Volunteers package 1,700 pounds of carrots to later be distributed. Photo by Cassidy Hopkins
OAKLAND, Calif. — Every day, dozens of volunteers and staff at the Alameda County Community Food Bank sort and package fruits and vegetables like carrots and pears in order to feed the hungry. These and other types of food are then taken to 240 agencies across the county. The food bank, which has been in service for 29 years, compensates for the lack of help from federal agencies, said Tiffany Kang, the communications coordinator. “We treat all clients equally — no questions asked,” she said.
More than half of the primary clients of the food bank are children, and the food bank can be categorized as a seasonal-dependent operation with high demand during holidays and summertime. Children who get free meals from school do not have access to as much food in the summertime, so the food bank goes to places like public libraries with a mobile pantry to deliver food.
The common sight of food barrels that are seen in schools, offices and malls only account for 5 percentage of the total food collected at the banks. Money from donors leads to the most food purchased and distributed. Through “grocery rescue programs,” Kang said, the food bank receives all the odd-looking produce that such corporations as Safeway and Lucky’s do not want to sell, but the food itself is still high quality and nutritious.
With every $1 donated, $4 worth of food can be bought and distributed in the county, Kang said.
“[We] always try to go with the ideology that if you’re in line, you’re hungry.”
Volunteers bag carrots on a recent weekday at the main warehouse. Photo by Cassidy Hopkins
OAKLAND, Calif. — The Alameda County Community Food Bank is a nonprofit organization dedicated to feeding those who are hungry. The 80 staffers and thousands of volunteers send food to more than 240 different agencies that distribute it to those in need. Soup kitchens, Salvation Army centers, schools and churches are just a few examples of the places the hungry go for a free meal or groceries. However, it’s not just about feeding the hungry. According to Communications Coordinator Tiffany Kang, the food bank’s mission also includes nutritional education. Kang said many people with tight budgets can’t afford the most nutritional food. Food with little to no nutritional value, like candy or cookies, are often cheaper than apples or oranges, she said. The food bank knows how important nutrition is. Especially for their primary clients, children. Even though students will often receive a free or reduced breakfasts and lunches during the school year, but when school is out, such as during holidays or the summer, kids can go hungry. The food bank fills that gap by collecting donations that go to purchasing wholesome food. Every $1 they receive of donations equals $4 of food they can distribute. The donated food is bagged by staff and volunteers from across Alameda County. Once bagged, it is trucked out to one of the agencies or shelved in their shopping center for representatives from smaller agencies to pick up. In one morning, the food bank is capable of sorting and packaging more than 9,000 pounds of food. That is the equivalent of 8,251 meals for those in need. She said working at the food bank, which she joined in June, is motivating. “My own family grew up on food stamps, so this is an area that’s very close to my heart,” she said. “And I’m fortunate enough to be able to buy what I need now.”
Joy Sui says she loves making others happy with her art and believes that art has the power to unite people. Photo by Krystal Patrice Rhaburn
BERKELEY, Calif. — “There’s a lot of art out there that’s too expensive and cannot cater to everyone, so I want to provide art that everyone can enjoy,” said Joy Sui. This is her driving motivation for what she does, as well as her main reason for joining the Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market.
Sui is a 24-year-old Berkeley resident who has been an artist since she was young and has always enjoyed drawing both for herself and for others.
Recently, Sui attended a wedding for a friend who requested on-site portraits for her guests. “Everyone loved them,” said Sui. “So I decided I wanted to keep doing that — drawing pictures for other people.”
She started her company, Ink and Joy, specializing in custom calligraphy, illustration and portraits, in June. Sui publicizes her work on social media, including Instagram, and Facebook, and on her business website.
On her website, Sui writes, “I am passionate about both beautiful letterforms and animal forms, which extends into my love for calligraphy and animal illustrations. I am fond of the beauty of simplicity, vibrancy of colors and the power of singularity. I believe that art can change us, remedy us, and provide us a space for peace.”
Sui didn’t always plan to have art as her career. In college, she studied political science and anthropology, and joined a law firm soon after graduation. “I was in a law firm right out of college, but it wasn’t for me, so I decided to go with art instead,” she said.
The simplicity of art is one of her hallmarks. “My favorite piece is a simple watercolor bulldog I painted years ago. It’s so simple, and that’s what I love about it,” she said.
Sui’s watercolor bulldog illustration is her most prized piece, and the simplicity of it is her favorite part. Photo courtesy of Joy Sui of Ink and Joy
At the weekly market, vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetables, and shoppers can see street performers play instruments and colorful clowns create balloon animals. Sui set up a table on Aug. 3 for the first time, where she offered to draw miniature portraits for free. The simplified line drawings resembled a cartoon version of the person.
One of the people she drew was Berkeley resident Divya Patel. Patel is an engineering student at UCB who attends the farmers’ market every week. “I usually come to buy vegetable produce for meals, and enjoy watching the performers as I shop,” Patel said.
She, like the many other people that made up the line in front of Sui’s booth, were excited to have a souvenir of themselves to take home.
Sui draws the portraits with pencil first, and then goes over the line drawing with a pen. She adds finishing touches that makes each portrait unique. Photo by Krystal Patrice Rhaburn
Shirley Trimble laughs with a customer as she displays a wide variety — from brownies to frittatas to granola — at her stand at the Downtown Berkeley Farmers’ Market. Photo by Hanna Duenkel
BERKELEY, Calif.— A decorated chalkboard displays the baked goodies at the Moonlite Bakery booth at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market. Fresh baked cookies, cakes, brownies, frittatas, granola and even home-brewed iced tea sit behind a glass panel, waiting to be bought. Almost every item caters to a person’s dietary needs, such as the gluten-free polenta torta. Every treat is organic and attracts the customer’s eye with bright colors, like the vegetable frittata and the sour cream and blueberry coffee cake, or interesting names, such as the coffee-rum pirate cake and the organic hibiscus peppermint iced tea.
Shirley Trimble runs the bakery and sells her pastries to local cafes in the Berkeley area. “I’ve worked as a baker for 30 years. I started selling pastries to cafes around eight years ago,” said Trimble. Her pastries change depending on her whims and the season, and she’s at her booth year-round at the market.
“My most-sold item is a vegetable frittata,” said Trimble after she served several customers pastries from her booth. Trimble said she gets lots of customers because “some people like to have something to munch on when they’re walking.”
Moonlite Bakery’s pastries sit behind a glass panel during the farmers’ market. Photo by Hanna Duenkel
Trimble also sells hot chocolate occasionally.
“I’ve always been into baking as a little girl,” she said, taking a sip of her iced tea. “When I was a teenager, I went into a bakery and tasted a vanilla eclair and that’s when I knew that I wanted to bake.” Trimble has baked ever since and takes pride in her creations.
“Today, my specialty item is a Mexican Chocolate Pop Tart,” she said.
Tiffany Kang, the communications coordinator for the Alameda County Community Food Bank, sometimes goes on site to meet the hungry standing in line. Photo by Cassidy Hopkins
OAKLAND, Calif. — This city is known for the Oakland A’s and its close proximity to San Francisco. However, the city is also known for its high poverty rate and the number of families who go to bed hungry each night. This is where the Alameda County Community Food Bank finds its mission.
Since 2005, the food bank has been feeding the hungry and food insecure through its 240-member agency. Volunteers flood the food warehouse everyday, eager to help package fresh meals to the needy. About 13,000 volunteers donate their time each year.
Tiffany Kang, communications coordinator for the food bank, handles the social media connections, answers the help line and packages fun and informative material to help her clients. Kang interacts with the clients and makes the time to learn the regulars, which is crucial.
“What’s important,” Kang said, “is understanding what kinds of needs they have.”
These can range from being short one meal to having no meals at all. The age range is also wide, although Kang said, “Over 50 percent of our clients are children.”
