The U.S. produces about 591 billion pounds of food each year, and up to half of it goes to waste, costing farmers, consumers and businesses hundreds of billions of dollars.
In his new book, "American Wasteland" (Da Capo Press, 2010), Jonathan Bloom examines the story of discarded food, from vegetables left to rot in the field to unsold hamburgers shovelled into restaurant trash bins.
He also offers potential remedies, such as taxes on landfills, expanded composting programs and incentives for farmers to harvest all that they grow and to donate what they can't sell.
THE CYCLE OF FOOD WASTE
Food waste begins at farms. With lettuce, for example, the average harvest rate has been estimated at 85% to 90%. The rest of the lettuce—heads that don't look or feel perfect on quick inspection—are left in the field. One cucumber grower said that at least half of the cucumbers on his farms aren't harvested,mostly because they are too curved (making them hard to pack) or have white spots or small cracks. Farm losses are generally higher for hand-picked fruit and perishable vegetables than for machine-harvested commodity crops like corn and wheat; about 9% of commodity crops planted in the U.S. aren't harvested.
Look at the rest of the cycle of food waste here.
Showing posts with label Hunger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hunger. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Charities in Trouble
Donations to top charities nationwide are dropping. Central Indiana is not escaping the trend.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Organic Giving
From NUVO:
Green B.E.A.N. Delivery – formerly known as Farm Fresh Delivery – is doing its part for National Hunger Awareness Month by donating 10,000 pounds of fresh, organic vegetables to local community kitchen, Second Helpings. That's a lot of chlorophyll.
Organizers at Second Helpings say they'll distribute those veggies among the nearly 3000 meals the group sends out each day to local social service agencies.
For more information on Second Helpings, visit www.secondhelpings.org; for more on Green B.E.A.N. Delivery, which has several outstanding sustainability, education and charitable initiatives, go to www.GreenBEANDelivery.com.
Green B.E.A.N. Delivery – formerly known as Farm Fresh Delivery – is doing its part for National Hunger Awareness Month by donating 10,000 pounds of fresh, organic vegetables to local community kitchen, Second Helpings. That's a lot of chlorophyll.
Organizers at Second Helpings say they'll distribute those veggies among the nearly 3000 meals the group sends out each day to local social service agencies.
For more information on Second Helpings, visit www.secondhelpings.org; for more on Green B.E.A.N. Delivery, which has several outstanding sustainability, education and charitable initiatives, go to www.GreenBEANDelivery.com.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What Are You Craving...and WHY?
Research up in the air over whether there is a direct connection between cravings and nutritional deficiencies
It’s 4:27, and you suddenly want Cheez-Its but you don’t know why. Many a craver has puzzled over why they want the foods they suddenly can’t live without. While many studies have been done to discover why we crave the things we do, most have had inconclusive results.
Read the entire story here.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Tough Choices for America's Hungry
(CNN) -- As Walter Thomas knows, it's hard to look for a job when your stomach is rumbling.
The 52-year-old from Washington, D.C., started skipping meals in early January when his savings account was running dry and his kitchen cabinets were almost empty.
Thomas at first didn't want to turn to the United States' food safety net, the food stamp program, for help.
But after being laid off in July from what seemed like a steady job in sales at a furniture store, Thomas swallowed his pride and applied for the monthly food aid.
"It lets me think, 'OK, well, tomorrow I'll be able to eat. If nothing else, I'll be able to eat,' " he said.
With the national economy in meltdown, more Americans than ever are relying on the federal aid program to keep from going hungry. In October, more than one in 10 people -- about 31 million -- were using the food stamp program to get by, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
More recent numbers are not available, but advocates for the poor say the number of those in need of aid probably has increased since then.
Stereotypes associated with food stamps abound, and recipients are often seen as prone to taking handouts, sometimes when they may not be needed.
But the profile of hunger in America is multifaceted, as diverse as the nation itself, especially in these times of economic hardship.
To get a better idea of what it's like to live on a food stamp budget, CNN correspondent Sean Callebs has decided to eat for a month on $176 and blog about the experience on CNN.com.
That's a situation many people, Thomas included, can relate to. Thomas, who said he had been working steadily since he was 13 years old, now receives $175 per month for food. That's about $5.83 per day -- less than $2 per meal.
Not that Thomas is complaining. After getting his first payment, which is added to an inconspicuous debit card to reduce the stigma associated with the program, Thomas went straight to the grocery store. He was hungry and grateful.
"It's definitely been a blessing to me," he said of the food stamp program, which, since October, has gone by the name Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Advocates for the poor, as well as those on federal assistance, hope President Obama's economic stimulus plan will increase food stamp payments. The average family on food stamps would receive $79 more per month if the stimulus bill passes in the U.S. Senate this week, according to The New York Times. iReport.com: How are you doing in this tough economy?
There is some debate about whether giving people money to spend on groceries is a valid form of economic stimulus.
Few are more hopeful the measure will pass than Crystal Sears, a 30-year-old mother in Germantown, Pennsylvania, who said she has been on food stamps for more than three years.
Sears said she sometimes skips meals so her three children can eat. Even with federal assistance, she said, she sometimes has to make a meal for herself out of crackers or food scraps.
She said she has been out of work for several years because all three of her children have medical conditions: Her 8-year-old son has a seizure disorder that requires frequent hospital visits and constant attention; her 2-year-old daughter was born with heart problems; and her 12-year-old daughter has scoliosis, a back condition that recently required two surgeries, she said.
