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One Child at a Time H.OPE. on mission to help end hunger in Winston-Salem BY CHANEL DAVIS THE CHRONICLE Ben and Marty Tennille are on a mission to feed every child in the city who is hungry. Ben, a retired judge and his wife, a retired pediatrician, created H.O.PE. (Helping Our People Eat) of Winston-Salem after feeling like they needed to do more than simply partic ipate in their church's Backpack childhood feeding program. After some research, they pin pointed the city's food deserts - places where fresh fruits and vegeta bles are not easily accessible or affordable. They decided the best way to deliver fresh food to those places was with a mobile food truck. They purchased one and began doing just that. On their first run in 2013, they delivered 100 meals. The agency gets its food from the Second Harvest Food Bank and busi ness partners like Vernon's Fresh Produce, PET Diary and US Foods. Lunches are bagged and packed on Saturdays. On Sundays, the couple power up the brightly-colored truck to deliver meals, making stops at 16 sites, mostly low-income housing complexes. Most weeks, nearly 800 children .receive meals. H.O.P.E. feeds anyone 18 or younger. Meals include a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread, a piece of fresh fruit or yogurt, cake brownies made horn black beans, and milk or bottled water. They are required to eat the meals at the churches oand rec centers where H.O.P.E. distributes them. "We have children here that we know are hungry. Statistics here in Forsyth County says that 40,000 chil dren are hungry. I know that from my years of being a pediatrician in town. 1 took care of the children that are in these communities," Marty Tennille said. The agency gives adults bags of fresh produce and nutrition informa tion. "We have so many young moms that are not familiar with fresh vegeta bles and how to fix them," Marty said. "We are making a difference in the Marty TennilU eating habits for the families by giv ing out these bags." Anne Griffin, a board member and H.O.P.E. volunteer, said the term food desert is apt. In the areas the agency serves, many are not even familiar with some kinds of fresh produce. "One of the mom's picked up a zucchini and said, 'What is it?' We are educating them on different foods," she said. "One little boy had never seen blueberries before. Now that he has found them, he eats them by the handfuls." Griffin said it helps that many of H.O.P.E.'s volunteers are college stu dents from Wake Forest University, Salem College and Winston-Salem State University. The students talk to and play games with the kids before and after they eat their bag lunches. "They just have a great time," said Griffin. Tennille said the nutrient-packed Sunday meals propel the kids when they hit the classroom Monday morn ing. "If they don't get food it's impos sible for them to learn on Monday," she said. "Often it's Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday before they've gotten enough food at school that they are ready to learn. That was one of the things we wanted to change." Since 2013 the agency has grown to include new technology and cook ing classes. A mobile app that links all food service providers, including pantries and churches, where resi dents can get food can be downloaded at the agency's website, www.hopews.org. Cooking classes are held at Cleveland Avenue Homes in conjunction with the Junior League. Tennille said H.O.P.E. is looking to expand its efforts. "By the end of next year, we hope to double the number of lunches that we're serving, increase the amount of fresh produce that we are taking out into the neighborhood and have more cold storage," she said. "What we do isn't charity, but community." To volunteer or donate, visit the website or call 336-703-5262. I I ? wm The Wake Forest University Track team gives out bags to children in Lakeside Villas. Sanchez to speak in Greensboro SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE Poet, educator and activist Dr. Sonia Sanchez will deliver the keynote address at the 2015 MLK celebra tion sponsored jointly by UNCG and NC A&T. This year's celebration is titled "Arts and the Civil Rights Movement: An Evening with Sonia Sanchez." Sanchez will speak beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in Aycock Auditorium on the UNCG campus. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event is free and open to the pub lie. A moderated Q&A ses sion with Sanchez follows her speech at 8:15 p.m. A meet and greet and book signing with Sanchez is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. The celebration marks the third year of collabora tion between UNCG and A&T for the King remem brance. Both institutions ...111 \41 If atliCirHc Will \)l &X/1II mi-l\ ? before the Sanchez address. One of the most prominent writers of the Black Arts movement, Sanchez speaks internationally on black culture and literature, women's liberation, peace, and racial justice. Finding her voice in poetry, Sanchez evolved from a shy child with a stutter into a force of the Black Power movement of the 1960s. She was also in the forefront of the Black Studies move ment and taught the first course in the country on black women. A prolific author, Sanchez has written more than 16 books. Sanchez is one of 20 African-American women featured in "Freedom's Sisters," an interactive, traveling museum exhibition, which brings to life African-American women who have fought for equal ity for all Americans. The first presidential fellow at Temple University, Sanchez held the Laura Carnell Chair in English at Temple from 1977-1999. Sanchez has traveled extensively, reading her poetry at cam puses across the globe. The Chronicle (USPS 067-910) was established by Emest H. Pitt and Ndubisi Egemonye in 1974 and is published every Thursday by Winston-Salem Chronicle Publishing Co. Inc., 617 N. Liberty Street, Winston-Salem, N.C. 27101. Periodicals postage paid at Winston-Salem, N.C. Annual subscription price is $30.72. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Chronicle, P.O. Box 1636 Winston-Salem, NC 27102-1636 Sanchez Free Health Screenings Saturday, January 10th, 2015. 10am-4pm Downtown Health Plaza 1200 N Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Join us to receive free heath screenings and to learn more about health and wellness! Physicians from Wake Forest School of Medicine will be present. Kids are welcome! s ?Hearing ?Vision and glaucoma ?HIV and syphilis ?Blood pressure ?Cholesterol ?Diabetes (blood sugar) ?Skin Cancer (Dermatology) ?Asthma (lung function) ?Physical therapy / Mobility ?Bone density (osteoporosis) . *Body mass index (BMI) ?Oral Cancer Screening ?Nutrition and healthy eating ?Flu vaccines ?Physician consults For a complete list of what will be offered, including information on activities for kids, directions to the Downtown Health Plaza, and how to contact us, please visit us on the web at: www'.wakehealth.edu/STHF See you at the fair! ne NOWHWBWS
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