According to Oakland’s city data, the child poverty rate is 25.5 percent. Of these children, 55.4 percent are being raised by a single-mother household in which they have no way of purchasing enough food to feed themselves.
The food bank became aware of this and started forming relations with the local elementary and middle schools. These pairings provide children with food each day over the summer, too, for those normally dependent on the school’s free lunches.
Some children live in “food deserts,” in which they have access to convenience stores and gas stations but are miles away from a grocery store that sells fresh food. Fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than a bag of chips and a soda, which is a factor in the purchasing process.
“We talk to a lot of parents and kids who buy simply what is the cheapest,” Kang said.
Kang also said there is a direct tie between poverty and obesity. She hopes to diminish the rising obesity problem by distributing fresh food at a low cost. The food bank was also one of the first to stop distributing carbonated beverages.
“We’re getting our food directly through grocery rescue companies,” Kang said. Much of the produce is still good even if it’s misshapen or appears imperfect. But it has to be edible. “If an employee wouldn’t eat it, no one will eat it.”
The food bank doesn’t only distribute healthy food. It also specializes in nutritional education so citizens can learn how to purchase fresh goods without hurting their wallets. “A big part of the community here is nutritional education,” said Kang.
Along with nutritional education, the food bank is consciously aware of the different ethnic foods that they feel a need to provide for their diverse clients. They study where the different nationalities live and then distribute the food accordingly.
“There are ethnic enclaves where certain people dwell,” Kang said. For example, the food bank will donate ethnic foods like tofu to people who know how to cook and prepare it, she said.
Research is done at the food bank, but they make a point never to ask the clients or families anything personal about their situation. This provides the clients with a sense of identity security, which is a necessity when you are food insecure.
“The most we ask for is how big your household is and how many kids you have,” Kang said. “We are here to ask no questions and provide food.”
The no-questions-asked policy can seem risky. However, the food bank trusts that their clients are indeed in need of food.
“We treat all of our clients equally, no questions asked,” Kang said. “If you’re in line, you’re hungry.”
Recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Kang decided to chase the risky nonprofit organization path over the safe corporate life because of the difference she said she can make.
“My own family grew up on food stamps, so this is an area that’s very close to my heart,” Kang said, “and I’m fortunate enough to be able to buy what I need now.”
BERKELEY, Calif. — At the corner of Center and Milvia streets each Saturday morning is the inviting aroma of fresh fruit, multicultural cuisine and friendly chatter. The Berkeley Farmers’ Market, consistent with the city’s diversity and individualism, is the perfect settling ground for vendors, shoppers, street artists, city officials and street people looking for help. Farmers, families, shoppers, bakers and more share space from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. What brings people here?
Dozo the clown at the Farmers’ Market, Photo by Anna Levy
Dozo the Clown is a balloon street artist who has been coming to the market for three years. She was a “cultural refugee” from New Jersey who came to San Francisco to find her place, she said. She studied at New College in San Fransisco, with a thesis on clowns and their impact on society through American History. When she discovered she could find a job entertaining children, after teaching herself to work with balloons, she knew she had found her passion. “Everyone is so relaxed and happy to be here”, she says. Her once a week trip to the market pays $60 on average, as she works only for tips (and also accepts jokes). As not only a clown but also a poet, California was the place to be for her. “There is so much culture and acceptance in San Francisco,” she said.
Evalyn Carbrey, the City of Berkeley Health, Housing and Community Services program director, comes to the Farmers’ Market several times during the summers. Thanks to her close relationship with the Farmers’ Market, she is able to provide checks and food stamps to help underprivileged people eat healthier foods, such as the fresh fruits and vegetables sold at the market, she said. The campaign also encourages drinking more water and cutting out other drinks, such as sugary juices or soda. Her program, the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, works to serve pregnant women, new moms and children under five. This project is only possible with the aid of the Ecology Center, which matches government funding.
