This week I visited with Just Harvest A center for action against hunger is a non-profit organization working towards justice through both economic and food access equality. They hope to beat challenges of hunger and poverty in the greater Pittsburgh area. They play a strong role in community activism and the mobilization of the anti-hunger movement in PGH through strong policy work, community service and outreach.
My first encounter with the organization was at a demonstration they were staging in front of the PPG building (a large corporation building and distributing glass) that was to bring awareness to how the large corporation is currently advocating to the state government for special interest tax breaks while the state struggles to devise a state budget and cuts are being proposed to human services (i.e schools and hospitals). Just harvest is one of a few local non-profits that works with the state to support programs that provide safe and livable environments for people.
Just harvest does this by providing welfare rights activism, individual consulting around welfare rights, free tax help and education, nutritional support and education and other access benefits. The organization also works very hard to help the welfare department provide food stamps to people living below the margin.
Just Harvest is also playing a leading role in Pittsburgh food policy (as well as other policy initiatives). They helped put in order the first food policy charter for the city in 1991, a charter that todays new, re-established Food Policy Council is working with to revamp and restore. The 1991 charter worked with PGH Port Authority to transport citizen in under served neighborhoods to grocery stores.
They also formed the Farmer's Market Alliance in PGH, a program to help centralize farmer's markets in PGH in order to make them easier to manage and to provide a source where food stamps could be exchanged for fresh food. The food stamp aspect of Farmers Market Alliance was only a 3 yr pilot in which 5 food stamp (EBT) machines were purchased for individual farmers to run and manage. The program had difficulties succeeding because of the difficulties farmers had trying to manage their farm stand as well as the machine. It was also difficult for EBT shoppers to only have 1 out of 30 vendors to choose from when they went to the farmer's market. The program also lacked transparency between the bank, the state department, and the farmers (owners of the machines) making it difficult for technical assistance and program evaluation and improvement.
PASA eventually absorbed the Farmers Market Alliance with hopes to re-build it and make it stronger. But do to lack of time and staff needed in the western offices the program plan for a new Farmer's Market Management system in PGH has sat idle. Corinne Ogrodnik a local foodie, farmer and grad student at CMU that will be working with a few other students on a project that analyzes EBT access at the Farmer's Markets in PGH and how a more strategic program can be implemented to help make fresh local food more accessible to people living with low incomes. Helping conduct preliminary research on existing models of market management systems and food access policies along with conversations with farmer's and vendors in the PGH area will help provide a solid framework to give the Farmer's Market Alliance a second chance.
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