Without much money, she's forced to make tough choices.
"If the kids needed sneakers and their sneakers are getting too small, or if my water bill is past due, I'd opt not to pay it and risk them sending me a shut-off notice just so my children can eat," she said.
Sometimes she chooses to buy more food instead of paying her gas bill to heat her home. When she does, the family sleeps huddled around their stove or an electric heater, she said.
Her monthly food stamp payment is $489, she said. That's sometimes sufficient. But some months, she said, she doesn't receive full payments because of mix-ups with paperwork. Until recently, she said, she received about $250 per month, which she said was far from enough to feed her family of four.
The SNAP program is meant to supplement a person's food budget, not cover all food expenses, said Jean Daniel, a spokesperson for the USDA, which administers the program.
Taking on part-time work would further complicate the application process, she said. Sears said she worked for seven years at a Salvation Army shelter before becoming unemployed.
"For me, I've always been a helper. And my thing is I don't like to help people to enable them. I like to help people so they can help themselves in the long run," she said.
Sears stretches her food budget by buying cheap and sometimes fatty meals. She said she doesn't like doing that but can't avoid it. With food prices high, she said, grocery shopping is stressful.
"We get like the mac and cheese, which is dehydrated cheese -- basically food that's no good for you health wise," she said. "Everything is high in sodium and trans fats ... and that's all we basically can afford. There's not enough assistance to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight."
Advocates for the hungry say many people on the food stamp program opt to buy less-healthy foods because they can't afford fresh fruits and vegetables on such a tight budget.
Food stamp "benefits aren't really enough for a healthy diet," said Jim Weill, president of the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center.
Sears said she is grateful for the help she does get.
Maribel Diaz, a 36-year-old mother of three boys in Los Angeles, California, said her $319-per-month payment isn't always enough.
But she said she would starve herself before letting her boys go hungry.
"You're bringing home less bags [of food] now, because the milk is almost $5 a gallon and the bread is $3 a loaf. ... A chicken is, like, now $8," Diaz said. "If you're really breaking it down, you're not bringing a lot of groceries home."
All SNAP recipients are eligible for free nutritional counseling to help people stretch their food budgets, said Daniel, of the USDA.
Advocates for the hungry find flaws in the way the program is set up, but they praise it for being a safety net the government can't take away during tough times.
Unlike aid to soup kitchens, the food stamp program receives federal funding in times thick and thin, and has a $6 billion backup fund, Daniel said.
"The money will be found so people are not turned away," Daniel said.
All of the benefits paid to participants come from the federal government. States split the program's administrative costs.
Advocates see some flaws in SNAP but generally give it praise.
"I say about food stamps what Winston Churchill said about democracy: 'It's the worst possible system except all the others,' " said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York Coalition Against Hunger.
Berg said the program's benefits are too small and too difficult for people to obtain.
But the food stamp program is somewhat successful, he said.
"The main purpose of the program is to wipe out Third World starvation in America, and it's worked," he said, adding that he's optimistic about improvements that could come as part of the economic stimulus plan.
Thomas, the laid-off furniture worker in Washington, said he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him.
After being let go from his store, he stopped at an employment center before going anywhere else. He said he faxed about 20 résumés to similar companies on that very day.
None has resulted in a job yet, but Thomas said he has been to interviews for other types of work and hopes employment will come soon.
For now, he's just happy to continue the job search without the pain of hunger nagging at his stomach.
The 52-year-old from Washington, D.C., started skipping meals in early January when his savings account was running dry and his kitchen cabinets were almost empty.
Thomas at first didn't want to turn to the United States' food safety net, the food stamp program, for help.
But after being laid off in July from what seemed like a steady job in sales at a furniture store, Thomas swallowed his pride and applied for the monthly food aid.
"It lets me think, 'OK, well, tomorrow I'll be able to eat. If nothing else, I'll be able to eat,' " he said.
With the national economy in meltdown, more Americans than ever are relying on the federal aid program to keep from going hungry. In October, more than one in 10 people -- about 31 million -- were using the food stamp program to get by, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
More recent numbers are not available, but advocates for the poor say the number of those in need of aid probably has increased since then.
Stereotypes associated with food stamps abound, and recipients are often seen as prone to taking handouts, sometimes when they may not be needed.
But the profile of hunger in America is multifaceted, as diverse as the nation itself, especially in these times of economic hardship.
To get a better idea of what it's like to live on a food stamp budget, CNN correspondent Sean Callebs has decided to eat for a month on $176 and blog about the experience on CNN.com.
That's a situation many people, Thomas included, can relate to. Thomas, who said he had been working steadily since he was 13 years old, now receives $175 per month for food. That's about $5.83 per day -- less than $2 per meal.
Not that Thomas is complaining. After getting his first payment, which is added to an inconspicuous debit card to reduce the stigma associated with the program, Thomas went straight to the grocery store. He was hungry and grateful.
"It's definitely been a blessing to me," he said of the food stamp program, which, since October, has gone by the name Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Advocates for the poor, as well as those on federal assistance, hope President Obama's economic stimulus plan will increase food stamp payments. The average family on food stamps would receive $79 more per month if the stimulus bill passes in the U.S. Senate this week, according to The New York Times. iReport.com: How are you doing in this tough economy?