Lucky and Sativa the cat at the Farmers’ Market Photo by Anna Levy
Sitting on the grass are Lucky and Shadow, a young couple selling homemade jewelry, notebooks and Tarot readings. They discovered the market by attending an event three weeks earlier and decided to come back each Saturday morning since. In order to have a station at the market, vendors must apply. However, Lucky and Shadow have yet to be confronted about their nearby location. “I’m not sure if we’re allowed to be here, but we’ll stay until somebody tells us to go away,” she said. Lucky is a disabled student, battling lupus while juggling both school and medical fees. While interviewing the couple, a vendor presented Lucky with a free peach. Lucky’s face brightened, and she told us, “We work at the farmer’s market, but we can’t afford to eat here. It’s nice to get fresh food once in a while.”
Inside the Build Pizzeria, modern colors and lighting enhance the “make your own” counter area
After a week of dealing with the aftermath of a small kitchen fire, and no injuries, BUILD reopened on Aug. 1 at its modern restaurant at the corner of Shattuck and Bancroft streets. The week-long repair and recertification to open also meant new kitchen appliances.
Sous Chef Jonathan Popenuck and General Manager Jonaten Martinez talked about the growing pizza, restaurant and bar establishment in a recent interview, both touting the design work of owners Lisa Holt and David Shapiro.
The restaurant offers a variety of fresh vegetables and meats, including pepperoni and fire-roasted sausages; other meats are brought over from Italy, including the sopressata piccate.
Vegetables and fresh produce come from Northern California. “Cost is a last factor,” Sous Chef Popenuck said. Popenuck said he wants to continue to add to the seasonal and ever-more creative dishes.
The restaurant also wants more student customers. To that end, they have offered Cal Nights during the school year, allowing students to try pizza at a reduced rate. They also host fundraising for Cal.
Popenuck, a graduate of UC-Berkeley, majored in English and minored in physics, then worked his way up in the kitchen. Now he helps manage and oversee the nine line chefs. He also administers changes in the daily menu.
WASHINGTON- Citizens and visitors in Tenleytown expressed mixed views on crime as theft increased by a small amount in the past year, according to interviews and Metropolitan Police figures.
Theft crimes from July 2013 to July 2014 increased to 119 from 107 during the previous year in an area 1500 feet from Tenleytown’s center, according to Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department figures.
On Monday, people stepped around shattered glass outside the Best Buy store on the corner of Wisconsin Avenue. Police line tape was put up on the sidewalk outside the store. A police officer near the scene would not comment on the incident.
A shattered window at the Best Buy on Wisconsin Avenue on Monday, July 7.
Trey Polston, a 25-year-old baseball coach at Woodrow Wilson High School, hasn’t experienced crime since he moved to the area in August 2013 and said he doesn’t know any one who has. But, Polston did say he feels slightly uneasy when encountering a homeless person.
“Usually on the bench, there’s usually a guy, or two, but they don’t really mess with us too much or anything, you know? They’re just trying to live themselves,” Polston said.
In contrast, a Tenleytown native sees another group as a threat to safety: high school students. Although police statistics didn’t reveal the specific ages of crime perpetrators Carlyn Hackney said teenagers in the area can be a “potential threat.”
“Just ’cause they’re rowdy, you know, and they’re always up here in the masses,” said Hackney, a 24-year-old nanny who grew up in the area.
Amanda Corvelli, a long-time employee at American Valet, had a similar perspective to Hackney.
Corvelli has witnessed Woodrow Wilson students fighting after school and seen people stealing from the Wisconsin Avenue CVS store.
Despite those incidents, she said Tenleytown is still a safe area, especially compared to other metropolitan neighborhoods.
“I mean there’s crime, but there’s crime everywhere,” Corvelli said.
The Fort Reno Park concert stage readies for performers on Monday, July 7 after controversy nearly stopped the annual event. Photo by Brenda Vega.
The decades-old Fort Reno concert series kicked off Monday after security costs threatened to cancel the annual community event this year.
