Foundation Journal

Message to KKFI 90.1 FM radio programmers on show promotion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 May 2015 15:28:00 +0000

Here are the web and media statistics for the month of April 2015.

You'll see that the KKFI website has a healthy 40% increase in Pageviews over the past 7 months. This means more station listeners are going to the website to read about upcoming program episodes and download podcasts.

You work hard to produce and engineer your KKFI show, and you can get more listeners by promoting your show. Here are some tips to promote your music or public affairs show.

Post a program episode to the KKFI website at least one week before your show, then share the episode web link (URL) on your social media spaces like Facebook, Twitter. Better yet post your next 2 to 3 episodes. Remember: The episode image should be a minimum of 550 pixels wide by 320 pixels high.
Post the episode URL to the timeline of your guests' Facebook page. Tweet about your show with "@" mentions of your guests' Twitter account.
Upload an audio archive of your public affairs show WITHIN 24 HOURS of the broadcast time. It's fresh content, so don't let that audio file linger in Logger too long. Contact Bill S for a volunteer to help you.
Post a link to your audio podcast -- again -- to your Facebook and Twitter followers.

KKFI 90.1 FM Audio Archive Downloads

Top Ten Downloaded in April 2015

Audio Archive	Date Published	# of Downloads
JoJ_Showm_1-~015_Niles_Wexler.mp3	1/5/2015	130
Freeze_Frame_2_21_to_2_27_14.mp3	2/23/2014	55
RadioactiveMagazine03312015.mp3	3/31/2015	47
Arts_Mag_3-30-2015.mp3	4/1/2015	41
HLF-Apr2-15-~gold%20on%20FTAs.mp3	4/6/2015	39
EcoRadio_4_13_15.mp3	4/13/2015	38
Arts_Mag_3-23-15.mp3	4/1/2015	37
JoJ_Show_11_~_Ellington_Stacy.mp3	11/24/2014	37
Artspeak_Radio_2015-02-11.mp3	2/15/2015	36
EcoRadio_3-30.mp3	3/30/2015	36

Top Ten Downloaded - All Time - Jan 2015 through April 2015

Audio Archive	Date Published	# of Downloads
JoJ_Showm_1-~015_Niles_Wexler.mp3	1/5/2015	518
Freeze_Frame_2_21_to_2_27_14.mp3	2/23/2014	333
Take_Two_2_21_to_2_27_14.mp3	2/23/2014	161
JoJ_Show_11_~_Ellington_Stacy.mp3	11/24/2014	106
Trans_Talk_March_22.mp3	3/22/2014	105
Urban_Connections_2014-05-10.mp3	5/12/2014	74
Trans_Talk_012514.mp3	1/25/2014	70
Urban_Connections_2014-05-24.mp3	5/27/2014	70
Urban_Connections_2014-06-07.mp3	6/10/2014	69
Urban_Connections_2014-05-31.mp3	6/4/2014	68

KKFI 90.1 FM Program Episodes Page Views

Top Ten Viewed in April 2015

Audio Archive	Date Published
Episode	Viewed
/program-episodes/ptsd-cannabis-and-a-warriors-story-of-finding-his-own-peace-a-call-in-show/	53
/program-episodes/chris-hedges-moral-imperatives/	47
/program-episodes/fiddler-on-the-roof-cock/	41
/program-episodes/sunrise-project/	41
/program-episodes/artspeak-radio-talks-with-lisa-cordes-anson-the-onery-camry-ivory-of-artist-inc-erinnisse-rebisz-katie-dallam-of-the-film-shoulder-the-lion/	40
/program-episodes/god-of-carnage-promises-promises/	40
/program-episodes/stanley-comes-alive/	39
/program-episodes/45876/ (ARTSPEAK RADIO presents, Erin Zona, Anna Marie Tutera)	38
/program-episodes/prison-state-of-america-with-chris-hedges-earl-amin-and-amos-caley-of-interfaith-prison-coalition/	37
/program-episodes/becky-pringle-burton-cummings-the-grandview-bulldogs/	36


KKFI 90.1 FM Page Views

Top Ten Viewed in April 2015

Audio Archive	Date Published
Episode	Viewed
/ (home page)	7,594
/on-air-guide/streaming-audio/	2,064
/on-air-guide/program-schedule/	1,473
/html5player/	1000
/support/band-auction/	863
/on-air-guide/	648
/contact/	473
/on-air-guide/upcoming-episodes/	414
/on-air-guide/archive/	313
/program-categories/music/	276

Barriers to Food Assistance: Immigrants Less Likely to Apply for Food Stamps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 18:27:00 +0000

A discussion about food stamp outreach at Harvesters taught me to remember the difficulty many working poor people face when making ends meet. The trend in the charitable food assistance world shows a steady pattern of people living in poverty and with food insecurity. Many individuals neglect to apply for SNAP benefits even though they are eligible for those benefits. An AmeriCorps worker performing SNAP outreach duties at Harvesters shared how Kansas City, Kansas residents have increasingly applied for food stamps because of the instructions provided to social service workers at El Centro. The outreach worker shared how even immigrants with permanent residency status neglect to apply for these government benefits over fears they could lose their path to citizenship, despite situations which allow non-citizens to receive benefits.

