Posts By: ashleyearley

Recently, Women and Girls Thriving received a grant from the Brookline Community Foundation to use the garden on their property. The garden has not been cared for the last couple of years so it is very overgrown. Just a couple weeks ago we started a garden group through Women and Girls Thriving to plan and run the garden. The goal of the garden is to grow healthy food, but also to build community and leadership. A portion of the food grown will also go to the Brookline Food Pantry.

A Place at the Table is a documentary that was released in 2012 that details the current reality of hunger in the United States. Did you know that roughly 50 million people in this country do not know where their next meal will come from? By watching this documentary you will get an overview of this issue and will learn about the social, political, and personal aspects of hunger. The film focuses on telling the stories of three families and their struggles with hunger and food insecurity. These messages, along with comments made throughout the film by others, make the documentary very powerful and worth watching. If you do not know much about hunger in the U.S this is an eye-opening video. If you are familiar with the issue of hunger, you will likely still learn something new and become more motivated to help end hunger in the U.S.

This year, as a way to engage more in food justice First Presbyterian Church in Brookline (the church I am serving at) has decided that instead of having the congregation purchase poinsettias that we would collect money for the Brookline Food Pantry. This is a great way to remember loved ones while also helping those who cannot afford food in our community. We are asking for $10 donations to be made in memory of or in honor of a loved one. This money will also purchase of a paper ornament that will be decorated by the children of the church and displayed at the front of the church. These names of loved ones will also be listed in the church bulletin. 

A couple of weeks ago I attended a documentary screening and panel discussion in Brookline, MA where we watched the documentary Just Eat It. This documentary is all about the problem of food waste, particularly in Canada and the United States.