There is some debate about whether giving people money to spend on groceries is a valid form of economic stimulus.
Few are more hopeful the measure will pass than Crystal Sears, a 30-year-old mother in Germantown, Pennsylvania, who said she has been on food stamps for more than three years.
Sears said she sometimes skips meals so her three children can eat. Even with federal assistance, she said, she sometimes has to make a meal for herself out of crackers or food scraps.
She said she has been out of work for several years because all three of her children have medical conditions: Her 8-year-old son has a seizure disorder that requires frequent hospital visits and constant attention; her 2-year-old daughter was born with heart problems; and her 12-year-old daughter has scoliosis, a back condition that recently required two surgeries, she said.
Without much money, she's forced to make tough choices.
"If the kids needed sneakers and their sneakers are getting too small, or if my water bill is past due, I'd opt not to pay it and risk them sending me a shut-off notice just so my children can eat," she said.
Sometimes she chooses to buy more food instead of paying her gas bill to heat her home. When she does, the family sleeps huddled around their stove or an electric heater, she said.
Her monthly food stamp payment is $489, she said. That's sometimes sufficient. But some months, she said, she doesn't receive full payments because of mix-ups with paperwork. Until recently, she said, she received about $250 per month, which she said was far from enough to feed her family of four.
The SNAP program is meant to supplement a person's food budget, not cover all food expenses, said Jean Daniel, a spokesperson for the USDA, which administers the program.
Taking on part-time work would further complicate the application process, she said. Sears said she worked for seven years at a Salvation Army shelter before becoming unemployed.
"For me, I've always been a helper. And my thing is I don't like to help people to enable them. I like to help people so they can help themselves in the long run," she said.
Sears stretches her food budget by buying cheap and sometimes fatty meals. She said she doesn't like doing that but can't avoid it. With food prices high, she said, grocery shopping is stressful.
"We get like the mac and cheese, which is dehydrated cheese -- basically food that's no good for you health wise," she said. "Everything is high in sodium and trans fats ... and that's all we basically can afford. There's not enough assistance to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight."
Advocates for the hungry say many people on the food stamp program opt to buy less-healthy foods because they can't afford fresh fruits and vegetables on such a tight budget.
Food stamp "benefits aren't really enough for a healthy diet," said Jim Weill, president of the nonprofit Food Research and Action Center.
Sears said she is grateful for the help she does get.
Maribel Diaz, a 36-year-old mother of three boys in Los Angeles, California, said her $319-per-month payment isn't always enough.
But she said she would starve herself before letting her boys go hungry.
"You're bringing home less bags [of food] now, because the milk is almost $5 a gallon and the bread is $3 a loaf. ... A chicken is, like, now $8," Diaz said. "If you're really breaking it down, you're not bringing a lot of groceries home."
All SNAP recipients are eligible for free nutritional counseling to help people stretch their food budgets, said Daniel, of the USDA.
Advocates for the hungry find flaws in the way the program is set up, but they praise it for being a safety net the government can't take away during tough times.
Unlike aid to soup kitchens, the food stamp program receives federal funding in times thick and thin, and has a $6 billion backup fund, Daniel said.
"The money will be found so people are not turned away," Daniel said.
All of the benefits paid to participants come from the federal government. States split the program's administrative costs.
Advocates see some flaws in SNAP but generally give it praise.
"I say about food stamps what Winston Churchill said about democracy: 'It's the worst possible system except all the others,' " said Joel Berg, executive director of the New York Coalition Against Hunger.
Berg said the program's benefits are too small and too difficult for people to obtain.
But the food stamp program is somewhat successful, he said.
"The main purpose of the program is to wipe out Third World starvation in America, and it's worked," he said, adding that he's optimistic about improvements that could come as part of the economic stimulus plan.
Thomas, the laid-off furniture worker in Washington, said he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him.
After being let go from his store, he stopped at an employment center before going anywhere else. He said he faxed about 20 résumés to similar companies on that very day.
None has resulted in a job yet, but Thomas said he has been to interviews for other types of work and hopes employment will come soon.
For now, he's just happy to continue the job search without the pain of hunger nagging at his stomach.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Kroger and Second Helpings Partner to Feed the Hungry
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – At a Sunday evening June 8th dinner in honor of Second Helpings' 10th anniversary, Kroger Central Division Public Affairs Manager John Elliott announced a major perishable food partnership between Kroger and Second Helpings as part of Kroger’s national Perishable Donation Partnership (PDP).
"For far too long food banks, food rescue organizations and local food pantries have operated with the food that people choose to donate, rather than being able to provide enough healthy, nutritious meals that include meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables and other perishable foods," said Bob Moeder, president of Kroger Central Division. "Just because a family is temporarily unable to purchase their meals in retail food stores, that should not mean they have to accept a lower quality standard or inadequate nutritional value."
Second Helpings and Gleaner's Food Bank will share access to a significant quantity of healthy, nutritious perishable food donations from nearly 50 Central Indiana Kroger stores. Second Helpings and Gleaners have just completed a successful pilot of the program for Kroger's Central Division, working with four stores each. Prior to the pilot, both organizations had to undergo thorough evaluations, including food safety evaluation and other certifications.