Mizzou Food Security Department Releases "Healthy Shelves" Booklet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 18:18:00 +0000

The Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security at the University of Missouri released a booklet offering "tips and strategies for linking food pantries and community partners to get healthier food onto the shelves of pantries and into the homes of food pantry customers" in January 2015. Download the 24-page PDF document for information on healthy nutritious food options.

Food Stamp Application Transparency: Missouri Could Learn From New Jersey

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 16:36:00 +0000

Missouri SNAP/food stamp applicants needlessly wait longer than expected when they apply for well-deserved food assistance because application are hand-written and submitted by mail. Anything that can be done to help workers fill a gap in stagnant wages helps Missouri communities. New Jersey has pending legislation that would provide information to SNAP applicants on when their application was received.

“There is a hunger crisis in New Jersey that is being made worse by a mismanaged food assistance program that leave some families without food waiting up to six months for assistance,” said Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union in a January 26, 2015 NewJersey.com article. “It is unconscionable to make families and children go hungry that long.”

In Misssouri applicants are required to mail or deliver in person hand-written applications to a Social Services office. Once applications are sent, people applying do not receive a notice that Missouri office received the applications. In fact, applicants are instructed to be ready to receive an "interview phone call" to determine eligibility. Missing the phone call could eliminate the applicant from receiving the food assistance benefits. It's a guessing game where your application is in the process.

The New Jersey example is a good idea for Missouri legislators to consider, which would expedite SNAP applications and provide much needed transparency to the applicants.

Public Forum on Food and Farm Policy on February 23

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 21:25:00 +0000

Organizers with Empower Missouri, formerly the Missouri Association of Social Welfare, and Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri will hold a public forum titled "There’s No Plate Like Home: Health, Food &Power." The event will be Monday February 23, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 100 in the Inman E. Page library at Lincoln University, 712 Lee Drive, Jefferson City, Missouri.

Here are details of the event from the organizers:

This public forum will examine the connections among health, food, farming, and public policy with an aim to promoting local, sustainably-grown food, healthy food choices and availability, and the public policies surrounding these concerns.

We will look at:

the programs and projects that promote healthy, locally-grown food, its access, and its producers and growers in communities throughout Missouri.
how public policies and the actions of corporations affect our access to locally-grown, healthy food, and the sustainability of agriculture and the environment.
do we have programs and policies that protect and enrich our air, soils and water, and help sustain the environment in which we all must live?

One of the forums highlights will be a review of the St. Louis Regional Food Study that encompassed 32 counties in Illinois and 27 in Missouri surrounding approximately a 100-mile radius of St. Louis. This area and the study was dubbed the “The Foodshed.” The data contained in this study is vast and invaluable in understanding the state of food, agriculture and environment in areas of Missouri and beyond.

Sponsored by Empower Missouri (formerly MASW); Empower Missouri Hunger Task Force; and Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri

Speakers include:

Kathleen ‘Kat’ Logan Smith is the Interim Executive Director for Food Works that focuses its work primarily in southern Illinois. In this new position, Kat develops programs and collaborations that connect new and existing growers with the support and education they want. As well, she is responsible for managing the Southern Illinois Farming Network and the Southern Illinois Farm Beginnings® farmer training course, and serves as project coordinator for many other Food Works initiatives.

Kathleen is a long time food and environmental activist. Most recently, she's consulted on research on Missouri permitted livestock operations and conducted outreach to communities on local food systems. While serving as Environmental Policy Director for the Missouri Coalition for the Environment (MCE), she edited the 59-county, bi-state St. Louis Regional Food System Study which examined health, food, and farming with an aim to promote local, sustainable food in Missouri and Illinois. Prior to serving as Policy Director, she was Executive Director of MCE from 2006, which prompted her to turn her attention and skills to work on food systems.

Her career path began while earning her Bachelor's degree in Journalism from Oklahoma State University, when Kathleen joined efforts in Oklahoma to address toxic waste sites. Along with her environmental work, she has communications experience as newspaper reporter, public relations coordinator, and communications director for progressive public interest campaigns and causes. Kathleen is devoted to advancing sustainable local food systems that nurture health, the environment, and local economies.

