Latest news with #Teagan
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Youth artists use their art to spark conversations about addressing child food insecurity
LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP)- As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. And the artwork by our local youth speaks volumes about a pressing issue — child food insecurity. These artists are using their art to spark conversations by conveying the struggles that many children face in obtaining enough food to eat.1 in 3 people in Massachusetts don't have access to reliable nutritious food. But a group of teens is taking action to address this issue — through an art exhibit at Storrs Library in Longmeadow. Rachel's Table Teen Board put together the bi-annual youth art competition, Hunger Awareness Arts Festival. 'No one should have to go through hunger. I know what it's like to have a really bad stomach from, like, when I was really little and must've didn't know I had celiac disease. Like it was so bad,' said a student at Wolf Swamp Elementary School, Teagan. The theme of the festival is 'Beyond the Lunch Line: Kids Facing Hunger.' This year's theme is exploring the realities of childhood hunger through the eyes of 22 young artists. Rachel's Table partnered with teachers in classrooms and individual artists to get youth talking about food insecurity in and out of the classroom. Teagan explains the meaning behind her masterpiece. 'I ended up creating a lonely and hungry, boy sitting on the bench in school and the other kids around him are like running around and doing cartwheels. I used to do that same thing when I had stomach aches,' said Teagan. These illustrations become a call to action — and the effects food insecurity has on a child. 'I think all of us are having a hard time in terms of the cost of food. But when it affects young children, it affects their brain development, it affects their emotional development. And it's really an important piece, too, to look at it, to try and figure out how to stop it from happening,' said Executive Director of Rachel's Table, Jodie Falk. Through this festival, the hope is to educate and engage the community on just how vulnerable children are to food insecurity and just one example of how youth are using their talents to make a difference in the region. If you want to help support the Rachel's Table Teen Board's mission to alleviate food insecurity their always looking for both food and monetary donations. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Thousands protest Trump administration, Elon Musk in Boston
Related : 'It's time for everybody to get up from the kitchen table and say 'Hands off,'' she said. 'Hands off our government, hands off our constitution.' Advertisement Demonstrators waved signs and chanted during 'Hands Off,' an anti-Trump/Musk rally. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff A growing momentum of anti-Trump and anti-Musk sentiment spurred Saturday's protest, making Boston's turnout the largest in the city since Trump's inauguration in January. Unlike Trump's first term when public outcry hit a fever pitch, protests this time around have been fewer, smaller, and calmer — until recently. On Saturday, over 10,000 people, amid American, Ukrainian, and trans pride flags, flowed from Boston Common to City Hall Plaza. The sound of drums echoed through the air. Despite chilly April temperatures, more than 10,000 people attended the rally with many coming from places outside the city. They flocked from Framingham, Franklin, Gloucester, Plymouth, and beyond, with homemade signs and umbrellas, prepared for a rainy afternoon. Advertisement Asked what brought her out, Laurie Irwin shouted, 'Outrage.' 'Who is going to work if everybody is fired from the government?' Irwin asked. Related : The attendees were students and teachers, union leaders and laborers, first-time protesters and veteran marchers. At least one person was costumed as George Washington, another was recovering from recent knee surgery. They brought their youngsters in backpacks and strollers. Some brought their pets. 'Tax the rich,' they chanted. Reminiscent of the protest era of the 1960s, the sound of musicians strumming the folk anthem, 'This Land Is Your Land,' wafted through the air. Dave Creme and Courtney Hachey, of Waltham, came with their two children ― Rory, 9 and Teagan, 7. Creme held Teagan on his shoulders, who held a sign that said, 'Fund our schools so I can learn.' Teagan had made the sign at home. Demonstrators gathered at Market Square in Portsmouth, N.H., on Saturday. Steven Porter 'There is so much going on that you can feel helpless,' said Hachey, who works with children with autism. 'It was also an opportunity for my children to learn to speak not just for themselves, but for others.' Labor organizations turned out in force. Leaders from the Massachusetts American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, and American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts took the stage. 'I'm here to say an immigrant is not the one taking jobs from people, a billionaire is,' said Chrissy Lynch, president of Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Beth Lev, an organizer for the Massachusetts 'Hands Off' rally, said this was one of thousands of demonstrations happening in all 50 states and six countries, Canada, Mexico, England, France, Germany, and Portugal. Saturday was predicted to be the largest single day of protest since Trump took office. The biggest rally was expected to happen on Washington's National Mall. Trump was not scheduled in the nation's capitol but rather at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla. Advertisement Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey joined in the march down Tremont Street. 'I believe it's the people who lead, it's the people who tell Washington what's [happening],' the senator said. At City Hall Plaza, Markey was the first of several official speakers. The finale, an acoustic set from Boston's beloved Irish punk band, the Dropkick Murphy's, came amid a downpour. Ken Casey and Dropkick Murphys energized demonstrators during 'Hands Off,' an anti-Trump/Musk, rally at City Hall Plaza. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Markey was greeted with energetic applause, whistles and chants of 'Markey!' 'This is the energy we need and Boston is going to ignite that energy across the nation,' Markey said. 'We aren't going to take it anymore.' Markey also urged the crowd to come together to accomplish three essential things: block Trump in the courts, get out and vote, and ' stand up like Senator Cory Booker.' Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was emphatic in her denunciation of the Trump administration. She led the crowd in a 'Hands off Boston' chant. 'This is about the world we want our children to grow up in,' Wu said. 'This is our city and you will never break us.' Boston mayoral hopeful Josh Kraft also joined the downtown march. 'I'm out here with all these people standing up to Donald Trump, the Trump administration, Elon Musk, DOGE,' Kraft told the Globe. In Providence, about 8,000 people marched from Hope High School to Kennedy Plaza in downtown. Wearing a hot pink pussy hat, Joyce Ward, denounced a proposed $510 million in funding cuts to Brown University as 'ill-advised' and 'retribution.' Related : 'He's saying he's going after these colleges because of antisemitism. It's not true. It's just more gangster government,' said Ward, 71, of Providence. Advertisement Rhode Island state Representative Karen Alzate, who 'The economy is for us. And we're here to tell this administration that you will not continue to tax our money to use it for your game,' Alzate said. 'You will not continue to deport my family, my friends, my neighbors.' In Portsmouth, N.H., Paul L. Gilbert protested outside of a Tesla dealership showroom. His handheld sign said, 'I didn't vote for Musk!' 'Only Congress can dictate where funds are spent and not spent, and he's overridden that,' Gilbert said, as passing motorists on US Route 1 honked their horns in support. 'It's just frustrating that the Republicans don't seem to be challenging that.' Undeterred by rain in Concord, N.H., Heidi Preuss, a 64-year-old retiree, brought her 8-year-old Great Dane, Leila, along for the protest. Both sported homemade signs. Preuss said she's stressed out about the current state of the nation, from drops in the stock market to Trump's immigration policies. 'Disappearing people off the street is just insane,' she said. 'It is absolutely the most un-American thing. It's the things that make us American that are being attacked.' Retired veteran and first-time protester, Ken Cowan, of Wilmot, N.H., said, 'I didn't fight for our country for this.' Cowan, 67, called Trump's presidency 'a coup in progress.' 'I think if we can all stand up and voice our opinions, he can't take over this country,' Cowan added. Advertisement Tonya Alanez can be reached at
