MORE DATA NEEDED ON MILITARY FAMILIES’ FOOD NEEDS

Military service members used more than $21 million in SNAP benefits in commissaries between September 2014 and August 2015, and Congress funded, until 2015, additional food assistance for military families. In addition, about 24% of students attending schools on Department of Defense (DOD) military bases were eligible for free school meals, and another 21% were eligible for reduced-price meals. Now, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report is calling for more data on food needs for military families. “Without more complete survey data,” GAO wrote, “DOD will not understand the prevalence of need among service members to effectively target its support and determine if it should assign department-level responsibility for monitoring food assistance needs.”

Source: San Diego Union Tribune, 8/2/16, Military Family Food

USDA announces cheese purchase to support dairy farmers and food assistance programs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced plans to purchase approximately 11 million pounds of cheese from private inventories to assist food banks and pantries across the nation, while reducing a cheese surplus that is at its highest level in 30 years. The purchase, valued at $20 million, will be provided to families in need across the country through USDA nutrition assistance programs, while assisting the stalled marketplace for dairy producers whose revenues have dropped 35 percent over the past two years.

"We understand that the nation's dairy producers are experiencing challenges due to market conditions and that food banks continue to see strong demand for assistance," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This commodity purchase is part of a robust, comprehensive safety net that will help reduce a cheese surplus that is at a 30-year high while, at the same time, moving a high-protein food to the tables of those most in need. USDA will continue to look for ways within its authorities to tackle food insecurity and provide for added stability in the marketplace."

USDA received requests from Congress, the National Farmers Union, the American Farm Bureau and the National Milk Producers Federation to make an immediate dairy purchase. Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935 authorizes USDA to utilize fiscal year 2016 funds to purchase surplus food to benefit food banks and families in need through its nutrition assistance programs.

We love our interns!

One of GardenShare's interns from last year stopped by for a visit this morning.  She brought some wonderful blueberry bread to share with us, but also this lovely hand-drawn card she had made for us!

Anna graduated from St. Lawrence University in May and has accepted a position with FoodCorps in Waterbury, CT.

We are so excited for her!

Are you a student or do you know a student who is interested in food system issues?  With the semester starting, we are definitely looking for new interns to join our team.

Who knows, you might just find your passion, like Anna did!

Gloria

OLYMPIANS’ FOOD FEEDS THE HUNGRY

While not as publicized as the triumphs of the US women’s basketball team, two chefs and a journalist are scoring are scoring a victory by using Olympic food waste to feed Brazil’s hungry. With the Olympic village churning out 466,000 pounds of food a day, chef Massimo Bottura of Ostteria Francescana, the top restaurant in the world according to this year’s World’s 50 Best Awards, Brazilian chef David Hertz, and journalist Ale Forbes identified the opportunity to put surplus food to good use by launching RefettoRio Gastromotiva. The program won’t end when of the Rio Games end either. Bottura’s nonprofit, Food for Soul, will continue supporting RefettoRio Gastromotiva, as it transitions to a paid lunch service whose profits will go toward free dinners for the hungry. (Bottura is also launching a soup kitchen project in the Bronx Robert De Niro.)

Source: Tasting Table, 8/15/16, Olympic Waste-to-Table

Summer bounty: tomatoes

The tomato is the edible, red fruit of Solanum lycopersicum, commonly known as atomato plant, which belongs to the nightshade family, Solanaceae.

The species originated in Central and South America. The Nahuatl (Aztec language) word tomatl gave rise to the Spanish word "tomate", where the English word tomato comes from.

Numerous varieties of tomato are widely grown in temperate climates across the world, with greenhouses allowing its production throughout the year and in cooler areas. The plants typically grow to 1–3 meters (3–10 ft) in height and have a weak stem that often sprawls over the ground and vines over other plants. It is a perennial in its native habitat, and grown as an annual in temperate climates. An average common tomato weighs approximately 4 oz.

Its use as a food originated in Mexico, and spread throughout the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces,salads, and drinks. While tomatoes are botanically berry-type fruits, they are considered culinary vegetables, being ingredients of savory meals

Open-faced tomato sandwiches with creamy cucumber spread

Ingredients

1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

2 cucumbers, seeds removed, diced (about 2 cups)

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

2 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

2 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for serving

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving

6 Texas Toast slices or other thick white bread slices, toasted

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 lb. assorted fresh tomatoes (about 3 large), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Thinly sliced chives

Preparation

1. Stir together cream cheese, cucumbers, red onion, dill, mint, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until well combined.

2. Spread about 1/4 cup of the cucumber mixture onto each slice of the toasted bread. Top each with 2 to 3 tomato slices, and drizzle each with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Sprinkle tomatoes with chives, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately

Source:  myrecipes.com

Gleaning - one way to prevent food waste

Gleaning is the name given to the idea of bringing in volunteers to harvest crops that a farmer is unable to and donating that food to soup kitchens and food pantries.

In my time at GardenShare, I've had a few conversations with people about how we should be gleaning from local farms.  And while I don't necessarily disagree, I also know from my work at a food bank for many years, that it's not quite as simple as it sounds.

These activities always tend to be last minute and there are lots of questions to answer.  Who will recruit the volunteers?  Who will supervise them to make sure they pick in the right fields and don't do any damage?  Where will boxes or other packaging come from?  Are the local programs even open to accept the donation and who will deliver it?

This week, I've had an example of just how hard this is.

A local grower estimated that he has 150 quarts of blueberries that he could donate, but he needs volunteers to pick them.  In this case, he had solved one of the logistical problems by making arrangements to freeze the blueberries in the new commercial kitchen at Cooperative Extension.  We thought if we could ask volunteers to bring a box of quart freezer bags with them, we could make this work.

Of course, time is of the essence.  Every day that goes by means a loss of quantity and quality of the berries.

I have reached out to several community groups and so far no takers.  I suspect, at this point, that a large amount of these berries will go to waste.  And I hate that.

Are there any volunteers out there who would like to work on developing a gleaning program?  If so, I'd love to talk to you.

Gloria

TAX ON GROCERIES HURTS THE POOR

Thirteen states and many localities tax the sale of groceries, even though the taxes disproportionately hurt the poor and may affect the quality, variety,and even the amount of food they can afford to put on the table. The reason: the taxes provide a steady source of revenue in volatile times, making it difficult for states to get rid of them without finding a way to make up the revenue. Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Dakota tax groceries at the same rate as all other purchases;  Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia and Utah tax food at a lower rate. And, because counties and localities sometimes collect food taxes even if their states don’t, people living in more than a third of the nation’s roughly 3,000 counties are taxed at some level on the food they buy at the store.The average tax rate is 4.3%, which translates to more than $200 for a family with an annual grocery bill of $5,000

Source: Stateline, 8/16/16, Grocery Taxes