Click here to watch the panel 

You’re invited to a Community Development Week forum on food security, equity, and the role of federal grants at the local level.

Experts estimate that in the United States, 80 billion pounds of edible food end up in landfills every year. At the same time, 37 million Americans (and over 4,300 Arlington residents) face food insecurity, a socio-economic condition in which households have limited or uncertain access to a nutritious diet. Also an issue of racial justice, food insecurity disproportionately affects Black, Latino, and Native American individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing surge in unemployment exacerbated these phenomena and created new need amongst many middle-income individuals, who previously were less reliant upon a social safety net.

Long before “pandemic” entered our everyday lexicon, however, community organizations in Arlington were seeking to address these problems and their offshoots.  Join us for a Community Development Week forum on food security, equity, and the value of grants in leveraging nonprofit dollars. This panel will feature Andi Doane, Executive Director at Arlington EATS, Elise Springuel, Director of Operations and Community Partnerships at Food Link, and Jenny Raitt, Director of the Arlington Department of Planning and Community Development. The public is invited to attend to learn about the expansive network of organizations, volunteers, businesses, and government that enable progress toward food security in Arlington.

All are welcome! Register here: https://town-arlington-ma-us.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6JlR1ULRRcC6-RJR2s0FlQ

Have a question for the panel? Please submit it here: https://forms.gle/n1pfqnEvWqhMtP619

All other questions may be directed to Mallory Sullivan, Community Development Block Grant Administrator, at 781-316-3094 or mjsullivan@town.arlington.ma.us. More information can be found at arlingtonma.gov/cdbg.