Hunger Hurts

I rarely stand on a soap box, especially here. This is my place to share all things I love... mostly food related. But then, everything in my world revolves around food. Certain dishes evoke memories of a place, others of an event or person. All of them happy.

And because I love food - not just the eating, but the sharing it with those I cherish, my heart is always torn when I see images of hungry families... especially the children. It's easy to understand how that happens in war torn or weather ravaged countries.  What's not easy for me to grasp is that hunger happens right here at home. Food Banks Canada's Annual Report on Hunger, 2011 (data collected in March and shared in November ) which, last year, showed a rise of 28% over 2008 and another 9% over 2009, was just released....  and although the good news for 2011 is that for most of the provinces, the numbers haven't increased. The bad news... they haven't really decreased by more than a smidgen either.

Here in Nova Scotia, we are fortunate to have an organization like FEED NOVA SCOTIA with over 150 member organizations - food banks and kitchens;  They advocate for ...I couldn't say it any better than they do...

"FEED NOVA SCOTIA is a respected voice in the fight against hunger and poverty. It's a reputation we are proud to have earned and one we are committed to upholding. But one voice is never as impactful as many. We are eager to equip groups and individuals who wish to join us in being an agent of change.

Through collecting and analyzing data, we provide an accurate picture of hunger in Nova Scotia and give context to the historic and evolving need for food support.  We use this knowledge to inform businesses, government, affiliated organizations and individuals about the issues, and to be an active participant in planning processes that help shape the future for those who struggle with food insecurity."

They also created and run a fantastic program called The Learning Kitchen,  a 16-week culinary training program where individuals facing barriers to employment learn a variety of skills that equip them for a job in the food service industry. Almost 80 per cent of graduates have maintained employment or educational activities one year after completing the program, successfully breaking the cycle of poverty in their own lives. 


This summer I was fortunate enough to be involved with another awesome pilot project for kids called The Kidz Magic Cupboard.  You can read all about it here.   There are many ways we can each make a difference in the war (and it is one) against poverty and hunger.

• Contact your local, provincial (or state) & federal government encouraging them to create better poverty reduction programs and more affordable housing, allowing more of a very limited budget to be spent on food;
• Share and participate in local food drives;
• Become a volunteer at a food bank or soup kitchen near you.

On a very positive note here in Canada, Kraft Canada is introducing a wonderful cross-Canada charitable initiative for the holidays...

Introducing Kraft Food for Families  "Imagine if your holiday wish list had items like food, a freezer, shelves for your storage room, or a truck to deliver food to others?  Many food banks across Canada are putting these items on their wish list so they can meet the needs of their community year-round.

To address this need, Kraft Canada is launching Kraft Food for Families, a program designed to enable food banks in Canada to better serve their communities".  

For every signature on this special website, Kraft Canada will donate $1 on the person’s behalf to one of thirty local food banks participating in the program.  People can sign their name once a day, every day, until January 31.  Each food bank will rally their local community to raise as many online signatures as possible.  In addition to all the $1 donations they raise, the food bank with the most signatures will receive a $10,000 donation gift which will be used to address their long-term resource needs.   I encourage you to do your part

• daily signature at KraftFood4Families
• tell your friends and families to do the same
•  tweet & facebook about it using #KraftF4F to get the word out.

I've been invited to be an ambassador for the initiative here in Nova Scotia so I'll be mentioning it often and telling you a little about some of the food banks on the list..    For those of you who don't live in Canada, use this as an incentive to seek out a wonderful sponsor like Kraft in your neighborhood.  After all, hunger is a world wide issue and, more importantly, we can each make a difference..

Kidz Magic Cupboard Project

This summer, in addition to entertaining visitors and travelling, I was part of an amazing project working with volunteers and the keenest kids on the planet. (I've hinted at it over the summer) But let me back up a bit.

When I moved to Halifax, a number of years ago, I was looking for somewhere to volunteer, and contribute to the community I live in.  Naturally, my focus was on food.  How could I help?   In Toronto, I was part of a group of lovely ladies who cooked up and served monthly Sunday Dinners for Fife House, an AIDS support organization.

I was checking out different, but food related organizations to join and found Feed Nova Scotia.  They do awesome work throughout the province.  I think their Mission Statement says it all....

"FEED NOVA SCOTIA is a charitable organization that helps feed hungry people by collecting and distributing food to more than 150 member agency food banks and meal programs, while at the same time striving to eliminate chronic hunger and poverty through research, awareness and support programs."

Several  elements I'm passionate about came together...