Kroger's cash contribution on June 8th includes $5,000 in support of Second Helpings' highly respected chef training academy, as well as $5,000 that is unrestricted. Kroger made a contribution of $15,000 earlier this year to underwrite costs associated with a special insert in "Indianapolis Woman" magazine promoting the mission and programs of Second Helpings.
The partnership with Second Helpings' Culinary Job Training Program, headed by Chef Carl Conway, will include Kroger's hiring graduates of the program, supporting curriculum and content of the training program, access to Kroger stores during training sessions and other shared expertise in what is projected to be a mutually-beneficial exchange of talent and ideas.
Kroger enthusiastically supports helping organizations that provide food to those in need. The donations of nutritious perishable food will be especially important to children for healthy growth and development.
According to Mr. Moeder, "Kroger does not do this alone. We rely heavily on partners in every community to feed the hungry. I personally visited Second Helpings and share my colleagues' great enthusiasm for the quality and effectiveness of their organization. We were so impressed that we sought special approval from our corporate headquarters in Cincinnati to allow Second Helpings to be the first food rescue organization in the nation to participate in the PDP. I am especially pleased that our division’s leading expert on food safety, Melissa Miller, has agreed to lead this PDP for us. Kroger is very committed to making this perishable food program just as successful as the many other programs comprising our 125 year history of feeding the hungry in our local communities."
Cindy Hubert, CEO of Second Helpings added, "Second Helpings is honored to have been chosen to be part of Kroger's perishable food partnership and receive the wonderful financial support from Kroger. The confidence Bob Moeder and Kroger's leadership team have shown to Second Helpings to allow us to be the first food rescue organization certified within the nation is priceless. We are looking forward to a long and rewarding alliance with Kroger to feed the hungry within our community."
Background:Nationally, 40% of the $160.5 million Kroger donates in local communities goes to hunger relief. These donations are primarily dry grocery products and can goods. "This is an exciting opportunity to bring even more food and hope to hungry people," said Lynn Marmer, Kroger’s Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs and a member of the national board of directors of America’s Second Harvest. "This initiative not only increases the amount of fresh food Kroger donates, it will help improve the diets of individuals and families who depend on hunger relief programs by giving food banks access to a variety of nutritious meats, fruits and vegetables."
Kroger has launched the PDP as a company-wide project to increase the number of stores that donate safe, perishable food to America's Second Harvest food banks across the country. As part of the PDP program, Kroger has dedicated a senior staff person in the corporate headquarters, Kathleen Wright, as Director of the Company’s PDP. Under Wright’s leadership, Kroger’s PDP will expand to include not only the current 30 million pounds per year of non-perishable food donations, but an additional 50 million pounds of nutritious, fresh food to food banks across the country. In terms of meals, this represents an increase from 22 to 59 million meals annually. The safe handling of perishable foods will make food bank and food pantry operations more complex, so Kroger’s efforts will include expertise and resources to prepare local food banks for the safe and efficient handling of perishable foods.
Kroger's Central Division, based in Indianapolis, supported six food banks in Indiana and two in Illinois during 2007 with more than $2 million in cash contributions, donated transportation, event support and donated food. Kroger actively engages its customers and the communities in which its employees live and work in its hunger relief efforts by supporting food drives throughout the year. Kroger is a major sponsor of the Boy Scouts of America's "Scouting for Food" program and leads a "Share Your Feast” food drive during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays each year. Kroger’s financial contributions are reinforced by substantial non-cash support such as donated equipment; professional expertise and considerable volunteer hours.
The Kroger Central Division has 154 food stores, 129 pharmacies and 51 fuel centers operating under five banners; Kroger, Scott's, Owen’s, Hilander and Pay Less, with locations primarily in Indiana and Illinois, in addition to five stores in Missouri, one in Michigan and one in Ohio. Kroger Central Division is dedicated to supporting every local community it serves, contributing more than $7 million annually to local organizations, primarily focusing on hunger relief, K-12 education, health causes and diversity. At Kroger we value: honesty, respect, inclusion, diversity, safety and integrity.
Source: The Kroger Company- Central Division
"For far too long food banks, food rescue organizations and local food pantries have operated with the food that people choose to donate, rather than being able to provide enough healthy, nutritious meals that include meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables and other perishable foods," said Bob Moeder, president of Kroger Central Division. "Just because a family is temporarily unable to purchase their meals in retail food stores, that should not mean they have to accept a lower quality standard or inadequate nutritional value."
Second Helpings and Gleaner's Food Bank will share access to a significant quantity of healthy, nutritious perishable food donations from nearly 50 Central Indiana Kroger stores. Second Helpings and Gleaners have just completed a successful pilot of the program for Kroger's Central Division, working with four stores each. Prior to the pilot, both organizations had to undergo thorough evaluations, including food safety evaluation and other certifications.
Kroger's cash contribution on June 8th includes $5,000 in support of Second Helpings' highly respected chef training academy, as well as $5,000 that is unrestricted. Kroger made a contribution of $15,000 earlier this year to underwrite costs associated with a special insert in "Indianapolis Woman" magazine promoting the mission and programs of Second Helpings.
The partnership with Second Helpings' Culinary Job Training Program, headed by Chef Carl Conway, will include Kroger's hiring graduates of the program, supporting curriculum and content of the training program, access to Kroger stores during training sessions and other shared expertise in what is projected to be a mutually-beneficial exchange of talent and ideas.
Kroger enthusiastically supports helping organizations that provide food to those in need. The donations of nutritious perishable food will be especially important to children for healthy growth and development.
According to Mr. Moeder, "Kroger does not do this alone. We rely heavily on partners in every community to feed the hungry. I personally visited Second Helpings and share my colleagues' great enthusiasm for the quality and effectiveness of their organization. We were so impressed that we sought special approval from our corporate headquarters in Cincinnati to allow Second Helpings to be the first food rescue organization in the nation to participate in the PDP. I am especially pleased that our division’s leading expert on food safety, Melissa Miller, has agreed to lead this PDP for us. Kroger is very committed to making this perishable food program just as successful as the many other programs comprising our 125 year history of feeding the hungry in our local communities."
Cindy Hubert, CEO of Second Helpings added, "Second Helpings is honored to have been chosen to be part of Kroger's perishable food partnership and receive the wonderful financial support from Kroger. The confidence Bob Moeder and Kroger's leadership team have shown to Second Helpings to allow us to be the first food rescue organization certified within the nation is priceless. We are looking forward to a long and rewarding alliance with Kroger to feed the hungry within our community."
Background:Nationally, 40% of the $160.5 million Kroger donates in local communities goes to hunger relief. These donations are primarily dry grocery products and can goods. "This is an exciting opportunity to bring even more food and hope to hungry people," said Lynn Marmer, Kroger’s Group Vice President of Corporate Affairs and a member of the national board of directors of America’s Second Harvest. "This initiative not only increases the amount of fresh food Kroger donates, it will help improve the diets of individuals and families who depend on hunger relief programs by giving food banks access to a variety of nutritious meats, fruits and vegetables."
Kroger has launched the PDP as a company-wide project to increase the number of stores that donate safe, perishable food to America's Second Harvest food banks across the country. As part of the PDP program, Kroger has dedicated a senior staff person in the corporate headquarters, Kathleen Wright, as Director of the Company’s PDP. Under Wright’s leadership, Kroger’s PDP will expand to include not only the current 30 million pounds per year of non-perishable food donations, but an additional 50 million pounds of nutritious, fresh food to food banks across the country. In terms of meals, this represents an increase from 22 to 59 million meals annually. The safe handling of perishable foods will make food bank and food pantry operations more complex, so Kroger’s efforts will include expertise and resources to prepare local food banks for the safe and efficient handling of perishable foods.
Kroger's Central Division, based in Indianapolis, supported six food banks in Indiana and two in Illinois during 2007 with more than $2 million in cash contributions, donated transportation, event support and donated food. Kroger actively engages its customers and the communities in which its employees live and work in its hunger relief efforts by supporting food drives throughout the year. Kroger is a major sponsor of the Boy Scouts of America's "Scouting for Food" program and leads a "Share Your Feast” food drive during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays each year. Kroger’s financial contributions are reinforced by substantial non-cash support such as donated equipment; professional expertise and considerable volunteer hours.
The Kroger Central Division has 154 food stores, 129 pharmacies and 51 fuel centers operating under five banners; Kroger, Scott's, Owen’s, Hilander and Pay Less, with locations primarily in Indiana and Illinois, in addition to five stores in Missouri, one in Michigan and one in Ohio. Kroger Central Division is dedicated to supporting every local community it serves, contributing more than $7 million annually to local organizations, primarily focusing on hunger relief, K-12 education, health causes and diversity. At Kroger we value: honesty, respect, inclusion, diversity, safety and integrity.
Source: The Kroger Company- Central Division
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Food Pantries Offering Health Care to Needy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- An out-of-work David Thomas walked into a Milwaukee food pantry just seeking groceries. Thomas learned he was a stroke waiting to happen and got blood pressure medicine along with his bread.
Food pantries have long aimed to help heal hunger. A new project aims to see how well they can help heal high blood pressure, diabetes and other ailments, too.
It's part of a growing movement to offer medical care for the poor and uninsured in the places where they regularly gather.
"We're taking a window of opportunity approach," says Bill Solberg, director of community services for Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, which co-founded the food pantry project. "We know we can see these people once a month."
Despite an increasing number of free medical clinics, treatment is hard for the needy to track down. That's especially true for the nation's top health problems -- high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol -- that require ongoing care even when the person feels no symptoms if they're to avoid heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and amputations.
Clinics require a special trip, a long wait, perhaps a baby sitter, annoyances for the well-to-do but huge obstacles for someone who must take three buses to reach the doctor or who loses a day of pay for the time off.
Consequently, "they only come when they're out of medicines or have symptoms. It's so frustrating," says Dr. Jim Sanders of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
So specialists increasingly are seeking other ways to address glaring disparities in U.S. health care, by taking care directly to where the people who need it most hang out.
Churches nationwide are offering blood pressure screening days and health fairs. Projects in numerous states are teaching barbers and beauticians how to teach their customers about stroke symptoms or to encourage a mammogram while giving a haircut.
Baltimore health officials are debating expanding the concept, with a proposal to offer blood pressure testing in 100 hair salons and barbershops in neighborhoods with high rates of heart disease.
In Milwaukee, Columbia St. Mary's and the medical college aim to provide scientific evidence that "chronic disease management" -- ongoing wellness care -- can significantly improve food pantry users' health in nine months.
The targets: High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking. The plan: Nurses will screen users of three food pantries for those health conditions when they come in for free groceries. Those with problems can get treated on the spot, with ongoing care as needed.
