Students of Morgan State University continued their journey to research more on food deserts.
During the first week of October, the School of Global Journalism and Communication (SGJC) students, traveled to West Virginia University to conduct further research on food justice. At the time, students were able to experience food deserts in West Virginia by working in different teams.
On October 7, students started their day bright and early by visiting Mountaineer Food Bank in Gassaway, W.Va. Once everyone arrived, a brief history of the food bank was given by the Development Coordinator, Allyson Peters Lewis.
Lewis spoke at the food bank stating that it is a member of Feeding America, which is a network that provides meals to food pantries to protect and deliver to people each year throughout the United States. This program also stands against those to help fight against hunger. When it is time for different agencies to order, it is most likely done online. Most of their orders are spread out on a 12-month calendar.
A tour was then given by Lewis to take and give students a behind the scene tour of the food bank to see how it all works. During the tour, students learned that some of the pantries partnerships comes from Target, Kroger and Kellogg’s. Also a lot of Mountaineer’s partners are churches. But they are well aware of who to partner with.
When food is delivered, an employee is in place to help sort food items. Sometimes food is not always good to be kept, “Sometimes if food is bad, it is donated to a hog farm, if good it will be saved to the community,” said Lewis. If someone is interested in receiving food from the pantry, their motto is “to come and they be fed,” rather than registering through a hotline.
On the last day in West Virginia, students came together and discussed what they learned on the trip so far. Then it was time to break and do more reporting on food justice. One group went to Mountain People’s Co-op grocery store. This store is best known for their organic items.
Their weekend manager, Lillian Rose was interviewed. To give brief information, the business first started on University Ave. right in the area of WVU. It has been active for 41 years and is a community operated business. Every dollar that they make, is given back to the community.
Their biggest item seller, are eggs. Most of their shoppers are college students and professors. They accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and most shoppers are surprised that they do. They do not accept WIC (Woman Infants and Children) as a way to purchase.
Some of their items include beans, rice, lip balm and even shampoo. The most shoppers they have are averaged at eight hundred. Another employee said that tea and a liquid drink called Kombucha are good products as well. Their teas are purchased throughout the year. It is used as a backup plan before making a doctor’s appointment. If interested in learning more about this business, click https://mountainpeoplescoop.com
