Category: Uncategorized

Virginia Hostetter ’25, 3.9.25

Early this morning, our group met Dr. Reverend Brown to help the Black Church Food Security Network (BCFSN). Wearing a bright green cap that read “Support Black Farmers,” Dr. Brown welcomed us to the garden of New Creation Church. As part of Dr. Brown’s work with the BCFSN, he invited us to un-winterize and prepare this garden for seeding in April – an essential step for many of the 250 congregations in his network. His goal was to motivate us and encourage us to be a voice in this garden. His goal was to motivate us, encourage us to be present in this space, and ensure that our voices and hard work were heard.

Follow along for regular reflections and updates from our Wonderful Food Faith Justice cohort as we jump into a week of intensive Community Partnership in Baltimore with our many wonderful partners including:
The Black Church Food Security Network
Temple X Academy, and Liberty Grace Church
Our Daily Bread
Strength to Love II Community Farm
The Islamic Society of Baltimore
Bread for the World
Baltimore City Food Policy & Planning
and Beth Am Synagogue

Group reflections coming soon!

This past week has been a great one, probably one that I will probably remember for the rest of my life. It was a week that consisted of fun games, raw emotions, and intimate conversations. Visiting Baltimore with a totally new group of people added an unexpected layer to the trip that helped me reground my ideals and beliefs. I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to come back and be one of the TAs for the Food, Faith, and Justice in Baltimore class. I received the opportunity to connect with people from both new and familiar community organizations that are doing wonderful work to combat food insecurity in the city of Baltimore. I also received the opportunity to connect with friends and family, while developing new friendships with my peers. 

Today we traveled to Washington D.C. to speak with Rev. David Street from Bread for The World. The mission of Bread for The World is to end hunger at a national and international level through changing policies. Within the organization they adjust their focus on a yearly basis, alternating between the ending of hunger nationally and internationally. During this year the organization is focusing on one important piece of legislation at the national level known as the farm bill. 

Baltimore City presented a variety of possibilities on how nutritional foods can have a positive impact on the community, we are showered with wisdom and hospitality within the community of Baltimore. Individuals from outside Baltimore are given an opportunity to see a softer side of the city and not, as the story is often told in public, “Dangerous.” We were given the opportunity to feed the unfortunate and be able to make a small impact on the homeless community, expressing their drive to help even though they have so little they still try to help and be somewhat of a hand for others.

During our time serving food, I was given a chance to absorb some knowledge from a wise man who told us that “We are all the same, just because we have different skin color, religion and culture. We still bleed the same, sharing the same color of blood.” He spit out complete facts and once we can see that and learn from that, our world maybe will be a bit better.

Today we drove all the way to Washington D.C. and had a discussion with staff members from Bread for the World. We spoke with them about this organization and how us, college students, have the ability to make a positive impact. One thing that stuck out to me was Stephanie’s conversation. She graduated with a communications degree from college and discussed the importance of social media. This was particularly interesting because individuals generally complain about the negative effects of social media, however, Stephanie highlighted the many benefits social media can bring to organizations. She educated us about the different strategies we can use to promote social media accounts and the significance behind each.

I experienced riding a D.C. metro for the first time. As a Floridian, I rarely have the opportunity to go underground. The moment we entered the underground tunnel, I felt like I was in a completely different country. I was a foreigner- I did not know which card to purchase or how to read the colorful maps. Luckily, a stranger randomly appeared and offered us his swipes. This simple act of kindness definitely made my day! Riding the metro felt like a roller coaster ride at an amusement park. We took two metros and arrived at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City. This mall was massive: it consists of 4 floors and contains 144 stores. It was nice to see a crowd of people again since there are no major shopping malls in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. We ate at a Chinese restaurant called Yong Kang Street. I ordered a Chinese dish, shrimp and beef wonton noodles, that I have not eaten in a while since coming to Bucknell. Our meals were delicious and we bought boba tea afterwards.