• Jamie Oliver - I've been following him since he was the single Naked Chef, loving his "easy peasy" recipes and then his incredible drive to provide healthier meals for families, first in England and then in the US (his famous Food Revolution) and Fifteen, his foundation to provide kitchen-based life skills for "young people needing a break in life" ;  and PLEASE check out his speech at One Young World conference.
• Reading about other chefs in Canada and the US who are creating excellent kids cooking programs to educate the future on better ways to eat;
• Loving local, fresh produce and the farmers who nurture them; 
• My own little grandsons and, with their mother, looking for healthy, kid-friendly food choices; and most importantly...
• That we don't have to look far to see poverty, hunger, obesity... etc., they exist in our own backyards.  

So after Dianne Swinemar, Executive Director of FEED NOVA SCOTIA and I sat down to chat, it was obvious that we had similar passions about providing all of our youth with positive choices.   Check out their awesome LEARNING KITCHEN program.   We dreamed about a program for young kids ( 8-12 years old) in community centers of their member agencies where we could engage and excite kids and help them feel comfortable in the kitchen and to create magical meals all by themselves with nothing more than basic staples and tools.

Three years later, with some wonderful Corporate sponsorships, we developed a summer pilot project...and Kidz Magic Cupboard was born.   A six week program, one afternoon a week (three hours), led by volunteers, for 10 kids (8-12); at three of FEED NOVA SCOTIA member agencies.   Lots of play while dishes are cooking (everyone's favorite game was the "Black Box"  actually a ziplock baggie with slips of words instead of real ingredients.  Kids pull out 4-5 "ingredients" and create a recipe, then draw a picture of it and share your "dish" with the rest of the group.  It's hysterical).

On to the recipes... developing the program, I wanted to make sure that the recipes were simple and that even 8 year olds with minimal help from grownups could put it together with common ingredients and the simplest of tools.  My favorite is Stone Soup which starts with the telling of the old parable

The Story of Stone Soup

Once upon a time, somewhere in post-war Eastern Europe, there was a great famine in which people jealously hoarded whatever food they could find, hiding it even from their friends and neighbors. One day a wandering soldier came into a village and began asking questions as if he planned to stay for the night.

"There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "Better keep moving on."

"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you." He pulled an iron cauldron from his wagon, filled it with water, and built a fire under it. Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a velvet bag and dropped it into the water.

By now, hearing the rumor of food, most of the villagers had come to the square or watched from their windows. As the soldier sniffed the "broth" and licked his lips in anticipation, hunger began to overcome their skepticism.

"Ahh," the soldier said to himself rather loudly, "I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage -- that's hard to beat."

Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a cabbage he'd retrieved from its hiding place, and added it to the pot. "Capital!" cried the soldier. "You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king."

The village butcher managed to find some salt beef . . . and so it went, through potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on, until there was indeed a delicious meal for all. The villagers offered the soldier a great deal of money for the magic stone, but he refused to sell and traveled on the next day. The moral is that by working together, with everyone contributing what they can, a greater good is achieved.

Serving amounts depend on how many ingredients are added to the pot.

The Recipe

Tools:

Medium pot Liquid measuring cup Vegetable peeler Small & medium sharp knives Cutting board

Measuring spoons Dry measuring cup (1/2 cup) Ladle Soup bowls

Ingredients:

1 stone, big enough that it won't get lost in the soup (quartz is a good choice because it won't break down in cooking) … not really!

4 cups of water or chicken broth plus any of the following: 1 tablespoon butter or cooking oil 1 medium onion, chopped 2 celery stalks, trimmed and chopped fine 1 large carrot, cut into coins 3 medium red-skinned potatoes (unpeeled, and cut into halves)

1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped 1 large garlic clove, pressed 1 medium zucchini, diced large 1 medium yellow squash, diced large 1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen 2 cups cooked pasta Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.    The first step is for your child to scrub and wash the stone thoroughly. Then, for an extra cleaning, she can drop it in a pot of water to boil while you prepare the rest of the soup together.  Or you could just pretend

2.    In large pot, melt the butter or heat the oil, then sauté the onion on medium-high for 2 to 4 minutes.

3.    Stir in the rest of the vegetables then add in the water or broth.  Bring it to a boil.

4.    Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for at least 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.   Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

5.    If you add cooked pasta, add it in the last two minutes of cooking.   Or you could add some pasta (1/2 cup) 5 minutes before the end.

The Fancy French Toast, mac 'n cheese and mini-pizzas (the kids even made their own pizza dough without yeast!) were all well received.   

And they even got to take some of what they cooked home with them (top photo)... along with the recipes, so they could do it all over again.  The response, week after week was awesome and the kids so proud of themselves.  