Wes Shoemyer lives on his family farm in Monroe County with his wife Cheryl. As a former state senator and representative, Wes has been a champion and a voice for the independent family farmer in Missouri and around the world.

Wes has received a number of awards for his work protecting sustainable agriculture and rural communities, including the Governor's Advisory Council on Agriculture Award, Concerned Agriculturalist of Missouri Award, the Family Farm Leadership Award from Missouri Farmers Union, the Farm Forum Dedicated Service to Rural America Award, and the Rural Health Clinic Recognition of Service Award. He has done significant work globally with Greenpeace.

Agriculture has always been a fundamental part of Shoemyer's life. He is a recipient of the American Farmer degree from FFA, a member of the National Farmers Organization, the Missouri Farmers Union, NEMO Grain Processors, and the Ozark Mountain Pork Processing Plant.

In 2014 he was a key leader in the fight against the ballot measure, Amendment 1. He formed Missouri’s Food For America, a broad coalition of family farmers, environmentalists, food safety advocates, animal welfare organizations and concerned citizens who recognize the long-lasting, damaging effects of the “Right to Farm” amendment. MFFA continues to work educating on important issues affecting family farming, the environment and sustainability.

Dr. Kamalendu B. (K.B.) serves as a Professor of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and as a State Extension Specialist with Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. He received his undergraduate education in India, M.S. in Plant & Soil Science from Tuskegee University in Alabama, and Ph. D. in Biology (Plant Physiology) from the University of Ottawa, Canada. He was involved in classroom teaching and field research for approximately 15 years, before he got involved in international development work in the mid-1980s. During his 12 plus years stint in Africa, he has served in various capacities in 14 countries.

He presently serves as the Program Leader of the Innovative Small Farmers Outreach Program (ISFOP), and as the Co-Coordinator for the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (NCR-SARE) program for the state of Missouri. He mentors several junior faculty and reviews grant proposals for USDA and other governmental agencies.

The ISFOP is part of Lincoln University Cooperative Extension (LUCE), created to help the small farmers and ranchers of Missouri, especially those who are socially disadvantaged and under-served, to raise the level of efficiency on their farms while taking good care of the soil, water and the environment.

Glenn Koenen worked for non-profit organizations for better than 32 years. Most of his career was with organizations providing food and other direct services to struggling families. Glenn was a founding board member and later president of the St. Louis Metro Food Pantry Association. He was also a member of Missourians for Tax Justice and worked on several issue campaigns related to taxation.

In November 2012 Glenn joined the board of the Missouri Association for Social Welfare and became MASW’s Hunger Task Force chair.Glenn has a Master of Arts in English from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and is a magna cum laude graduate in Political Science and Communications from St. Louis University. He and his wife, Peggy, live in Oakville, Missouri.

For more details, contact Barbara Ross, Director of Social Services, Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri-Diocese of Jefferson City, P O Box 104626, 2201 West Main, Jefferson City, MO 65110. Phone: 573/635-7719. Email: bross@cccnmo.org

Join Me in Supporting a Local Treasure -- KKFI 90.1 FM

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 20:58:00 +0000

This message is directed to friends, encouraging you to make a financial donation to KKFI 90.1 FM community radio, one of my favorite KC organizations. I currently serve on the board of directors of KKFI.

KKFI is a community radio station serving listeners in a 65-mile area around Kansas City. It's run by volunteers who have devoted themselves to bringing you the best music, arts, cultural, and public affairs radio programming. In a phrase, KKFI radio hosts bring voices and stories about Kansas City and our world to the airwaves that you won’t hear anywhere else.

The music aired is local and vibrant in genres you rarely hear anywhere else on the radio dial -- reggae, bluegrass, hip-hop, folk, blues, and jazz. The public affairs shows focus on local and national issues with a progressive bent, and the news shows cover topics -- climate change, war and conflict, race, gender, poverty -- from a different angle.

Most importantly, the radio station airs hopeful stories from people and voices struggling to change their communities and cities.

You have many choices to donate your hard-earned money. Why make a donation to KKFI?

Because KKFI represents the best ways to shine a light on local music, arts and social issues in the Kansas City area. It does this each week by bringing musicians, artists and community organizers into the broadcast studio.

If you currently don't donate, then consider making a $25, $50 or $100 donation during the Winter Fund Drive that runs through February 8. Call in at 888-931-0901 or donate online at kkfi.org.

Join with me to voice your support to KKFI with a financial donation today.

Kansas Hospitals Make Case for Medicaid Expansion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 14:17:00 +0000

An NPR news report on the impact on Kansas hospitals because of failed efforts to expand Medicaid aired this week. The report shares how "Governor Sam Brownback and Republican legislative leaders have shown no interest in expanding Medicaid," while documenting the loss of federal funds and hospitals' case to press Kansas legislators to pick up the Obamacare subsidies. Missing from the report is an update on the impact on the lives of people eligible for health services in Kansas.

Support Efforts to Improve Services for Homeless People

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:19:00 +0000

Evie Craig, Exective Director with reStart in Kansas City, needs volunteers for the annual homeless persons count. Can you help? If you want to support efforts by reStart and other organizations to improve and increase services for people who are homeless, then sign up to participate in the annual point-in-time count held January 28-29, 2015. Training will be provided on January 20, 21 and 25. (Read a report on last year's count of homeless people.)

Despite encouraging news about an improving U.S. economy, which may reduce homelessness, wages for low-income and unskilled workers have not improved. Low wages still creates the conditions for homelessness in Kansas City, which is why there is a need for housing and services for people who are homeless. And it's a good thing that organizations like Catholic Charities have put resources together to help homeless people, like the 2014 opening of St. Michael's Veteran Center near the VA hospital on Cleaver II Blvd in Kansas City, Missouri.

More news about homelessness

The Homelessness Marathon is partnering with the National Coalition for the Homeless to host the 17th live national radio broadcast on homelessness this February 17, 2015. The Homelessness Marathon needs your financial support to make it big this year. Support their Indiegogo project by making a donation now through January 23, 2015 -- I made a donation for this worthy project.

Digital Inclusion Effort in KC Builds Steam

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 22:36:00 +0000

You can help break the ‪"digital divide" in ‪Kansas City‬ by joining a Digital Inclusion Town Hall this Friday, January 16 with local organizers from KC Digital Drive, Connecting for Good and the Kansas City Public Library. You'll need to register for the event.

Friday, January 16, 2015
9:00am @ Central Library
Continental breakfast provided

Organizers of the 2014 Kansas City Digital Inclusion Summit — a first-of-its-kind event addressing troublesome gaps in residents’ access to computers and the Internet — return three months after that daylong gathering to deliver their official report.

The October summit examined trends, discussed challenges and opportunities, spotlighted current inclusion efforts, and shared best practices. Since then civic leaders and other individuals and organizations have been exploring ways to bridge Kansas City's digital divide by providing better Internet access and quality tech education.

The town hall meeting also features an announcement of a new digital inclusion coalition and presentation of an action plan.

Co-presented by the Kansas City Digital Inclusion Coalition.

Five More Ways to Increase Poverty in Missouri

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:51:00 +0000

As a followup to a post from last year on ways Missouri legislators and government officials drive low-income workers into poverty, I have collected another set of roadblocks unfairly placed on poor people. The list this time includes corporations that have developed products and services that target low-income or vulnerable populations.

1. Block Medicaid Expansion.

FamiliesUSA infographic
(click for full size view)

Missouri legislators get the prize for going the extra mile on this. Even strongly Republican-led states like Indiana, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming are either considering expanding or have decided to expand Medicaid, a state-administered health program supporting very low-income workers and their families. Wyoming's plan to expand Medicaid will provide 17,600 people with access to health care, plus provide 800 jobs. States like Wyoming are realizing that expanding Medicaid relieves hospitals from uncompensated costs.

“I will do everything I can to prevent Medicaid expansion,” said conservative Missouri legislator Bob Onder, showing a particularly brash disregard for people without access to health care.

Due to legislative intransigence, Missouri hospitals serving the most vulnerable population are strained, like Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center, where "70 percent of Poplar Bluff’s patients are Medicare or Medicaid patients, and the number of uninsured and underinsured patients is growing."

Onder's onerous position will impact those rural Missouri residents most likely to have voted for him. And without access to affordable health care, nutrition education, and preventative maintenance options, low-income people will see their health decline, costing Missouri more than if we did elect to expand Medicaid.

2. We're #1: Defund public health care, including health education.

A January 4, 2015 Kansas City Star article shows Missouri earning the distinction of providing the least amount of public funds towards health care. The state's rank on health dropped from merely average to one of the states with one of the worst health profiles since 1990.

On a positive note, several developments in 2014 will improve the quality of health care in the area:

The Farm Bill was signed into law on February 7, 2014 with minimal reductions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)/Food Stamps funding. The new bill provides nutrition education options to reduce obesity.
Attempts to control the diets of SNAP recipients failed in the Missouri legislation this year.
The USDA provided additional emergency funds for the distribution of $126 million of produce to low-income families, including tart cherries, blueberries, raisins, fresh tomatoes, among other items.
A low-cost, non-profit grocery store in St. Joseph continues operation in 2014 after starting up in 2013.
The Greater Kansas City Food Hub Working Group "approved the launch of a Regional Food Hub that will expand area production of fruits and vegetables, as well as improve access to healthy, locally produced food in Greater Kansas City." Kansas residents are looking at a food hub in northeast Kansas, too.

