Bob Dylan Joins the Fight Against Hunger!

The coolest thing that I've ever seen in the world of hunger relief is happening right now.  Bob Dylan has announced that the US royalties from the sales of his upcoming album of holiday songs will be donated to Feeding America.   The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is a proud member of Feeding America and we are super-excited about this partnership. Bob came to town recently on his tour of minor league ballparks. He played the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in July.  Several Food Shuttle staffers went and reported back a great show.  I had to miss it. I once drove 8 hours to see him on the Love and Theft tour when I was in college but couldn't make the one 45 minutes away.It would have been my 6th Dylan show dating back to the mid-90s.

But we'll make up for it here on the Behind the Scenes at the Food Shuttle blog.  We'll keep you updated on any more news around the album and we'll be posting some Dylan clips via Youtube up until the release. And there are rumors circulating that we may try to work with one of our great downtown Raleigh establishments to have an event around the October 13 release. We'll keep you posted.

Here's Like a Rolling Stone, live circa 1966

Get to know the Food Shuttle Staff: Katherine Andrew!

Name and title:  Katherine Andrew, Director of Nutrition What does at typical day at IFFS look like for you?   A typical day could include:

Sourcing food from the warehouse and garden for Operation FrontLine (OFL) classes;  Working with interns from local universities to create new programs and curricula for our Nutrition and Garden programs;  Catching up on Hands on Health communities; Working in Garden at Mayview; Setting up new classes & helping OFL Coordinator find volunteers, order books, and recruit participants;  Teaching healthy eating, budgeting, and gardening to agency staff and communities; Coming up with new recipes and curricula for healthy eating;  Connecting with local Health, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture organizations, individuals, and programs;  Creating new programs and health or gardening education for agencies and their communities;  Updating PAR pounds and members; Evaluating current programs

How long have you been at the Shuttle?  Since November, 2007

What’s your favorite part about working at IFFS?  The variety and movement in my day.

What did you do before IFFS?  Most recently,  got my Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Nutrition from UNC

What do you like to do when you’re not fighting hunger?  Cook, run, travel

Favorite Movie? Princess Bride

Your last meal would be?   All fresh from the garden of course!   Spinach salad with balsamic, yellow tomatoes, and walnuts;  Fish in herb sauce with roasted okra, beets, and sweet potatoes; dark chocolate dessert with berries to finish it off!

P.S. Katherine has starred in a few Food Shuttle videos.  Check out our Youtube Channel!

MIX 101.5's Bill and Lynda visit the Shuttle

Bill and Lynda from MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM stopped by the Food Shuttle Tuesday to give us a check for $27,000 from the BackPack Buddies Food Drive  last week:

Thanks again to all the MIX 101.5 listeners and BackPack Buddies supporters who gave money and food to help low income kids this school year!!

If you are interested in volunteering with the BackPack Buddies program, please sent an e-mail to: volunteer@foodshuttle.org

Thanks to Everyone for making our BackPack Buddies Food Drive a Huge Success!

Wow! Thursday proved yet again why the Triangle is a great place to live!

Watch this video for a special thanks and donation totals from Jill Staton Bullard:

The response to the Mix 101.5 WRAL-FM BackPack Buddies food drive was overwhelming. Over $27,000 was donated to make sure children have access to healthy meals over the weekend.  We are still sorting and weighing all the food donations. It is a tremendous amount, over 10,000 pounds!

Thanks to everyone who took time from their day to come out to donate.  Whether you made it by the two locations or contributed online, your gift will have a powerful impact on the lives of children.

Special thanks to our friends at Mix 101.5 Wral-FM.  Their enthusiasm for feeding children is real and their dedication is unwavering.  We couldn't have done it without them.

Click here for more pictures on our Flickr site from the event last Thursday!