And because four of those conditions are diet-related, patients also will get nutrition education: Cooking classes in the pantry's kitchen and tips to make the often carbohydrate- and salt-heavy food-bank staples a little healthier. Medical students will be sent shopping with patients, helping with things like label-checking for salt.
Sadly, high-carb and high-fat foods tend to be a lot cheaper than fresh produce, and many of these families feed four for a month on $250, Sanders says. "Try to talk them into a head of broccoli. It's going to be an eye-opener."
Thomas, 47, learned his blood pressure was a sky-high 194 over 124 while visiting the project's initial food pantry clinic. A nurse told him he was at high risk for a stroke, and he agreed to treatment. Her warnings really sank in days later, when a meatpacking plant checked his health as part of a job interview, and said he'd be hired only after his hypertension was controlled.
Five days after starting pantry-provided pills, Thomas' blood pressure was dropping fast.
"This clinic is going to bring joy to the whole neighborhood," he said.
The program, which aims to treat 2,500 patients over three years, is funded by a $450,000 grant from a charity, but patients are expected to contribute for medications if at all possible.
Sanders predicts that for $4 or $5, a month's supply of generic hypertension or cholesterol medicine will be adequate for most. The seriously ill will be sent out for more advanced care, and nurses will enroll patients who qualify into Medicaid or other health programs.
"This is definitely an innovative program," says Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones, a preventive health expert at Emory University.
It's not the first time food banks and medical clinics have teamed up, notes Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association, pointing to a long-standing collaboration in the nation's capitol.
But there's little data showing how well this kind of nurse-led community project works, or that it can be cost-effective, Sanders says.
"The most important principle here is going where the people are," Benjamin says. "There no reason you can't do immunizations there, no reason you can't do nutritional counseling there. ... It makes a lot of sense."
Food pantries have long aimed to help heal hunger. A new project aims to see how well they can help heal high blood pressure, diabetes and other ailments, too.
It's part of a growing movement to offer medical care for the poor and uninsured in the places where they regularly gather.
"We're taking a window of opportunity approach," says Bill Solberg, director of community services for Columbia St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, which co-founded the food pantry project. "We know we can see these people once a month."
Despite an increasing number of free medical clinics, treatment is hard for the needy to track down. That's especially true for the nation's top health problems -- high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol -- that require ongoing care even when the person feels no symptoms if they're to avoid heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and amputations.
Clinics require a special trip, a long wait, perhaps a baby sitter, annoyances for the well-to-do but huge obstacles for someone who must take three buses to reach the doctor or who loses a day of pay for the time off.
Consequently, "they only come when they're out of medicines or have symptoms. It's so frustrating," says Dr. Jim Sanders of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
So specialists increasingly are seeking other ways to address glaring disparities in U.S. health care, by taking care directly to where the people who need it most hang out.
Churches nationwide are offering blood pressure screening days and health fairs. Projects in numerous states are teaching barbers and beauticians how to teach their customers about stroke symptoms or to encourage a mammogram while giving a haircut.
Baltimore health officials are debating expanding the concept, with a proposal to offer blood pressure testing in 100 hair salons and barbershops in neighborhoods with high rates of heart disease.
In Milwaukee, Columbia St. Mary's and the medical college aim to provide scientific evidence that "chronic disease management" -- ongoing wellness care -- can significantly improve food pantry users' health in nine months.
The targets: High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking. The plan: Nurses will screen users of three food pantries for those health conditions when they come in for free groceries. Those with problems can get treated on the spot, with ongoing care as needed.
And because four of those conditions are diet-related, patients also will get nutrition education: Cooking classes in the pantry's kitchen and tips to make the often carbohydrate- and salt-heavy food-bank staples a little healthier. Medical students will be sent shopping with patients, helping with things like label-checking for salt.
Sadly, high-carb and high-fat foods tend to be a lot cheaper than fresh produce, and many of these families feed four for a month on $250, Sanders says. "Try to talk them into a head of broccoli. It's going to be an eye-opener."
Thomas, 47, learned his blood pressure was a sky-high 194 over 124 while visiting the project's initial food pantry clinic. A nurse told him he was at high risk for a stroke, and he agreed to treatment. Her warnings really sank in days later, when a meatpacking plant checked his health as part of a job interview, and said he'd be hired only after his hypertension was controlled.
Five days after starting pantry-provided pills, Thomas' blood pressure was dropping fast.
"This clinic is going to bring joy to the whole neighborhood," he said.
The program, which aims to treat 2,500 patients over three years, is funded by a $450,000 grant from a charity, but patients are expected to contribute for medications if at all possible.
Sanders predicts that for $4 or $5, a month's supply of generic hypertension or cholesterol medicine will be adequate for most. The seriously ill will be sent out for more advanced care, and nurses will enroll patients who qualify into Medicaid or other health programs.
"This is definitely an innovative program," says Dr. Jada Bussey-Jones, a preventive health expert at Emory University.
It's not the first time food banks and medical clinics have teamed up, notes Dr. Georges Benjamin of the American Public Health Association, pointing to a long-standing collaboration in the nation's capitol.
But there's little data showing how well this kind of nurse-led community project works, or that it can be cost-effective, Sanders says.
"The most important principle here is going where the people are," Benjamin says. "There no reason you can't do immunizations there, no reason you can't do nutritional counseling there. ... It makes a lot of sense."