3. Make it difficult to apply for food stamps.

The lack of an online, web-based application for SNAP/Food Stamps acts as a roadblock to eligible recipients. Becky Woelfel, Department of Social Services Communications director, indicated the lack of an online application "elongates" the processing time.

“This computer issue has been resolved and we are diligently working to get applications processed as quickly as possible to return to a normal processing time,” she said. “We urge anyone who has encountered an issue with their food stamp application to contact the Family Support Division’s special unit dedicated to resolving those problems by calling 1-573-751-8959 or emailing FSD.CRU@dss.mo.gov for special assistance.”

A bright spot in Missouri is a successful legislative effort that removed SNAP eligibility for those that have served time on drug felonies. Some states like Georgia keep these restrictions even though it's against federal law.

4. Allow predatory lending.

In 2014 Missouri Governor Jay Nixon vetoed legislation restricting predatory lending practices. According to Communities Creating Opportunity (CCO) policy director Molly Fleming-Pierre, the legislation would not have fixed the problem with excessive payday loan rates.

Go down any major thorough fare in the Kansas City metro area -- 350 highway in Raytown, Wornall Road in Kansas City, 291 highway in Lee's Summit, Noland Road in Independence -- and you'll find countless payday or title loan operations. Many title loans businesses like TitleMax, Advance America, King of Kash, Midwest Title Loan, with excessive loan interest rates reaching 400%.

Support CCO's innovative efforts like their "Cat the Rate" plan to raise awareness and bury predatory lending. The Cat the Rate plan is a playful nod to a recent Missouri anti-poverty coalition effort called "Cap the Rate."

5. Guilty and Charged: enforce excessive driving restrictions on poor people unable to pay court fines.

An NPR report on January 5, 2015 title "Guilty and Charged" showed how Missouri and other states require people to lose their license for long periods of time, if they unable to pay small court fines.
The report mentioned that drunk driving offenders lose their licenses in some cases for 9 months, while an individual unable to pay a $60 court fine lost their license for two years.

The penalty is an unfair burden on poor people because the lost of a driver's license could prevent their employment. While proponents of changing the policy argue that offenders are liable for their actions, they stress that a better policy would account for a person's ability to pay.

CBPP Releases Report on Cuts to Food Stamps

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:07:00 +0000

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a report on cuts to SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) today:

A CBPP report out today explains why roughly 1 million of the nation's poorest people will be cut off of SNAP (formerly food stamps), in 2016. This is because in many areas waivers of the three-month limits on SNAP benefits for unemployed adults ages 18-50 who aren't disabled or raising minor children are ending.

These individuals will lose their food assistance benefits after three months regardless of how hard they are looking for work.

In the past few years, the three-month limit hasn't been in effect in most states. The 1996 welfare law allows states to suspend the three-month limit in areas with high and sustained unemployment; many states qualified due to the Great Recession and its aftermath and waived the time limit throughout the state. But as unemployment rates fall, fewer and fewer areas will qualify for waivers.

The loss of benefits will likely increase hardship for these 1 million unemployed Americans who rely on upon SNAP to meet their basic nutritional needs.

The Digital Divide Has a Gender Component, Too

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 22:29:00 +0000

As organizations in Kansas City like Connecting for Good and KC Digital Drive have pointed out, Broadband Internet access usually decreases with income levels. And usually the older people get the less they go online. Income and age are two factors determining how connected people are in the digital world. A December 19 article on the Tech Crunch website points out another component of the digital divide:

In the developing world, 25 percent fewer women [PDF] have access to the internet than men. It’s increasingly important to consider all aspects of the global digital divide to ensure that tools are accessible to intended users.

How Food Banks Deliver Food to Poor People While Reducing Waste

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 21:17:00 +0000

Food pantries and agencies pick up their holiday meats at

Harvesters food bank in Kansas City on December 19, 2014,
one of the busiest days of the year.

The problem of hunger and poverty is widespread in the U.S., and not going away. Some accounts show the number of people in poverty not decreasing despite the economic "recovery" with one in six people at or below poverty wages. And it's not just during the holiday season that people go hungry despite the generosity of people and businesses to donate and deliver food.

Work at food banks focuses on delivering large quantities of fresh, nutritious produce in addition to dry, canned goods, among many types of food throughout the year. The millions of pounds of food available to poor people, not only helps people make ends meet, but also reduces food waste as indicated in this video story about food rescue in New York City.

