that people who do service work often are very pressed for time, I felt disconcerted at the prospect of interrupting so many people. I had to keep reminding myself that what I was researching is really what they work for--for people to have better knowledge about the help that is available. And lastly a thought that kept coming to my mind was the very nature of telling people where food is available. Shouldn't it be available everywhere! Shouldn't people have the basic right not to have to go hungry? Is that type of research condescending? Should not I have spent my time battling politicians or fighting for more socialist practices--where people could have the means to have more equitable distribution of resources. But I had to start somewhere. Even if I do question the monetary spending of the politicians or insist that every person receive a living wage--these processes will take time. Right now, what I can do is to possibly let one person know that he can go down to the local church food pantry and get some food if he so desires.