Madison Mayor Paul Soglin criticized Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to drug test food stamp recipients at a press conference Tuesday hosted jointly with Dan Stein, CEO of Second Harvest Foodbank.
“Essentially the gist of the comments were that the governor and state legislature continue to demonize the poor instead of offering solutions to the problems ... that make it more unattractive and more difficult to get food on the table,” Mark Woulf, Food and Alcohol Policy coordinator, said.
Soglin stressed the necessity of pursuing a “responsible food agenda” at all levels of government, according to a press release.
“Food is obviously a huge issue for Mayor Soglin,” Woulf said. “He created my position ... as well as the Madison Food Policy Council.”
Currently, Madison’s Food Policy Council is working to eliminate existing food deserts, which are neighborhoods lacking a nearby grocery store, according to Woulf. Focusing in particular on the Allied Dunn’s Marsh neighborhood, Woulf said the Council is looking at the application process for potential food providers to build a store in the area.
In the meantime, Madison Common Council recently approved an emergency provision of $15,000 last week to create a shuttle service to a grocery store for those living in the Allied Dunn’s Marsh area. Those funds should be available to start paying for the shuttle service in about two weeks, according to Woulf.
“We look forward to working with our partners from the State and Federal levels of government in making this a fair, equitable and just food system for all,” Soglin said in the release.