A recipient of food assistance in New York City said "Sweet potatoes, corn, it's so expensive. And we have to walk so far to get to the nearest fresh fruit market. By me coming to City Harvest to get my vegetables, I have extra money to buy meat. I can get fish and my chicken now."

City-Wide Effort on Digital Divide Ramps Up

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 19:44:00 +0000

If you are you looking to learn more about or get involved in efforts in Kansas City to bridge the "digital divide," then consider attending a Digital Inclusion Town Hall on January 16, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. as described in organizers' invitation.

Organizers of the 2014 Kansas City Digital Inclusion Summit — a first-of-its-kind event addressing troublesome gaps in residents’ access to computers and the Internet — return three months after that daylong gathering to deliver their official report.

The October summit examined trends, discussed challenges and opportunities, spotlighted current inclusion efforts, and shared best practices. Since then civic leaders and other individuals and organizations have been exploring ways to bridge Kansas City's digital divide by providing better Internet access and quality tech education.

The town hall meeting also features an announcement of a new digital inclusion coalition and presentation of an action plan.

Co-presented by the Kansas City Digital Inclusion Coalition.

Click here to register for the event at the Central Library in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

http://www.kclibrary.org/event/digital-inclusion-town-hall

KC Digital Divide Featured on Community Broadband Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 15:56:00 +0000

"If you're not online, you're not a fully functioning citizen," Michael Liimatta, president of Connecting for Good, said on the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week.

The discussion includes an explanation by Liimatta about the "difficulty of connecting low income populations and how Google's entrance into the City has not solved the digital divide but has sparked a deeply needed conversation on how to meet those needs."

Listen to the podcast to learn about the efforts to provide resources for Kansas City residents to improve their digital literacy, an essential step to help with everything from completing online job applications to researching personal medical conditions.

Podcast audio:

Carrollton Missouri: Abundant Farmland Masks Food Insecurity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:32:00 +0000

Orchard operation near Waverly, Mo

On a recent trip to Columbia to visit my daughter attending the University of Missouri my wife and I took a scenic route through the historic town of Lexington, then went north on highway 65 out of Waverly. The hilly area is home to many fruit orchards, some of which line the roads. Fruit stands and orchard stores are common to the area. North out of Waverly across the Missouri River the landscape changes to flat bottomland containing expansive row crop farms covering thousands of acres. This abundant farmland stretches 65 miles east from Carrollton to Moberly on highway 63.

Orchard near Waverly, Mo.

From the look of the farm size and large quantities of orchards you would think this provides a satisfactory quality of life for people in the nation's breadbasket, but a story about a food assistance program in the Kansas City Star revealed a different side to this area.

The two schools in Carrollton, county seat of Carroll County, "that serve kindergartners through fourth-graders will have enough food at home to tide them over the weekend. The schools are becoming the latest to join Harvesters’ BackSnack program." A school is eligible for the program if a large percentage of students participate in the National School Lunch program.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article4438068.html#storylink=cpy

“We’ve been on the waiting list for about three years,” said Stefanie Kissick, a family support advocate for the Carrollton R-VII District. “When they (the parents) saw we were starting this up, they were just elated that we could help them.”

View of Missouri River north of
Waverly, Mo on highway 65

It seems the rich, abundant farmland does not serve everyone in the community. The latest statistics from the 2013 Missouri Hunger Atlas show 15% of Carroll County participating in the SNAP/Food Stamps program, over 50% of students eligible for the National School Lunch program, unemployment at 11% nearly twice the state average and income levels 12% lower than the state average. Farming and related jobs in the county don't seem to provide an adequate income to avoid food assistance from government and private charity programs.

One indication of this trend could be found in the consolidation of farms, as a former hog farmer and retired Sprint employee mentioned during a visit to Harvesters last week. He said the growth of farm sizes was evident 40-plus years ago when he attended high school in Carrollton.

Low-Cost Network in Pittsburg Offers Freedom From the Big Guys

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:06:00 +0000

Technology company Meta Mesh announced this week the expansion of a wireless mesh network in a "struggling neighborhood" in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Community-owned mesh wireless networks like one established in Pittsburg help residents maintain their privacy at a much lower cost than Internet Service Providers like Comcast and Time Warner.

The PittMesh effort like the KC Freedom Network built by the Free Network Foundation in Kansas City promises a level of freedom and privacy not found on the expansive (and expensive) Internet maintained by the large ISPs.

See the following video to learn about mesh networks in simple terms.

