#3links

Low-income kids face a wide summer nutrition gap.

"According to California Food Policy Advocates’ (CFPA) analysis of California Department of Education (CDE) data, over 84 percent of those who benefitted from school lunch programs in 2011—more than 2 million children—did not use summer lunch programs. And the data show that this summer nutrition gap is widening. While the number of children eligible for free lunch has increased in California over recent years, the number of children participating in summer nutrition programs has plummeted. CFPA’s analysis shows that over the past ten years summer meal participation has decreased by over 50 percent."

Which begs the question: What's getting in the way of the summer nutrition programs and how do we increase participation?

Seeking Serenity in a Patch of California Land 

"The garden, on the scraggly outskirts of town, is one of seven in Fresno created for immigrants, refugees and residents of impoverished neighborhoods with mental health money from the state. At the Slavic Community Garden, Ukrainian refugees persecuted for their religious beliefs in the Soviet Union now grow black currants for jam, dill for pickles and soups, and medicinal calendula flowers from Ukrainian seeds.

The thinking of community leaders and health professionals is that gardens can help foster resiliency and a sense of purpose for refugees, especially older ones, who are often isolated by language and poverty and experiencing depression and post-traumatic stress. Immigrant families often struggle to meet insurance co-payments, and culturally attuned therapists are in short supply.

The budget, about $171,000 a year for construction and maintenance of the community gardens and adjoining meeting spaces here, is made possible by the California Mental Health Services Act of 2004, which put a 1 percent tax on personal income of $1 million a year or more."

Through the Generators, we are learning (and re-learning) that the interface matters: it may look like the front of an app but it also may look like a community gathering place. This is a terrific example of investing in a meaningful interface to services.

oh my god, don't make things for "Everyone."

"When you begin with 'Everyone' you’re just stuck: How do you make any honest decisions? How do you solve any real problems? You don’t. You start to invent people and you start to invent their problems and it’s amazing because those people and those problems line up almost exactly with what you’re building and how you’re thinking about it—imagine that. Lying to yourself is amazing for productivity.

Real audience is hard. Solving real problems is fucking bananas. But it’s the only way you make something that lasts, because you made something that someone actually cared about."