Thursday, November 22, 2007
This Thanksgiving, his plate is full
THE Los Angeles Mission will serve Thanksgiving dinner today (a day-before-the-holiday tradition for decades) to anyone who wants it. More than 3,000 guests are expected, an estimated 500 more than were served last year, says Herb Smith, chief executive and president of the mission. The economy has been rough. But hard times aren't the only reason for the surge, Smith says: "We have the best food on skid row."
The menu for the feast here, like Thanksgiving menus everywhere, has treasured traditions -- dishes and gracious gestures the guests anticipate. The centerpiece of the meal, a big, meaty smoked turkey leg on each and every plate, is a symbol of abundance created by executive chef Chris Cormier four years ago.
"Our guests come here looking for connections, rituals, a diversion from an otherwise gray existence," says Cormier, 47, who was once homeless himself. "We have fresh flowers on every table and serve food we'd be happy to feed our own families."
Cormier first came to the mission because of the food. Of all of the soup kitchens where he'd eaten, this was the place that took pride in what was served, he says. One reason: The kitchen is staffed by students in the mission's chef training program. After coming for the food, Cormier stayed to work his way up through the training program he now runs.
The Los Angeles Mission, founded in 1936, moved into its current facility on 5th Street in 1992. The 394-bed shelter is now one of the nation's largest providers of services to the homeless, offering three hot meals a day as well as vocational training and continuing education. The Thanksgiving tradition, its most visible public event, takes place on 5th Street by the mission between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. It's a block party, with that section of 5th Street closed for the day so that dining tables can be set up in the street.
Because no one stands in line at home to be served Thanksgiving dinner, the mission's guests are served by 450 volunteers who have made this meal part of their Thanksgiving tradition. Guests sit with their friends, other members of the all-too-stable population living near the mission.
On each plate, that smoked turkey leg is accompanied by homemade mashed potatoes with country gravy, candied yams, mixed vegetables, cranberry relish and buttered rolls. There's pumpkin pie for dessert. The pies are donated, but the rest of the recipes have been developed by Cormier, who learned banquet-style cooking from "a couple of guys who used to run kitchens in Las Vegas," he says. "I like to use buttermilk in the potatoes to give them that extra flavor without loading them up with too much fat."
Cormier and his second in command, David Thomas, supervise cooks Carlos Castillo, Harold Reed and Nick Bautista and a rotating support staff. The crew cooks all day today, guaranteeing that everyone gets a hot just-cooked meal. The mission's well-equipped professional kitchen is "controlled chaos" during the event, Cormier says.
"Our friends and neighbors look forward to Chris' food," says Smith. "And not just on Thanksgiving. He makes a mac and cheese with three cheeses for Christmas dinner that people talk about all year. His food brings people to our door and we'll get to know someone. Hopefully, that meal will lead them to want to change their lives.
"Cooking is a bridge to self-sufficiency for the students working under Cormier. He shows them what he wants, then lets them learn by doing the work themselves.
"It was my lifeline back," Cormier says. "It inspired me to dust myself off and carry on.
"With a mother born in Jamaica then raised in Panama, and a father from Louisiana, Cormier's childhood in El Sereno revolved around the dinner table.
"My mother's gumbo was fantastic. She could make chicken wings a gourmet dish," he says. "I'd have cooking competitions with my friends to see who made the best chili or jambalaya." By the early 1980s he was a cook in Redding.
"Then I had my battles with addiction. I thought my life was over. I told people to just take me downtown and leave me," Cormier says.
Still, a man's got to eat. Cormier made the rounds of skid row's soup kitchens, sizing them up. "No matter how bad things get, if you know good food, you go looking for it," he says. "It's no different than music to a musician or a painting to a painter. Food inspires."
Cormier soon joined the mission's kitchen staff, moving on to work in the kitchen at other missions, straightening his life out along the way. He returned to Los Angeles Mission in 1997 and by 1999 was overseeing a revolving group of 30 students in the mission's kitchen.
"The beauty of it is seeing students who don't know anything when they come here and then they are able to go home and make dinner for their mom. Or get a job at a hotel, work at a grocery store deli counter, be a caterer," he says. "I get to teach these kids to go to the next step."
Participants in the mission's chef training program have the opportunity to earn their ServSafe Certificate, an accreditation by the National Restaurant Assn. that says the person knows the food safety rules for operating a commercial kitchen. "When they move on, they are able to get work, to get on with their lives, to return home."
And it starts with sitting down to eat a smoked turkey leg. Since Saturday, Cormier has been supervising revolving crews on the two refrigerator-shaped smokers in the mission's parking lot. His students have taken turns stoking the mesquite fire, spritzing the turkey legs with apple juice and rotating them to make sure every one is cooked perfectly.
Cormier made the smokers out of old transit cabinets, the 6-foot-tall metal storage racks that caterers use to wheel around trays of food. He drilled a line of holes along both sides near the bottom to let in oxygen to keep the mesquite wood burning. Another line of holes along the top and a few in the middle keep the air circulating. Dented metal restaurant trays hold the coals in the bottom of the cabinets. The turkey legs are lined up on wire baking racks that slide in, 5 inches apart, throughout the cabinets. There's just enough room for the smoke to surround each piece of meat.
Dropping a thermometer into one of the "breather" holes, he checks to make sure the smoker stays at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, it takes three hours to cook 65 legs. And four days to cook 3,000 legs.
