Meet the Workers Who Pick A Third of the Tomatoes in US Supermarkets

The Perennial Plate, a web series about sustainable food, interviews Lupe Gonzalo, a tomato picker and organizer in Immokalee, Florida. Paid per bucket of tomatoes and living nine to a trailer, workers like Gonzalo struggle to make ends meet. An immigrant from Guatemala, Gonzalo talks about why she came to the U.S. and became an organizer for the Coalition for Immokalee Workers.   Daniel Klein, the co-creator and host of the series, wants to spread awareness about the harsh conditions and labor practices behind the produce we often take for granted. "Most likely," he writes, "there is a wonderful person just like her picking the tomatoes you buy at the grocery store.


   

Kalamazoo leaders pursue alternatives to end violence

Leaders, experts and local churches are rallying together to stop the recent rise of violence in Kalamazoo.

On Saturday, a national expert on reducing crime took center stage in Kalamazoo. His message was instead of arresting gang members and drug dealers, put them in a room with their mothers and police officers to talk one-on-one.

David Kennedy's program has been implemented in 70 cities in the United States and it's dramatically reduced youth violence.

Kennedy hopes to use his program in Kalamazoo too.

He spoke Saturday night at the Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy and Action in the Community in the Bernhard Center on Western Michigan University's campus.

www.wwmt.com/shared/newsroom/top-stories/stories/wwmt_vid_494.shtml

Preparing infants for school: Volunteers from schools, libraries, hospitals team up to promote reading in low-income homes

On a chilly morning, some 20 low-income parents convened on the city's Southwest Side to hear a presentation on how reading to their children enhances brain development and school readiness.

Hardly unusual — except most of the prospective "students" were all younger than 6 months.

"This is wonderful," said Alonya Green, of Chicago, thumbing through the complimentary copy of "Hugs and Kisses," while her baby squirmed on her lap. "I can really see how you have to help your kids learn … even at this age."

Cradle to Classroom, which launched in January 2011, is run by volunteers from school districts, libraries and hospitals in struggling communities and emphasizes the significant role parents play in early literacy. In an era when long-term investment in at-risk youth is difficult to come by, that focus stands out.

"No matter your means, you can help your child develop healthy academic habits," said Bob McParland, a spokesman for Community High School District 218, which includes Shepard High School in Palos Heights, Richards High School in Oak Lawn and Eisenhower High School in Blue Island.

"Children take our lead in everything, whether it's our religion … or what baseball team we follow," he said. "When you start early, they can't help but learn from our example."

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-x-cradle-to-classroom-0314-20120321,0,6162577.story

I'm On Food Stamps: Don't Hate Me For It

I am on food stamps. This will surprise almost everyone who knows me. I have hidden it from friends, from family, from classmates. 

I use self-checkout at the grocery store so I don’t have to face judgment from the cashiers. I read countless posts on Facebook and receive political emails telling me that being on food stamps makes me a degenerate, someone who is dependant and useless. I hear about how I should be kicked off of food stamps so I won’t be so lazy and will get a job. 

At the time the economy crashed, I was studying to be a chiropractor. My (now ex-) husband was laid off from his good job. It took him over a year and a half to find a new job. During that time we lost our house and had to declare bankruptcy. Our marriage fell apart.

Living on $60 a week.

www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/11336524-452/im-on-food-stamps-dont-hate-me-for-it.html

CBS News: Photographer Puts America's Poverty in Focus

Mentoring Young Readers (In Battle Creek)

Amanda White said her son, Adrian, who turns 6 years old next Wednesday, could read just a handful of words at the start of this school year. Now, the Verona Elementary kindergartener has more than quadrupled his repertoire.

Several of Adrian’s fellow Verona kindergarteners are showing similar improvements thanks partly to a new program that brought a flock of community volunteers to Verona to make stronger readers out of its kindergarteners.


“I think it’s great,” Amanda White, 33, said. “Any time you can get people into the school to help out, it’s great. I’ve seen a tremendous improvement” in Adrian’s reading.


Kim Lehman, the Calhoun Intermediate School District literacy coordinator managing the Verona project, said every kindergartener at the school is currently matched with at least one of 45 volunteer mentors.

The volunteers come from many walks of life. Some are college students and others are local professionals from companies such as the Enquirer and Kellogg Co. Some are retired educators or educators’ spouses. Some are Verona alumni.

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20120319/NEWS01/303190042/Mentoring-young-readers

"We Don't Do Banks" - Financial Lives of Families on Public Assistance

When asked whether he or anyone in his household has a bank account, Billy, a 24-year-old out-of-work father of two young daughters quickly retorted, “We don’t do banks.” A recent survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reveals that Billy is not alone—more than 9 million American households are unbanked, meaning they have no checking or savings account. For more than a decade, policy researchers and advocates have sought to increase the use of bank accounts by low-income and minority households, both by increasing demand through education and outreach and by encouraging banks to better tailor their products to the needs of low-income consumers.

Motivating this line of policy advocacy is the assumption that low-income families would be financially better off “banked.” And there is good reason to believe this is the case: Unbanked consumers spend hundreds of dollars a year conducting routine financial transactions. However, this near singular focus on the banking status of households and its relation to poverty has prevented a richer appreciation of how low-income families manage their money.

 assets.newamerica.net/publications/policy/we_dont_do_banks

State to take over 15 Detroit Public schools

Year-around public schools are coming to Detroit.

Officials with Michigan's new recovery school district announced Tuesday that 15 Detroit Public Schools will be taken over by the state and become laboratories this fall for a new system for low-performing schools.
Six DPS high schools and nine elementary-middle schools will come under the Education Achievement Authority, which Gov. Rick Snyder created to revive the state's failing schools.

An extended-year calendar was approved for the EAA schools, increasing the number of days students are in school from 170 days or 1,098 instructional hours in the current schedule, to 210 days starting this fall. Student will have a quarterly calendar that starts Sept. 4, ends Aug. 6, has 52 to 54 days each quarter and shorter breaks around major holidays.

"I don't know if people understand the magnitude of what just happened," EAA Chancellor John Covington said after a EAA board meeting Tuesday. "This 210 days for students, it puts us at the highest in the nation, only second to Massachusetts." ...

About 12,000 students attend these schools, which were selected because they had the largest percentage of at-risk children, officials said.

www.detroitnews.com/article/20120314/SCHOOLS/203140338/State-take-over-15-Detroit-Public-schools

Companies Paying for Homeless "Hotspots"

A company in the US state of Texas is giving homeless people mobile modems to help patrons of the South by Southwest music and film festival to connect online.

The firm behind the idea says it is an opportunity for the homeless to earn money and meet people.
But critics argue that it is degrading and takes advantage of people when they are down on their luck.

John Terrett reports with 2 minute video from Washington:

www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/03/2012313223927421528.html

Meet the Filmmakers of Finding North, a Documentary about Hunger in America

A new documentary about hunger in America called “Finding North" was screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT, and received excellent reviews from The Los Angeles Times and Variety Magazine. The film shows several families in the United States struggling with food insecurity, demonstrating the extensive reach of hunger in America. I had a chance to interview the film's two directors, Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush, and asked them about their inspiration and what they learned about the complexities of hunger. Read their responses below, and watch the film trailer for a sneak peak at this exciting new documentary. 

(From Bread for the World Blog at:

blog.bread.org/2012/03/meet-the-filmmakers-of-finding-north-a-documentary-about-hunger-in-america.html

Or view the trailer below: