The Spicy Taste of Success

We just love it when learning meets opportunity and –BAM! A career is born! After graduating from our Culinary Job Training Program (CJTP) in Sept 2011, Nathan Vanderberg, is now the proud chef and co-owner of Taste of NOLA food truck. Nathan entered CJTP on the advice of his wife Tracy, who encouraged him to transform his passion for baking (poundcakes are his specialty!) into a viable career. Through CJTP, Nathan says he learned not only kitchen skills, but ServSafe sanitation and food handling best practices, as well as how to run a business.

“I learned how to do my own thing,” said Nathan.

His “own thing” turned out to be a food truck that he and his business partner, James Obie Bolden, were able to purchase last year, enabling Nathan to transition out of part-time work into a full-time role as chef. Taste of NOLA specializes in jambalaya, gumbo, beans & rice, and—putting that passion for baking to good use— beignets! Find them on Facebook or get a menu and truck schedule at tasteofnola@yahoo.com. Support your local chef!

IFFS's CRAFT: Bringing Farmers Together to Learn and Grow

Beginning and seasoned farmers, backyard gardeners, and simply the "farm-curious" came from all parts of the Piedmont to learn about the latest techniques and innovations in sustainable farming, as Inter-Faith Food Shuttle kicked-off the first growing season of the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT) United Piedmont. The collaborative is an international model of regionally-organized farmer training rooted in the belief that farmers learn best from each other. Through CRAFT United Piedmont, inspiring leaders in our local farming community will host educational tours on their farms once a month from June to November. Each tour will focus on a special topic and will be followed by a community potluck. The Kick-off Farm Tour and Potluck  was hosted on Sunday,  June 2nd, by Joanna and Bill Lelekacs at Dancing Pines Farm in Efland and focused on Growing Summer Produce in Hoop Houses. Attending this inaugural event were over 30 beginning farmers as well as established farmers, farm interns, folks interesting in starting their own farms, backyard gardeners, farm-curious folks, and some just interested in learning more about local farms. They came to Efland from around the region – including Sanford, Louisburg, Durham, Raleigh, Pittsboro, Silk Hope, and Hillsborough.

Bill Lelekacs led a tour of the farm’s two hoop houses. These inexpensive, unheated (passive-solar) greenhouses are often used to extend the growing season, meaning that farmers can start producing earlier as well as keep on growing longer than they could without the hoop house’s protection. The Lelekacs grow produce year round inside these structures– including lettuce in December, so they can sell at farmers markets and to restaurants year-round. Hoop houses are also useful during the summer because they allow farmers to protect crops from rain and use only drip irrigation instead. Keeping the leaves dry on growing plants can help to control many pests and diseases associated with our warm, wet summers.

Joanna Lelekacs led a tour around the rest of their almost two-acre, chemical-free farm, explaining their focus on pollinators and giving participants a look at their fencing systems, pond for watering, small orchards, organic pest-prevention techniques, and the development of their post-harvest shed. Along the way, attendees asked questions and shared ideas about future projects, past experiences, trouble-shooting, and their favorite tools.

The event wrapped up with continued conversation over a wonderful potluck meal – full of what else but lots of farm-fresh veggies!

CRAFT United Piedmont is supported by Inter-Faith Food Shuttle through a USDA NIFA Beginning Farmer’s and Rancher’s Development Program grant. It's all part of strengthening the local food system to make sure everyone has access to good food and the income to be able to purchase it. Stay tuned for more CRAFT events each month this summer and fall at local farms!

IFFS On-Farm Stand Now Open!

This past Saturday marked the grand opening of the IFFS On-Farm Produce Stand, which will now be open every Thursday and Friday from noon-6pm and every Saturday from 9am-1pm. We will be selling our organically-grown produce harvested daily from the farm and eggs from our happy, pasture-raised hens. This weekend, the stand overflowed with gorgeous carrots (including the two lovers below), romaine lettuce, curly kale, baby kale (great for kale chips!), swiss chard, braising mix, deliciously peppery arugula,  asparagus, garden peas, green onions, cilantro, and herbs for transplanting.

Also for sale were some homemade items and books made and written by one of our newest volunteers and incubator farmers, Elizabeth Mann.

The stand is located at the corner of Tryon Road and Dover Farm Road (next to the IFFS Teaching Farm at 4505 Tyron Rd) in Raleigh, on the right. Just look for the signs!

If you want to receive a weekly “Availability List” just email Farm Manager Kay Coleman at kay@foodshuttle.org. She will be sending out a list of what we are currently harvesting each Monday.

You can also find our produce and eggs each Saturday morning 8am-noon at the Midtown Raleigh Farmers Market at North Hills Commons.

All proceeds from the sale of this produce goes to support the programs of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle!

Meet Rachael, our new Catering Manager!