Let's be clear - most people don't need or don't know what to do with the higher speeds offered by Google Fiber, AT&T, and now Consolidated Communications' 1 gigabit per second speeds at $69.95. In fact, organizations like Connecting for Good chomp at the bit to take a single gigabit network connection and cover a whole neighborhood like the Northeast KCK neighborhood, where they partnered with FNF to provide a mesh network. CFG's approach is geared towards empowering low-income residents by providing low-cost computers, training and Internet access, all crucial components towards digital literacy.

How 2 Cities Are Making Big Strides to Close the Digital Divide

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 20:27:00 +0000

During the October 17, 2014 Digital Inclusion Summit (see Jason Harper's report) in Kansas City noted Digital Inclusion Strategist Angela Siefer identified herself as a “huge, huge advocate of city involvement in digital inclusion” projects towards improving affordable Internet access in low-income neighborhoods.

This position represents a challenge to Kansas City to build bridges that close a digital divide in our community. Kansas City would do well to look at the example of Philadelphia and Minneapolis to launch big impact efforts, as Ms. Siefer pointed out in her presentation. And through the efforts of an emerging digital inclusion coalition that includes the KC Public Library, KC Digital Drive and Connecting for Good, a roadmap has been defined to bring city and other resources to this effort.

Through a city-run project called "Keyspots" Philadelphia placed 80 free wireless hotspots in operation. Through their efforts they are offering 847 workstations across Philadelphia, which provided 208,780 hours of training to 22,544 participants, including 430,362 visits to the Keyspot locations for free computer access. Plus they distributed 5,000 netbooks to Philadelphia Housing Authority residents completing an 8-hour, sweat equity training. The results of this effort? Organizers claim to have saved or created 113 jobs in the Philadelphia region.

Siefer mentioned the community-based Technology Literacy Collaborative employs two Americorps workers to track nearly 200 computer technology centers (CTCs) throughout the metropolitan area. These centers offer "free Internet access, computers, software, and perhaps assistance and instruction." In addition to the CTCs, the city of Minneapolis has "an outdoor wireless network that covers nearly 100%" of the city.

During a November 2014 trip to Minneapolis I noticed the "City of Minneapolis Public WiFi" networks while driving in South Minneapolis. The ubiquitous coverage provides a no-cost option for people throughout the city, especially low-income workers and families. My sister chose a higher speed broadband Comcast network for her home, but was familiar with the free wireless. The city indicates that a "credit card number is required to log in for security purposes but there is no charge." Most people would not submit a credit card, in fact, I was not challenged to provide mine when I connected to the wireless network.

While a city-wide initiative like Minneapolis' free wifi network or a comprehensive effort like Philadelphia's Keyspots may not be on the horizon for Kansas City, at least KC is developing a vision. This vision also includes launching pilot projects, perhaps in the Urban Neighborhood Initiative east of Troost Avenue and the Northeast neighborhood tracts north of 23rd Street.

Innovative Food Program Directed to Low-Income Arizonans

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 21:27:00 +0000

While in Tucson recently I heard Arizona Daily Star blogger Angela Pittenger's report on getting low-cost produce from Borderlands Food Bank. This innovative program provides 60 pounds of produce for $10. While the amount of food may be overwhelming for a family, it nonetheless serves as a low-cost option in a family's food budget from the Nogales (Arizona) food bank.

Borderlands' assumed control of the program -- not without controversy -- as described in this report, and renamed it to "Produce on Wheels".

Equal Access to the Internet Should Be a Basic Right

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 23:11:00 +0000

A recently concluded Digital Inclusion Summit in Kansas City highlighted the disadvantage residents face not having home broadband Internet access, especially school-age kids and job-seeking adults. As many as 25% of Kansas Citians and 70% of KCMO public school youth don't have home access, and it's good to know a digital inclusion coalition is emerging from the summit to fix this gap.

Another fact from the summit shared during a presentation is that the uneven KC broadband landscape is common to other large metroplitan areas, like a report last week showing "some 800,000 New Jersey households with income of $35,000 or less, only 54 percent had broadband Internet access and 45 percent had no connection at all."

So large projects to address the digital divide are needed. One such project by the Obama administration [possible NY Times registration required] proposes a solution to a problem "with fewer than half of American public schools connected to high-speed Internet in their classrooms" by challenging school districts to add broadband and tablets.

This solution helps level the playing field on schools, but it's evident the high cost of home broadband leaves students unable to complete assignments at home. The preponderence of students accessing Google Apps/Drive to collaborate on assignments leaves students behind, if they don't have home broadband.

Another effort by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposes a phone fee to bring broadband access to schools and libraries, where, according to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, "63 percent of public schools and over 40 million students don't have high-speed broadband in the classroom."

The benefits of providing high-speed broadband access to people who can't afford the service at home is clear because of the need to fill out online job applications or to complete homework assignments.