Now let me ask you to think about what you can do in your community to get kids engaged in the foods they eat and making them all more self-sufficient in their own kitchens.. 

2010 Coast-to-Coast Food Fight

Even if you're not from Nova Scotia, I hope you'll read this post and that it strikes a chord with you. Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and soon enough the US will celebrate their own. In fact between now and December 31st, there will be countless celebrations for every ethnic, religious and regional group. There will be feasting, and more feasting for many of us.

Unfortunately, more and more individuals and families have difficulty in putting food on their tables, not just to celebrate a holiday, but on a daily basis. Feed Nova Scotia is a wonderful charitable organization that helps feed hungry people by collecting and distributing food to more than 150 member agency food banks and meal programs, while at the same time striving to eliminate chronic hunger and poverty through research, awareness and support programs. Check out Hunger Count 2009 Food Banks of Canada Census to see just how challenging the problem is...and 2010, with no stats yet, looks even bleaker.

Unfortunately, organizations like Feed Nova Scotia are getting less traditional funding to combat this crisis. That means turning to the public in the form of fundraising - foodstuff as well as much needed dollars to cover significant costs of warehousing, transportation and all the costs that implies.

Dianne Swinemar, Executive Director, is passionate, energetic and driven...and it's contagious. Just ask any of the committed staff and volunteers who work with her every day. She and her team come up with some brilliant fundraising events like Chair-a-Tea, and Divas on the Green - a non-golf day at a local golf club.

One very cool event is the 2010 Coast to Coast Food Fight. Here's their Press Release....

"Halifax Regional Municipality and FEED NOVA SCOTIA have been challenged by the cities and food banks in Regina and Victoria to see who can raise the most food in 48 hours. We've eagerly accepted the challenge and we're pumped to win.

Rules of the game:
Beginning at 6pm on October 14, FEED NOVA SCOTIA will have 48 hours to receive and weigh as much food as possible. All food must be weighed in one location and none of the food can come into FEED NOVA SCOTIA's possession before the 48-hour period begins. The good news is you can start collecting food now!"

You can check out all the details right here. Of course I want Halifax to win, but regardless of where you live, whether that's in one of the three cities in the official "food fight" or elsewhere in the world, please donate whatever you can - food and money in your own community.

World Food Day is October 16th, so you still have time to get involved. And if you miss it, well the rest of the year is just as important.

Hunger Awareness 2010

Check out some neat ways that you can make a difference in your community.

Hunger Awareness Day

Those of you who know me, know that I'm always thinking, talking, cooking food. Even my email signature is "it's all about the food...isn't it?" and you'll be hard pressed to find even one entry on my blogs that is not food related. It's hard for me to imagine an activity that doesn't somehow include food - finding it, cooking it, eating it, enjoying foodie books, magazines and TV shows. Even hiking in the woods, has me noticing mushrooms and fiddleheads (and wondering which are poisonous - but that's another story).

When I was a kid in Montreal, the standard "mom" expression when we didn't eat what was on our plates - "there are children starving in Biafra!" and we, would answer..."well, you can mail them mine", not understanding in the least what "starving" meant. Even today, we see images on TV asking for help for those in war torn, impoverished nations and for areas suffering from one natural disaster or another, and it breaks our hearts. But we don't think about those living in this lush and food rich land, who are in the same situation. The truth is, hundreds of thousands of Canadians use food banks because they do not have enough money to feed themselves or their families. Children. Seniors. People with disabilities. People who have jobs and still can't make ends meet.Instead, we say "I'm starving!" when what we mean is "When is dinner? I haven't eaten since lunch."

Tomorrow is Hunger Awareness Day in Canada. Last year, close to 800,000 Canadians visited local food banks every month...18% higher than the year before...37% of them were children...3,252,134 meals were served. You can check out some other shocking statistics here, and while I will definitely be counting my blessings, I'll be finding out how I can do my part to change this sorry, sorry state. As the old saying goes..."the longest journey begins with a single step."

So tomorrow, I'll be joining in a local Halifax event - Hunger Lineup to collectively acknowledge that hunger exists in communities across this great land and to learn more about their challenges and what I can do to help. There are three hunger lineups in the province, so if you're a Nova Scotian, check out the one nearest you.

Thursday, I'll be meeting with Dianne Swinemar, Executive Director of Feed Nova Scotia to find out more about local programs. I urge you to do the same in your neighborhood. And for those of you in the USA. Here are some links - Feeding America's site will tell you how to get involved in your community and here's an eye-opening article from the NY Times, November 2009 to read.

What will be your "first step" to making a difference?