December 10, 2021

Coronavirus Update:

Dear Neighbors,

With so many of my recent newsletters focusing on vaccination/coronavirus
updates, I want to take a moment to focus on a pervasive, often unseen
issue that afflicts every neighborhood and community in the District. That
issue is senior hunger.

In its most recent report on the State of Senior Hunger in America, Feeding
America found that the rate of food insecurity among seniors in the
District is 13.5% —the highest rate of food insecurity among seniors in the
country. This means that even before the pandemic, nearly 12,000 local
seniors lacked consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy
life. Perhaps the greatest frustration in this circumstance is that there
is no shortage of enthusiasm, dedication, or resources when it comes to
combating senior food insecurity. There are numerous programs, federal and
local agencies, and organizations working to address this problem, with 14
different nutrition programs alone currently in operation in the District.
Yet senior hunger persists.

Over the past year, my office held a series of working groups with our
anti-hunger advocates, District agencies, and community-based organizations
serving seniors. These meetings covered the gamut of topics: the
utilization of federal programs; outreach and communications; nutrition and
healthcare; transportation; accessibility; and data collection. We gathered
our best senior and food policy advocates together, and the conclusion we
reached time and time again is that the reason why senior hunger persists
is because of a lack of centralized leadership, planning, and District-wide
coordination.

The result of these working groups is the "[1]No Senior Hungry Amendment
Act of 2021," which I introduced with my colleagues Councilmembers Anita
Bonds, Trayon White, Sr., Vincent Gray, Christina Henderson, Brooke Pinto,
Janeese Lewis George, and Charles Allen. The legislation establishes a
senior food insecurity task force, a senior food plan, a
communications/outreach plan, and makes important updates to nutritional
programming, SNAP access, and home-delivered meal and grocery services. You
can read more about its specific provisions in this piece by [2]The
Washington City Paper, but what I would like to focus on here is to say
that we all know or are aware of an isolated senior in our community. The
neighbor who you only see occasionally, who you may have noticed has lost
weight, or who lives alone in that old house that has seen better days.
These are our neighbors who are living on fixed incomes, are isolated at
home, struggling with food-related chronic illnesses or wasting, and who
could desperately benefit from outreach, connection, and support from one
of our many wonderful senior nutritionists and senior service providers.

Not only can we better coordinate our anti-hunger outreach and programmatic
efforts, but we can also begin to reverse the extreme isolation seniors
have endured before and during the pandemic. Better yet, with more strongly
linked senior resources, we will be more readily able to connect seniors
with other programs, social organizations, and services that they need to
safely and happily age in place in the District of Columbia. I hope that
you'll join me by supporting this legislation and, if you feel so moved, to
extend a kind word to seniors in your neighborhood. Sometimes it is
friendship that can make all the difference.

Regards,

Mary

A Safer Path Forward for Connecticut Avenue

[3]

Safer Transit in Ward 3 - The District Department of Transportation (DDOT)
will soon announce a decision on the future lane configuration of
Connecticut Ave NW. Two years ago, DDOT launched the Connecticut Avenue NW
Reversible Lane Safety to respond to the confusing and often dangerous
reversible lane configuration along Connecticut Avenue NW. The aim of the
study was to assess how the road could be re-engineered without the
reversible lanes and create safer conditions for all road, crosswalk, and
sidewalk users.

Four road concepts were developed from the Reversible Lane Study, with DDOT
further narrowing down the options to Concept B and Concept C (pictured
above).

Councilmember Cheh and the corridor's four adjacent ANCs have all come out
in support of Concept C as the best path forward for Connecticut Avenue NW.
Concept C maintains four lanes of traffic while also prioritizing public
transit infrastructure and incorporating protected bicycle lanes. Option C
advances the District's Vision Zero goals and would result in a safer and
more accessible Connecticut Avenue corridor.

