Daytonians deserve better. We cannot have a healthy and vibrant community if nearly one-third of our families with children struggle with food hardship. In study after study, we see the connection between nutrition and chronic disease, brain development and job performance. Without healthy food in their bellies, how we can expect our children to learn in school? Without access to a grocery store, how can we expect patients to eat the food their doctors recommend? Without knowing where their next meal is coming from, how can we expect workers to perform at their jobs?
To make Dayton a strong and resilient community, we need a locally based food system with production, distribution, and retail options that are local, rooted in, and accountable to us. Today, that system simply does not exist.
As founder of the Hall Hunger Initiative and president of the board of Gem City Market — a community-owned grocery planned for West Dayton, run by the Greater Dayton Union Co-Op Initiative — we are calling on every member of the Dayton community to join us in creating a food system that works for everyone. Young and old, Daytonians deserve access to fresh, affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food. We are working to turn that vision into a reality, but we need everyone at the table.
Our partners at The Foodbank, their member agencies, and faith organizations have done a tremendous job with their emergency response to the Food For Less fire and we applaud their ongoing work to feed our most vulnerable community members. However, we also need long-term solutions to provide access for all. What is happening in our community demonstrates that traditional market retail and distribution models are simply not adequate to ensure food security in Dayton. We need creative and innovative solutions that are designed by and for us. That means more local urban farming and gardens, more rescue of wasted food, more pioneering policy solutions generated by those that are most impacted by our food system, and more worker and community-owned assets like the Gem City Market.
We believe in a hunger-free Dayton, where there is good food for all. Join us.
Ambassador Tony Hall is executive director emeritus of the Alliance to End Hunger and founder of the local Hall Hunger Initiative.Amaha Sellassie is a community activist and director of the Center for Applied Social Issues at Sinclair Community College. He is president of the Gem City Market board.
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