Children’s Council’s Raegan Sales Appointed to SF Food Security Task Force

A recent San Francisco Chronicle article (“Hunger has gotten worse, despite $48 million in increased spending”) shined a troubling light on the issue of hunger in our city.

According to the San Francisco Food Security Task Force (FSTF) – a group established in 2005 by the Board of Supervisors, charged with creating a city-wide plan for addressing food security – one out of every four San Francisco residents is at risk of hunger due to low income.

This past November, the FSTF released a 200-page study, showing that even with greatly expanded spending, roughly 227,000 San Franciscans – including 28 percent of children 17 and under – are at high risk of food insecurity.

Faced with an ever-growing crisis, the Board approved the expansion of the FSTF to include representatives of community-based organizations, not only to diversify their membership, but to expand our city leaders’ understanding of the challenges that families in San Francisco face around food insecurity.

One of the board’s newest appointees to the Task Force is Children’s Council’s own Raegan Sales, coordinator of our Healthy Apple program.

Healthy Apple is a free, voluntary opportunity for child care educators to assess their program’s nutrition and physical activity practices, receive support to make improvements, and be recognized for meeting best practices.

Children in child care/preschool often spend 30-50 hours a week with someone other than their parents; child care educators play an important role in promoting early eating patterns that will grow into lifelong healthy habits.

Raegan is excited to be joining in the critical work of the Task Force, saying, “Every day I hear from early educators about the struggles they face sourcing healthy food for their child care and preschool programs, as well as the pushback they receive from parents when educating them about food and nutrition. Educators and families alike have a hard time feeding children on a limited budget and with limited time to plan and prepare meals.”

“Being appointed to this Task Force is a great honor and an opportunity to share the realities of the educators and families Children’s Council works with, in a forum that has real potential for change and making an impact.”

“For me, food security goes beyond accessing calories. It’s also ensuring that people have access to affordable, healthy foods, and can consistently provide nutritious meals for their families.”

“As a member of the Food Security Task Force, I look forward to advocating for the importance of nutrition and healthy food access, as well as being a voice on behalf of San Francisco’s youngest residents.”

Watch a video about our Healthy Apple program.

Learn more about food insecurity in San Francisco.