Candidates Wanted for the Ward 3 ANC Redistricting Task Force

Redistricting Work Continues - As the Council concludes its work on
redrawing the Ward boundaries, the next phase in the redistricting process
is for each Ward member to establish a task force to evaluate/redraw ANC
boundaries. Councilmember Cheh, along with her at-large colleagues, will
soon be making appointments to the Ward 3 task force. Sitting ANC
Commissioners or those planning to run for the ANC are not eligible to
serve on the task force. Moreover, the group should be diverse in many
ways, including geographical diversity.

If you are interested in being appointed, please email Abigail McLean at
[4][email protected] with your name, address, telephone number, and a
short description of your interest in serving.

A Citywide Holiday Lights Scavenger Hunt

Explore the District's Main Streets and complete tasks in the DC Holiday
Lights Scavenger Hunt for a chance to win great prizes (like gift cards,
products, and free services) from local businesses.

The more challenges you complete, the more entries you earn! Complete
challenges from now through January 6th, 2022.

[5]Click here to join the Scavenger Hunt

Talking traffic safety, varients, and vaccines on The Politics Hour

The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi - Councilmember Cheh joined Kojo Nnamdi
and Tom Sherwood to discuss her recent roundtable on booting and towing in
the District, legislation to require student vaccinations, redistricting,
and more on today's episode of The Politics Hour.

[6]Click Here to Listen to the Segment

Shop Small, Shop on Main Street

[7]

Ditch Disposable Plastics in 2022

Transitioning Away from Single Use Plastics - Takeout and to-go meals are
more popular than ever, but their convenience comes at a cost. Waste from
disposable and single-use food service items, such as containers, utensils,
and condiment packages, continues to grow and most frequently ends up at
landfills, incinerators, or waterways. Furthermore, food-serving businesses
and organizations have been hit hard by rising prices and supply chain
delays, disproportionately affecting small businesses that do not have the
purchasing power of restaurant groups and corporate chains to keep up with
demand.

As part of Councilmember Cheh's [8]Zero Waste Omnibus Act, effective
January 1st, 2022, restaurants and food service providers will be required
to stop automatically including these single use plastics with food orders.
Instead, they will be provided only upon request by the customer.

The District is also helping restaurants transition away from single use
plastic disposable foodware to reusable foodware through a new grant
program launching in 2022. These grants can include establishing dish
washing capacity and implementing the use of reusable containers, either
in-house or through a third-party entity.
* Please help spread this news with your favorite restaurants so they can
take advantage of the new grant program next year: [9]Ditch the
Disposables.

Join the Final Chevy Chase Walk with the Office of Planning

Chevy Chase Community Walk - Join the Office of Planning for the final
community walk along the Chevy Chase commercial corridor as part of the
Chevy Chase Small Area Plan. Pictured center left is Councilmember Cheh at
a previous walk along the corridor.

December 11th from 11 am to 12:30 pm. [10]Sign up Here

More Wonderful Community Events to Support this Weekend

[11]

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Ending this Update on a Happy Note:

Upcoming Invasive Plant Removal with the Rock Creek Conservancy

English Ivy, the Enemy - On December 18th, residents are invited to join
the Rock Creek Conservancy and neighborhood volunteers for two invasive
plant removal clean ups at the Melvin Hazen East Trail and Normanstone
Trail in Ward 3.

[13]Click Here to volunteer with the Melvin Hazen East Clean Up Team

[14]Click Here to volunteer with the Normanstone Clean Up Team

Invasive species are among the biggest threats to the District's urban
parks. Thank you to all the Ward 3 neighbors who are working to protect our
local parks by volunteering with the National Park Service and [15]Rock
Creek Conservancy!

Our Office is Open!

Connect with our staff - While Councilmember Cheh's physical office is
closed during the public health emergency, she and her staff are
teleworking and will remain accessible for residents.

You may continue to reach us via [16]email or phone through our main line
at (202) 724-8062 with legislative ideas, budget requests, and constituent
services requests.

[17]Facebook [18]Twitter [19]marycheh.com

FOLLOW MARY

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Mary Cheh
Mary Cheh Ward 3
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NWSuite 108
Washington, DC 20004
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