Ripe Recipe: Summer's Best Pasta

Summer's Best Pasta Recipe

An incredibly basic recipe that highlights the best of summer ... basil & tomatoes.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 super-ripe flavorful tomatoes, chopped
• 6-10 cloves of garlic, slivered
• 1 c loose-packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/3 c flavorful olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• angel-hair pasta

Directions: To sliver the garlic, use a very sharp knife, hold cloves perpendicular to the knife blade and slice off cross-sections as thin as possible. Put olive oil into a large sautee pan and set the heat to medium-low. Toss in the garlic "chips" and agitate the pan as the oil slowly infuses with the garlic flavor. After several minutes, the garlic will begin to soften & turn golden--do not allow them to turn brown or they will become bitter. When the chips are just toasted, add the chopped tomatoes & basil, tossing in the olive oil only long enough to warm through, not to cook. Season with salt & pepper and serve over angel hair pasta--with or without parmesan cheese.

Food Drive Tomorrow!

Help feed hungry kids tomorrow at the MIX 101.5 WRAL BackPack Buddies Food Drive! Everyone can join with MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM  and Inter-Faith Food Suttle to give children in need 6 meals and 2 healthy snacks on weekends during the school year by dropping off food, new backpacks, or a monetary donation.

Food you can donate:

• pop-top canned fruits and vegetables
• individual-sized breakfast items like cereals, grits and oatmeal
• pop-top canned meats and fish
• healthy snacks: granola bars, Goldfish, dried fruit and raisins
• meat-based soups and stews
• 100% juice in cans, plastic bottles or boxes
• individual-sized shelf-stable milk

Read this for more details about the Food Drive, and we'll see you tomorrow!

Getting ready for the MIX 101.5 BackPack Buddies Food Drive!

Don't forget this Thursday at Crossroads in Cary and Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh Mix 101.5 Wral Fm will be hosting a BackPack Buddies Food Drive from 6 am-6 pm. Here's the scoop from WRAL.

MIX 101.5 WRAL BackPack Buddies Food Drive

MIX 101.5 WRAL-FM  is holding their Annual BackPack Buddies Food Drive on August 20th! Stop by anytime from 6am-6pm to donate money or food for BackPack Buddies. A schedule for MIX 101.5 WRAL Radio Personalities can be found here.

We'll see you there on August 20th!

Ripe Recipe! BLT Salad

Here's another Ripe Recipe from Chef Terri Hutter.

BLT SALAD 

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES STUFFED WITH HERBED GOAT CHEESE

• GREEN TOMATOES- cut ¼’ thick, 2 per person
• GOAT CHEESE
• HERBS
• BLACK PEPPER
• OIL

COMBINE GOAT CHEESE, HERBS & BLK. PEPPER, SET ASIDE

SPREAD TOMATO SLICES OUT IN A SINGLE LAYER & SPRINKLE WITH SALT. LET SIT 5 MINUTES.

SET UP BREADING STATION

•  ONE BOWL FLOUR
•  ONE BOWL EGG WASH
•  ONE BOWL CORN MEAL

ALL SEASONED WITH SALT & PEPPER

DRY OFF TOMATO SLICES WITH PAPER TOWELS. SPREAD GOAT CHEESE ON ½ THE TOMATOES. TOP WITH REMAINING TOMATOES.

COAT THE TOMATOES IN FLOUR, THEN IN EGG, THEN CORN MEAL. PLACE ON TRAY UNTIL READY TO COOK.

HEAT OIL IN SKILLET TO MED-HOT. ADD TOMATOES, DO NOT CROWD. WHEN BOTTOM IS GOLDEN, TURN & COOK OTHER SIDE. PLACE IN SHEET PAN IN WARM OVEN UNTIL READY TO SERVE.

DRESSING

• MAYO
• SHERRY VINEGAR
• HERBS
• S&P

SALAD

• ROMAINE LETTUCE
• BACON

WASH & CUT ROMAINE

SLICE BACON, COOK UNTIL CRISP

TOSS ROMAINE WITH DRESSING, PILE ON SERVING PLATTER. PLACE TOMATOES AROUND SALAD AND DOWN THE CENTER. 

Sun checks in on a scorcher

Our Farm Educator/Manager Sun Butler talks about what's up at the Food Shuttle Farm. As of last week, Sun had lost about 15 pounds since the dog days of summer really took effect. Don't worry though, Sun knows how to handle ridiculous heat like we're getting today.

Find more Food Shuttle videos at our Youtube Channel.