The following is a letter from Rachael Carpenter, our new Catering Manager, to all friends of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle! We're very excited to have her -- Get ready to see a lot more of her around town, and consider Catering With A Cause for your next event -- proceeds go to support IFFS's proactive  hunger-relief programs! On behalf of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, Catering With A Cause, I would like to introduce myself as the new Catering Manager. I am very excited to join the team and look forward to helping the Catering Program grow. I was first introduced to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle five years ago through Public Allies, NC. I completed my year of service in 2008 and continued to work at my placement until February of this year. I have a great interest in local food, gardening, and local restaurants and am excited to expand my experience with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

Catering With A Cause, CWAC, is a revenue generating catering service staffed by graduates from our Culinary Job Training Program, specializing in breakfast, lunch & desserts. We are happy to provide boxed lunches for the office and extend our services to wedding events. CWAC is a delicious way to profoundly impact the community and offer our graduates an experience to use their newly mastered culinary skills!

Do not hesitate to contact me directly at, Catering@foodshuttle.org or 919-696-0073.

Best Regards,

Rachael Carpenter Catering Manager Inter-Faith Food Shuttle

Mobile Tastiness Machine spotted in Parrish Manor

Last week, the Mobile Tastiness Machine made its way on the road for a pilot run in the community of Parrish Manor, where we also work with neighborhood youth to manage a community garden and host nutrition education classes. The food truck, which houses our Mobile Meals program, made its debut with tasty turkey stir-fry with vegetables and brown rice, and a side of fresh strawberries. "Yay!" came the first customer's response upon hearing the menu.

Chef Terri Hutter and Kitchen Manager Sunshine Beard worked the window.

Kids in the community gave curious looks and shouts over to the colorful truck as the school bus dropped them off in front of the Parrish Manor office where we were parked. Some were hesitant to wander over at first, but once they heard that the food was free, they didn't just wander up to the truck....they ran.

Word spread pretty quickly, and soon dozens of kids were served hot, nutritious meals.

Look for the truck in low-income communities this summer serving up hot lunches and supper six days a week, along with nutrition education and physical activities.

Outreach

This past weekend, our training chef, Chef Khaleel, assisted by our very own intern Annie Lassiter, taught students and parents at PreEminent Charter School's health fair about eating healthy through a healthy cooking demonstration. They made lettuce veggie wraps and tuna boats! Yum!

Take Your Place at the Table

A new film that debuted March 1st, A Place at the Table, explores childhood hunger in America, and it opens today in Greensboro at the Geeksboro Coffeehouse Cinema!  The film vividly illustrates how lack of income and lack of access to fresh healthy food are the root causes of hunger and its companion, obesity.  Here in North Carolina, one in four children in North Carolina is at risk of hunger.  More than 112,000 children receive free or reduced lunch through our public schools in the 7 counties Inter-Faith Food Shuttle serves.

The film addresses the need for continued strong funding of federal nutrition programs, like SNAP (food stamps), which help keep millions of American families from going hungry, as well as the need for education about healthy food.

Watch the trailer here:

The film in also currently playing at Sunrise Theatre in Southern Pines, NC. You also can watch the full film on iTunes or onDemand.

What can you do to help?

You can help both at the grassroots level and by advocating for national change.

• Volunteer with us!
  • Through our Nutrition Education programs, we’re connecting kids, teens, families, and adults with the knowledge and skills to access, purchase, prepare, and eat nutritious food on a limited budget.
  • Organize your co-workers, club members, or faith-based group to pack BackPacks for food insecure children or pack and distribute Grocery Bags for Seniors.
  • Harvest excess produce from local farmers' fields with our Field Gleaning program. We'll distribute it to people and communities in need through our Mobile Markets.
  • Connect with how food is grown on local market farms by growing with us on our Teaching Farm.
• Donate to help us end hunger in our community.  We feed, teach, and grow to overcome the root causes of hunger: the barriers  of lack of access and lack of sufficient income to purchase enough healthy food.
  • Your donation helps support local initiatives to make sure all members in our community have the employment and job skills to earn a living wage through our culinary, young farmer, and urban agriculture job training programs.
• Contact your representative
  • Help end hunger in America by contacting your House and Senate Representatives.  Urge them to protect and strengthen SNAP and other nutrition safety net programs and oppose any proposals to weaken them. Congress must ensure that Americans who have fallen on hard times have the resources they need to put food on the table for their families. 
  • Call the A Place at the Table hotline at 1(855)-48TABLE to be connected to your members of Congress:
    • Talking Points:
      • As a constituent, I urge you to protect and strengthen funding for SNAP and other nutrition safety net programs as you work to reauthorize the Farm Bill and address deficit reduction

• Congress must ensure that Americans who have fallen on hard times have the resources they need to put food on the table for their families.

More information here.