The event, which has been held annually since 1968 and takes place at Fort Reno Park in Tenleytown, was abruptly cancelled June 26, generating backlash from community members and a plea to reopen from D.C.’s Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.
But, concert organizers and the National Park Service reached a compromise that has the concert back on this week to the satisfaction of locals like Owen Kibenge who thinks it’s a great community event.
“I think that it adds color to our community,” said Kibenge, 39. “I like hearing the bands play.”
Kibenge believes that community events, such as the concert series, are important to create close ties among the people in the Tenleytown area, which is in Northwest Washington, D.C. Kibenge also stressed the need for these social occasions which serve as important family events, while at the same time serving the needs of the community.
“One hundred percent, we need those community events,” Kibenge said. “They attract a diverse crowd of people.”
And Kibenge feels the diversity that community events attract is beneficial to Tenleytown. Others agree.
A change.org petition filed to allow the concert to continue reached 1,500 signatures within two days of the cancellation. And a Twitter campaign using #savefortreno garnered other passionate responses. One Twitter user wrote: “So glad that so many people worked so hard to #savefortreno. It is by far my favorite DC institution.”
But other Tenleytown residents were unaware of the event and the controversy surrounding its cancellation.
Menelik Walker, 22, an employee at Whole Foods in Tenleytown, hadn’t heard about the community concert series.
“I find it odd,” Walker said, about the apparent lack of advertising for the concerts. An email sent Monday to the concert organizers was not returned.
Walker believed it was strange he hadn’t heard people discussing the events at Fort Reno Park, and felt it was surprising he hadn’t heard anything from social media, or through traditional advertisements like fliers.
Haddy Gale, 22, another employee at Whole Foods, said she missed advertising and information about the concert, too.
“I hadn’t heard about it,” said Gale, who works but doesn’t live in Tenleytown. “People that live here might hear from friends but I don’t know.”
For those who do attend and look forward to the annual event, the Fort Reno concert series has become a part of local tradition and serves as a platform for feeding the creative need of the community.
“Music is the cup of wine that feeds the cup of silence,” Kibenge said. “I want to drink music all the time.”
WASHINGTON–A photograph of SpaghettiOs hangs against the wall.
Paintings of bare women, one smoking a cigarette, line a nearby hallway.
A portrait of a cowboy, made of colors and oils, is framed and hung.
These are just some of the many works on display this summer in sixth temporary exhibits at the Katzen Arts Center on the campus of American University in Washington D.C. The works are all on loan and contribute to the museum’s international, local and political messages, according to Lucy Crowley, an administrative and marketing assistant at the museum.
“You can take pictures and even small videos,” Crowley said.
A picture of SpeghettiOs stands out in the local art exhibit at the Katzen Arts Center. Photo by Will Amari.
The local art exhibition is a donation from the Franz and Virginia Bader Fund, a 13-year-old organization that gives grants to artists within 150 miles of Washington, D.C.
In order to be eligible to receive a grant, an artist must be at least 40 years and must write an essay on why it would advance their lives as an artist, according to the Bader Fund website. Donations are given out every year, with minimum grants awarded of $15,000.
The exhibit opened on June 14 and closes Aug. 17. Artists include Aaron Brown, Hadieh Shafie and Rik Freeman, all of whom are long-time painters still trying to master their craft.
“My favorite piece is this one,” said Maia Plesent, a 20-year-old who works at the museum. She pointed at one of the works done by Emily Piccirillo. It is a photograph of what looks like the branches of trees.
“All of it so strange and interesting,” Piccirillo said.
Genevieve Stegner-Freitag, 20, is a gallery attendant at the Katzen Arts Center and she feels that it is a great idea to promote artists in the local metropolitan area.
“It is a way of expressing your individual personality, who you are,” Stegner-Freitag said. “It’s fun.”
To find out more about the Franz and Virginia Bader Fund, visit the website.
Summer museum hours are 11 a.m to 4 p.m. Located at 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20016
