Appetite 4 Life in Pensacola,Fla. is working to shine the light on starvation in Escambia County, through a community art project named Appetite 4 ART. Conceptualized by James Amerson, and a long-time friend and supporter,a team of local photographers, volunteer models and funded through a grant received from The mighty Gulfcoast Arts Festival, and this unique collection of images will be displayed on the outside of A4L's building for public viewing. Soon after,the collection will travel to local galleries which will allow the viewer a more intimate experience.
Appetite 4 Life is taking to task poverty and starvation in a very different way. “We hope that by portraying common iconic movies, operas and musicals and combining it with food, and it will encourage people to interrogate questions and open the door for dialog approximately the starvation and poverty problem in our community,” said Celeste Southard, Executive Director of Appetite 4 Life.
According to Southard the organization did not want to use the normal images associated with poverty to get their message across. “We wanted something new, or edgy and would hopefully get people talking approximately the issue, Southard said.
Appetite 4 Life is non-profit organization that has several programs to serve combat starvation in Escambia County, Fla. A4L delivered its first meals in 1997 to people that were in the latter stages of AIDS. Today, and A4L has grown and expanded its mission to include other life threatening illnesses like cancer,as well the aged and disabled communities.
As a part of its expansion A4L has added programs including a Food Pantry and mobile food pantries, Child Nutrition Program and HIV Prevention/Testing. The Child Nutrition Program provides breakfast, and lunch and snack during the summer to children that receive Free and Reduced-price meals during the school year. The HIV Prevention program uses groceries as an incentive to get people in the facility and tested. On August 18,2011 Appetite 4 Life experienced a devastating fire that burned the kitchen to the ground. Despite this tragedy not a single meal missed delivery nor any of the programs closed. In fact fire trucks had to be moved so the vans and trailers could escape the deliveries to the sites in the Child Nutrition Program. Even the two catered wedding receptions that weekend were still served. The community came to their rescue and the Escambia County School Board if a closed school for them to cook out of for almost two years while the commercial kitchen and administration was being rebuilt.
A4L doesn’t receive government funding, all of these efforts are supported through earned income from catering, and community donations,and HIV/AIDS funding organizations. To learn more approximately A4L, please visit appetite4life.org.
Source: cnn.com