We're approaching the half-way point for Holiday Helpings 2009. And we've already distributed over 5,000 holiday meals — a turkey with all the trimmings — to DC's most vulnerable residents, offering these families the opportunity to enjoy their celebratory meal in the dignity of their own homes.
We had the pleasure of hosting both Leon Harris (ABC-7) and Cokie Roberts (NPR) at our Northwest center. Enjoy the highlight video developed by Bread for the City's own Amy Johnson!
It is important to remember that Holiday Helpings extends beyond the Thanksgiving holiday through December 24. So although 5,000 healthful, holiday meals is impressive, we still have another 3,500 to go to reach our goal. The best part is that it's not too late to get involved! Just $28 will bring Holiday Helpings to a family of four. This Thanksgiving, show your gratitude for all that you have by giving back to those who need it most.
November 25, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 24, 2009
Gettin' Dirty: The Final Glean
The forecast was ominous for Glean for the City's final Gleaning (on Saturday, November 14th). Rain had been pounding Parker Farms for days. It stopped only hours before we planned to hit the fields.
A swamp it was. Volunteers leaped puddles, walked down dry rows like a tightrope, and trudged through the mud in search of perfect heads of broccoli. As I wrote last time, gleaning broccoli isn't easy -- you have to really get down to the ground and slash it out.
One of our volunteers got a little too far down to the ground. Her foot sunk 2 feet into the mud, and even with Vince's help she was struggling to get up. After considerable tugging (and laughing), she eventually pulled her foot out -- but without a shoe! It seemed to get eaten by the muck. But rather than take it easy after that, she kicked off her other shoe (which just looked like a chunk of mud anyway) and proceeding to glean barefoot for over an hour.
By the end, despite the mud, we'd hauled up 35 bins bulging with broccoli. We took the time to admire our work, and then the volunteers began to depart in their respective vehicles. But nature had one last attempt to spoil our fun.
Vince and I heard the spinning wheels first. We looked over at a volunteer's sedan, which was now stuck in a newly formed river, and simultaneously said, “UH OH”. We tried to help push--to no avail.
Predictably, Rod Parker came to the rescue. Using the front end of his 4x4, he gently nudged the vehicle to solid ground. Our volunteer drove away, waiving out of the car with a loud, “Thank youuuu!” It was the perfect exclamation point on an improbably perfect day.
Last but not least, a HUGE thanks to everyone who voted for us (especially those of you who voted every day!) in the Tom's of Maine '50 States for Good' contest. I am pleased to report that Bread for the City won!
We'll have more thoughts here soon about what that means for the future of Glean for the City. In the meantime, thousands of thank yous from us to those of you who made it happen. This one's for you:
A healthful Thanksgiving
Cross-posted from the DC Food For All.
Everywhere we turn, we're reminded that Thanksgiving is here. Most conversations focus on setting a beautiful table, cooking a moist turkey, making side dishes that could stop conversation, and baking pies to match.
And these things do matter. It also matters that the holidays, like all days, are healthful.
So at a recent cooking workshop here at Bread for the City, I participated in a conversation with our clients about how to make Thanksgiving healthful, without compromising flavor or tradition.
To get started, we talked about our various Thanksgiving table traditions, and came up with a list of what the clients called "Thanksgiving must-haves." It included: turkey, ham, brisket, and/or a roast; gravy; green beans; macaroni and cheese; stuffing; sweet potatoes; corn; mashed potatoes; rice; cooked greens (collards, kale, spinach, mustard greens, etc.); bread; cranberry sauce; and of course dessert.
Now, as part of our Nutrition Initiative, we are working with our clients to identify other ways to eat healthfully even with limited resources. For example, last year Bread for the City scrapped canned gravy from our holiday menu (as it not only has super-high sodium, but it's also expensive!), and instead passed out recipes for how to make your own gravy from the turkey's drippings.
This time around, we sorted many of the Thanksgiving must-haves into two categories: non-starchy vegetables (e.g., lettuce, tomatoes, cooked greens, garlic, asparagus) and starchy vegetables and grains (e.g., sweet potatoes, corn, rice, and bread). Having had quite a few cooking classes under their belts by now, the people in my class noted that, ideally, the non-starchy vegetables on one’s plate would take up more space than the starchy vegetables and grains. But when we looked at the list of Thanksgiving must-haves, the starches/grains appear to have overtaken the non-starchy vegetables.
Our solution to this problem? Add vegetables wherever possible. After I offered some suggestions, the class participants really ran with the exercise, and came up with the following suggestions themselves:
- For the green beans: Cook with onions, garlic, and/or broccoli.
- For the macaroni and cheese: Add spinach, cauliflower, and/or tomatoes.
- For the stuffing: Include plenty of celery, garlic, onions, pepper, and/or carrots
- For the mashed potatoes: Mash in garlic, celery root, rutabaga, and/or cauliflower.
- For the rice: Add plenty of fresh herbs, like parsley and mint.
- For the greens: Don’t forget the onions and garlic.
- And make a salad, as well!
Bread for the City client Gail prepares Thanksgiving dinner in her home.
We then made a healthier macaroni and cheese with low-fat cheese and milk, loads of chopped spinach, and whole wheat pasta. The clients couldn’t believe how good it was. Then they were wowed by our fresh cranberry relish, an addition or alternative to highly sweetened cranberry sauce.
And it’s easy to make. Here’s the recipe:
2 ½ cups of fresh cranberries
1 ½ cups of walnuts
1 apple
2 cans of pineapple rings in their own juice
3 stalks of celery
Directions:
Finely chop cranberries and walnuts.
Mix them together in a large bowl. Then pour in the pineapple juice from the cans.
Chop apples, celery, and pineapple rings and add to bowl.
Mix well.
Feel free to adjust the proportions to taste. (I make mine a little different each time.) Enjoy!
Meanwhile, by the end of today, more than 5,000 DC families will have received Bread for the City's Holiday Helpings feasts (including a turkey and all the trimmings; low-sodium stuffing; pasta; and fresh produce from our Glean for the City program). Few, if any, of these families could otherwise have afforded such a feast. For readers who would like to support our Holiday Helpings campaign -- just $28 for a family of four -- please visit www.breadforthecity.org/holidayhelpings
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 23, 2009
A Holiday Helpings visit from Delegate Norton
We received a special visit today from Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton!
Our beloved delegate helped stuff some of our special holiday feast packages, and also passed out frozen turkeys to our clients (who were thrilled to see her).
Afterwards, Executive Director George A. Jones gave Congresswoman Norton a tour through our facility. As they walked through the medical clinic (see below), Norton and Jones discussed our expansion plans, which will more than double our capacity.
(See the entire set here.)
Have you joined in with Holiday Helpings yet? At this point we've distributed around five thousand complete turkey to families who would not otherwise be able to afford to share a holiday feast in the dignity of their own homes. Just $28 will bring Holiday Helpings to a family of four. Give today at:
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