Our Food & Nutrition Contributors

Matt Siemer is Volunteer Coordinator at Bread for the City, and is the editor of this blog.

Stacey Long is Advocacy & Community Lawyering Director at Bread for the City. As a long-time member of BFC's staff, Stacey keeps us up to date on all important news from the many different agencies and coalitions operating in DC. She also works directly with the community to empower District residents to become active and effective in government.

Sharon Gruber is Bread for the City's new Nutrition Consultant. Hired to make sure that the food we distribute is the healthiest it possibly can be, Sharon is talking with our staff and the agencies we work with to make sure we are serving our clients nutritional food. We're all unnaturally excited.

Emily Bell is a Marketing and Communications Assistant at Bread for the City. While most of the work she does is in marketing, she will also be discussing the broader national poverty issues on this blog. She sits about 7 feet from my desk, and researches stuff very quickly.

Dr. Randi Abramson is Bread for the City's Medical Clinic Director, and a primary care physician. Dr. Randi has been with BFC for about 20 years now, and happens to know pretty much everything.

Robert Egger is founder and President of DC Central Kitchen, a DC nonprofit that provides food to the homeless and - ingeniously - teaches them how to cook so they can become employed. He is also a prolific writer and speaker.

Adrienne Ammerman handles all of the communications at Bread for the City. She's a pretty good writer, a staunch supporter of community media, and she works with many of our clients, encouraging them to tell their stories.

Margaret O'Connor is the Legal Clinic Coordinator at Bread for the City's Southeast Center. She also serves on our Advocacy Task Force, and our Workplace Satisfaction Committee. As Vytas (her boss) says: "Margaret fits perfectly. She cares about clients; she’s responsible; she’s smart; she’s adaptable. She’s appropriately outraged with society and the government agencies we work with."

Sara Mazala is Legal/Social Services Case Manager at Bread for the City. Sara works directly with clients everyday to assess their needs and make sure that they are getting all of the help they need. She is also one of the happiest, most excitable people I know.

Jody Tick is Harvest for Health Program Director at the Capital Area Food Bank. The Capital Area Food Bank has a two-part mission: (i) to feed those who suffer from hunger in the Washington metropolitan area by acquiring food and distributing it through our network of member agencies, and (ii) to educate, empower and enlighten the community about the issues of hunger and nutrition. Harvest for Health is a direct service program of the CAFB which seeks to facilitate access to affordable, healthy food; educate about the relationship between the food system, our environment, and social justice; and provide skill building opportunities for people to help themselves.

Joni Podschun is the Advocacy Associate at SOME (So Others Might Eat), and works on issues related to seniors, families, and access to healthy food. You can reach her at 202-797-8806 x. 2112 or jpodschun@some.org. For more information on SOME’s advocacy on food issues, please visit their website.

Ona Balkus is Operation Frontline Assistant Coordinator at the Capital Area Food Bank. Outside of her considerable work trying to educate low-income communities about nutrition, she is also an adept blogger and a master at planning a good surprise party.

Nadja Strucker is Harvest for Health Outreach Associate at the Capital Area Food Bank. Harvest for Health seeks to facilitate access to affordable, healthy food; educate about the relationship between the food system, our environment, and social justice; and provide skill building opportunities for people to help themselves.

Laura Rusu is Senior Press Officer at Oxfam America, a non-profit organization working toward a just world without poverty. Working in 26 countries in 7 regions, Oxfam America addresses aid reform, global trade, worker's rights, access to natural resources (and many more), while also providing emergency assistance in disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the cyclone in Myanmar.

Tim Breitbarth works at a government organization dedicated to ensuring economic growth in developing countries.

More to come as submissions come in! If you know something about Food & Nutrition, and want to write for our blog, send me an email!