Look for the emerging digital coalition in KC led by several organizations such as Kansas City Public Library, KC Digital Divide and Connecting for Good to pilot covering whole neighborhoods with wifi. More pilot project details will be available soon.

Private-Public Project Extends Internet Access

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 18:29:00 +0000

This free municipal wifi project in New York City is proposing a public-private partnership to extend Internet access to New Yorkers. The high-speed LinkNYC effort promises to be the world's largest free wifi network, relying on advertising at the wireless access points to pay startup infrastructure and ongoing maintenance costs, plus generate revenue for the city.

"Soul and Soil" at Rural Life Day 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 20:19:00 +0000

Conferences usually provide a welcome break from the daily toil by getting practitioners, activists and experts together to think and talk about the topic at hand. This was the case at the Rural Life Day in 2013 hosted by Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri, and promises to be the case this year with the conference theme "Soul and Soil In A Changing Climate."

Join the conference on December 6, 2014 in Jefferson City, Missouri by registering for the day-long event.

Here is the full conference statement:

How we treat our farms, forests, mineral resources, and waters, how we structure our food systems, even what we eat day-to-day are all within our control and by these actions we are tied to the economic, political, and ecological order of our planet.

At its core, the interlocking global environmental, climate, food, and natu-ral resource crises are a moral challenge that calls us to examine and change the way we use and share the earth’s finite resources and deter-mines what we will pass on to future generations. How well we meet this fundamental moral challenge is a measure of our willingness to live in harmony with the Sacred Creation, which by the way, scripturally, does not belong to us, and it is a measure of our commitment to the well being, perhaps the very survival, of all people who live on the earth with us – who are our brothers and sisters. Leviticus reminds us that to the Creator we are all “strangers and guests.” We are called to see ourselves as pro-tectors and stewards of the Creation – every part of Creation – and to fully recognize that we are one human family that must live in a solidarity of stewardship with the very earth. This is a circular moral challenge that is about protecting both the human environment and the natural environ-ment.

Rural Life Day 2014 is focused on sharing today’s stories & yesterday’s history of how we use and misuse our world, getting a wide angle view of a planet in a rapidly changing climate. This day we will challenge our-selves to look soul deep and think critically about what we are called to do that can begin to heal the earth and bind the wounds we have inflicted on it and thus on each other.

Good Food vs Bad Food: Getting Nutrition Education in Schools

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 17:59:00 +0000

Many people today advocate for better nutrition options in our communities. Films, books, organizations, even a national Food Day, all describe the problem of obesity and diabetes caused by poor diets. The food bank where I work has a Nutrition Education department that teaches hundreds of adults and kids each year about affordable and healthy food. And advocates do not shy away from pointing out that food purveyors like McDonalds promote "bad food," so much that people are influenced by the message and don't pursue healthy diets. It's clear that "good food" advocates are fighting an uphill battle as fast food operators spend millions of dollars to market their food. The attraction to unhealthy food is especially acute among school-age children, so it's a good thing that an organization like Food Day is promoting a message to kids about good food and diets, even if for a single day.

Food Day is "a nationwide celebration and a movement for healthy, affordable, and sustainable food" and they are sharing a school curriculum developed by Teachers College of Columbia University to promote healthy eating. Food Day will be celebrated this year on October 24, 2014

Organizers are encouraging individuals and groups to take action in their community by inviting educators to teach the curriculum on Food Day. Here's your chance to encourage a more healthy community.

Take Action - Mixing Hollywood Marketing with Bad Food

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 19:22:00 +0000

Bringing up two girls and navigating the blanket marketing to kids -- especially movies -- meant we not only sat through countless Disney movies, but also bought a slew of knock-off toys. I'm sure we "invested" at least $200 in Beauty and the Beast -- toy tent castle, VHD videotape, books, and occasionally an unhealthy "Happy Meal" from McDonalds for the toy.

And movie production companies like DreamWorks and Topps continue to market useless toys and food that increases obesity in kids. Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is calling out the two companies for this practice.

If you agree with CSPI, then take a minute to send a message to DreamWorks and Topps to ask them to stop marketing junk food to kids.

Comcast addresses digital divide with update to "Internet Essentials"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 02:21:00 +0000

Comcast announced a low-cost Internet option as mentioned in today's Washington Post.

"Under a back-to-school promotion running from now until Sept. 20, new Internet Essentials subscribers will get six months of free Internet access. In addition, those who were previously Comcast customers but were barred from signing up for Internet Essentials because they owed the company money for other services will now be able to subscribe to Internet Essentials — provided that their outstanding bill is more than a year old."

Link to the full article - http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/08/04/comcast-is-expanding-its-10-a-month-internet-program-for-the-poor/?tid=HP_technology