Plant A Row for the Hungry is having a huge impact and we are happy to extend it through the Fall! Our friends at Logan's will continue to be a drop-off spot for your extra produce. And of course you can always bring it here to the Food Shuttle. If you're new to gardening, or new to fall gardening, we teamed up with the staff at Logan's to make some helpful videos to get you started. Last time, we looked at container gardening. This week, our friend Chris will show you how to plant a row using seed germination trays.
Carrboro Farmers' Market FoodShare challenge this Saturday
Help raise 1,000 lbs. of food for the hungry this Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon!
Carrboro Farmers' Market is challenging locals to shop for their own groceries on Saturday, but also fill a bag of produce for the hungry. The Food Shuttle's refrigerated trucks will be on site to deliver the fresh local produce to hunger relief agencies.
According to Margaret Gifford, Chapel Hill resident and founder of Farmer FoodShare:
"The farmers have donated over 7,500 pounds of marketable food since late May. Now we are challenging shoppers to follow the farmers' example. Shoppers can buy their groceries at the market and while they are there, donate a bag of food for the hungry."
Video: Gov. Perdue and Plant A Row
The News and Observer's Under the Dome blog on politics and government here in North Carolina posted a great YouTube video highlighting how the Governor became active in the PAR program earlier this month:
NACE - Top of the Table Gala
The Triangle's National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) held their 2009 Top of the Table Gala last night at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham to raise funds for the Food Shuttle through a tabletop design competition and silent auction. Guests could sponsor a BackPack to raise money for our BackPack Buddies program as well. The theme for the Gala was based on the Broadway musical Wicked, and featured stunning tabletop design categories like "Wicked Weddings" and "Green with Envy." The decorations were glittering with emerald green and ruby reds from Wicked and the movie The Wizard of Oz. Top catering companies from the Triangle area served hors d'oeuvres and drinks for guests while the acoustic guitar band, Melonbelly, entertained the crowd.
Inter-Faith Food Shuttle extends a sincere thanks to NACE and all the guests who made the event spectacular to raise support in the collaborative effort to fight hunger in the Greater Triangle!
CJTP celebrates with 48th graduating class
Friday was an exciting day here at the Food Shuttle. Our Culinary Job Training Program (CJTP) graduated its 48th class of students! The students celebrated their success and completion of an 11 week culinary program. For the 8 graduating students who used to be unemployed or under-employed, the day represented a new beginning. With the help of Food Shuttle staff, the CJTP students received not only culinary skills, but are given job placement aid to find meaningful employment in the culinary field. The graduation ceremony consisted of a wonderful meal made by the CJTP graduates, the presentation of certificates, speeches from staff and students, and many joyful faces.
Embrace Fall Fruits and Vegetables
Fall is still a good time for fresh fruits and vegetables
Today marks the first day of autumn! As we say goodbye to summer and welcome the fall, we thought it would be great to remind you of the fruits and vegetables of the season. Purchasing local produce that is in season provides many benefits that often include reduced prices, increased variety, fresher fruits and vegetables, and support of local farmers. Check out the list below to find some of the fruits and vegetables that are in season during the autumn months:
Fruits: Apples, Avocados, Cranberries, Dates, Grapefruit, Grapes, Kiwi, Oranges, Pears, Raspberries, Clementine, and Persimmons.
Vegetables: Carrots, Cabbage, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, Pumpkin, Spinach, Winter Squash, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflower, Garlic, Beans, Beets, Bok Choy, Collard Greens, Sweet Potatoes, Rhubarb, Swiss Chard, Turnips, Watercress, Edamame, Fennel, Rutabaga, and Celery
Many smaller local farmers markets decrease hours or begin to close as autumn takes hold. Be sure to visit these locally “grown” businesses and check out what they have to offer. Hope you have a wonderful start to autumn. Along with the change of season, try cooking with and eating the fruits and vegetables the autumn months have to offer!
By: Rachel Bryan, Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Intern
PAR Donation Total-- Over 10,000 pounds!
The Plant A Row for the Hungry program has now received over 10,000 pounds of fresh produce! It is exciting to see how gardeners and farmers around the Greater Triangle have planted extra rows of food and given produce to help people in need!
PAR Announcement:
Because the response has been overwhelming to Raleigh's 1st year of the Plant A Row for the Hungry program, it will be extended through the fall season! Plant extra spinach and collard greens this fall, and bring your extra produce by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle or Logans Trading Co.
Join with Snickers to 'BAR HUNGER'
SNICKERS® 'Bar Hunger' Campaign
SNICKERS® Brand, which has always satisfied hunger, is teaming up with Feeding America to ‘Bar Hunger.’ As part of the ‘Bar Hunger’ campaign, SNICKERS will donate the equivalent of at least three million meals to Feeding America in 2009.
More importantly, SNICKERS plans to educate and inspire Americans to help through special branding and educational verbiage on its SNICKERS packaging, dedicated national advertising, www.facebook.com/snickers, as well as a series of events throughout the year.
You can support the cause by:
- Making a donation to Feeding America via the SNICKERS Facebook page, www.facebook.com/snickers. SNICKERS will match every donation -- up to a total of $25,000.
- Making a $5.00 donation to Feeding America by texting the word “BAR” to 90999 through December 31, 2009.
Frontline Fiesta
This blog post is an update from an OFL class in Durham we mentioned yesterday in a blog post. Be sure to check it out if you want the Pico de Gallo Salsa recipe!! It was truly a “Fiesta” at the Reality center in Durham on Tuesday afternoon. 2 Inter-Faith Food Shuttle staff, 3 volunteers and 17 youth participants came together for a highly engaging Operation Frontline Class. From the beginning, the chemistry between the students and volunteer instructors was electric.
With a menu consisting of Mexican flavors, the youth learned how to prepare homemade Pico de Gallo salsa, Tex-mex skillet and banana quesadillas. Chef Ben Blankenship instructed students on proper cooking skills such as sanitation, knife safety, food prep and smart procedures when working with hot peppers. Nutritionist Jennifer Hale led engaged groups of young minds in the nutrition portion of the class; the students participated in active discussion on the “My Pyramid” food structure. Before eating, class manager Elizabeth Floyd introduced students to gardening and the importance of sustainability. At the end of the class the students were excited to learn from our Volunteers about there professional experience and the steps necessary to embark on a career in nutrition or the culinary arts.
Many times working with teens can provide for a challenging experience, however yesterday was a perfect blend of education, instruction and fun. It was clear the room had a few future chefs and nutritionist in the making.
New Salsa Recipe!
Here's a great salsa from the Operation Frontline recipe book. The OFL class being held at the Reality Center in Durham actually made this last night. We'll have more on that class tomorrow on the OFL blog. Enjoy the salsa!
Tech Note: We used Jing to capture and copy that recipe into this post. It's our first time using Jing and we have to say it's the coolest toy we've used since getting google voice.