Today, when Cormier looks down the long tables at his guests, he says, he'll be inspired all over again. "To see someone take joy in what you've created, it's beautiful."
The menu for the feast here, like Thanksgiving menus everywhere, has treasured traditions -- dishes and gracious gestures the guests anticipate. The centerpiece of the meal, a big, meaty smoked turkey leg on each and every plate, is a symbol of abundance created by executive chef Chris Cormier four years ago.
"Our guests come here looking for connections, rituals, a diversion from an otherwise gray existence," says Cormier, 47, who was once homeless himself. "We have fresh flowers on every table and serve food we'd be happy to feed our own families."
Cormier first came to the mission because of the food. Of all of the soup kitchens where he'd eaten, this was the place that took pride in what was served, he says. One reason: The kitchen is staffed by students in the mission's chef training program. After coming for the food, Cormier stayed to work his way up through the training program he now runs.
The Los Angeles Mission, founded in 1936, moved into its current facility on 5th Street in 1992. The 394-bed shelter is now one of the nation's largest providers of services to the homeless, offering three hot meals a day as well as vocational training and continuing education. The Thanksgiving tradition, its most visible public event, takes place on 5th Street by the mission between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. It's a block party, with that section of 5th Street closed for the day so that dining tables can be set up in the street.
Because no one stands in line at home to be served Thanksgiving dinner, the mission's guests are served by 450 volunteers who have made this meal part of their Thanksgiving tradition. Guests sit with their friends, other members of the all-too-stable population living near the mission.
On each plate, that smoked turkey leg is accompanied by homemade mashed potatoes with country gravy, candied yams, mixed vegetables, cranberry relish and buttered rolls. There's pumpkin pie for dessert. The pies are donated, but the rest of the recipes have been developed by Cormier, who learned banquet-style cooking from "a couple of guys who used to run kitchens in Las Vegas," he says. "I like to use buttermilk in the potatoes to give them that extra flavor without loading them up with too much fat."
Cormier and his second in command, David Thomas, supervise cooks Carlos Castillo, Harold Reed and Nick Bautista and a rotating support staff. The crew cooks all day today, guaranteeing that everyone gets a hot just-cooked meal. The mission's well-equipped professional kitchen is "controlled chaos" during the event, Cormier says.
"Our friends and neighbors look forward to Chris' food," says Smith. "And not just on Thanksgiving. He makes a mac and cheese with three cheeses for Christmas dinner that people talk about all year. His food brings people to our door and we'll get to know someone. Hopefully, that meal will lead them to want to change their lives.
"Cooking is a bridge to self-sufficiency for the students working under Cormier. He shows them what he wants, then lets them learn by doing the work themselves.
"It was my lifeline back," Cormier says. "It inspired me to dust myself off and carry on.
"With a mother born in Jamaica then raised in Panama, and a father from Louisiana, Cormier's childhood in El Sereno revolved around the dinner table.
"My mother's gumbo was fantastic. She could make chicken wings a gourmet dish," he says. "I'd have cooking competitions with my friends to see who made the best chili or jambalaya." By the early 1980s he was a cook in Redding.
"Then I had my battles with addiction. I thought my life was over. I told people to just take me downtown and leave me," Cormier says.
Still, a man's got to eat. Cormier made the rounds of skid row's soup kitchens, sizing them up. "No matter how bad things get, if you know good food, you go looking for it," he says. "It's no different than music to a musician or a painting to a painter. Food inspires."
Cormier soon joined the mission's kitchen staff, moving on to work in the kitchen at other missions, straightening his life out along the way. He returned to Los Angeles Mission in 1997 and by 1999 was overseeing a revolving group of 30 students in the mission's kitchen.
"The beauty of it is seeing students who don't know anything when they come here and then they are able to go home and make dinner for their mom. Or get a job at a hotel, work at a grocery store deli counter, be a caterer," he says. "I get to teach these kids to go to the next step."
Participants in the mission's chef training program have the opportunity to earn their ServSafe Certificate, an accreditation by the National Restaurant Assn. that says the person knows the food safety rules for operating a commercial kitchen. "When they move on, they are able to get work, to get on with their lives, to return home."
And it starts with sitting down to eat a smoked turkey leg. Since Saturday, Cormier has been supervising revolving crews on the two refrigerator-shaped smokers in the mission's parking lot. His students have taken turns stoking the mesquite fire, spritzing the turkey legs with apple juice and rotating them to make sure every one is cooked perfectly.
Cormier made the smokers out of old transit cabinets, the 6-foot-tall metal storage racks that caterers use to wheel around trays of food. He drilled a line of holes along both sides near the bottom to let in oxygen to keep the mesquite wood burning. Another line of holes along the top and a few in the middle keep the air circulating. Dented metal restaurant trays hold the coals in the bottom of the cabinets. The turkey legs are lined up on wire baking racks that slide in, 5 inches apart, throughout the cabinets. There's just enough room for the smoke to surround each piece of meat.
Dropping a thermometer into one of the "breather" holes, he checks to make sure the smoker stays at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. At that temperature, it takes three hours to cook 65 legs. And four days to cook 3,000 legs.
Today, when Cormier looks down the long tables at his guests, he says, he'll be inspired all over again. "To see someone take joy in what you've created, it's beautiful."
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