Jaclyn Baker

Social Justice | Economic Justice | "The Other Bloomington"
'Equal access to nutritious food'

Photograph by Steven Higgs Mother Hubbard's Cupboard Director Brooke Gentile said providing healthy, nutritious food to anyone who needs it has been agency hallmarks since the food pantry opened in 1998. Mother Hubbard's is located at 1010 S. Walnut St.
by Jaclyn Baker
June 29, 2008

From the street, Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard (MHC) is barely visible to the eye. The building in a strip mall on Bloomington’s south side is small and modest, but the significance of its services is not.

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is a local food pantry that focuses on nutrition, organic growing and educating its clients, according to Brooke Gentile, the MHC executive director.

“I was really excited to work at Mother Hubbard’s because we provide the healthiest food possible,” she said. “And also because we empower everyone involved.”

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Social Justice | Theater | LGBT
'Gay panic' on BHSN stage

Photograph by Steven HiggsBHSN student director Dennis Wilson said he was unprepared for what he learned as he researched the 1998 Matthew Shepard hate crime murder. He directed The Laramie Project on a BHSN stage, which tells the story of the aftermath of the brutal murder.
by Jaclyn Baker
May 18, 2008

Matthew Shepard's murder shocked the nation. The 21-year-old gay college student was killed on Oct. 7, 1998, by two men near Laramie, Wyo. After torturing and robbing Shepard, the men tied him to a fence post and left him for dead.

Shepard was discovered 18 hours later by a passing biker in a coma and died shortly thereafter.

Ten years later, Bloomington High School North's (BHSN) Advanced Theatre Production class presented The Laramie Project, a play by Moises Kaufman, that depicts the aftermath of the nation's best-known hate crime.

Shepard's killers invoked the "gay panic defense" during the trial. They said they were driven temporarily insane by Shepard's alleged sexual advances. One eventually pleaded guilty and was given two consecutive life sentences. The other also received two consecutive life sentences after brokering a deal with Shepard's parents.

Economic Justice | "The Other Bloomington"
Hunger spikes in Bloomington

Photograph by Steven HiggsMother Hubbard's Cupboard Executive Director Brooke Gentile said the number of people seeking groceries from the food pantry doubled in April. While the historic trend for hunger in Bloomington is up, she cites the recent rises in fuel and food as the causes of the recent spike.
by Jaclyn Baker
May 18, 2008

Food prices rise. Gas prices grow to record highs almost daily. And Mother Hubbard's Cupboard's (MHC) client base is increasing with them.

"Peoples budgets are getting stretched farther," said MHC Executive Director Brooke Gentile. "The rising costs are making it harder on them."

MHC is a food pantry that provides for community members in need. It focuses on healthy and wholesome food to provide nutrition to its clients. In 2007, the pantry aided an average of 1,450 individuals per week and filled 75,017 grocery bags.

MHC served 161 new clients in March. In April that number more than doubled to 335. Gentile believes this growth is attributed to the rise of gas and food prices. She said these increases affect families that are living close to the poverty level.

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