Our first submission comes from Matt Young, currently a first-year Master’s student in Environmental Studies at Antioch University, concentrating on “Advocacy for Social Justice & Sustainability.”
The week Matt wrote to us, the theme was Food and Family. Matt was so inspired by his holiday experience that he sent a poem called, “Thanksgiving Goodness” and a picture of his inspiration, his family’s array of Thanksgiving desserts.
Thanksgiving Goodness
Thanksgiving goodness/
Beckons fondue on apples/
And squash fresh, savory.
-Matt “Mateo” Young, ’11
Matt is a friend of Save Our Safety Net and the Bread for the City family. We’re glad that the Storybank has given us an opportunity to hear from great people interested in sharing stories and making food justice happen. Thanks, Matt!
This post, and the recipe shared earlier today, are part of a project to collect stories of food, health, culture, and community as part of Bread for the City’s Holiday Helpings Campaign. Stay tuned for the unveiling of our new story bank!
At this time of year, feasting is in order. Many Thanksgiving dishes handed down from year to year are delicious, but not necessarily healthy. Most of us remember eating sweet potatoes swimming in cinnamon, butter, marshmallows and sugar. Delicious, right? It may nourish your spirit, but it’s not good for your body.
Good thing you don’t have to sacrifice taste and tradition to create a healthy meal! Sharon Feuer Gruber, BFC’s nutrition consultant, held a cooking class at the Southeast center last week to get people focused on healthier ways to cook some typical holiday foods. On the menu this month: cabbage salad, sweet potato wedges, and apple compote.
We started by working together to prep the food.
As the sweet potatoes were cooking and people were cutting up the fresh herbs for the salad, Sharon shared the health benefits of the foods they were using. We talked about how the skin of the sweet potatoes has lots of fiber and nutrients and should be scrubbed and eaten along with the rest of the sweet potato. Why spend money on the whole sweet potato and then toss the healthiest part? And we talked about the nutritious fats the meal featured, including those in the walnuts we sprinkled on top of the apples.
The salad was simple — combine red cabbage, carrots, scallions, cilantro, orange segments, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and a touch of maple syrup in a big bowl. (Full recipes are below.) We served up the salad, piping hot sweet potato wedges, and delicious apple compote, and sat down to eat and talk.
We learned that several people had seen recipes like the ones Sharon demonstrated, but hadn’t tried them at home because the combination of foods wasn’t something that they normally ate. One client said the dishes were “surprisingly good.” And everyone ate them up. Several of the attendees were there because their doctors wanted them to change their diets. They wanted to prepare healthier meals for their families, and the cooking class seemed like a good place to start.
The class finished up by brainstorming ways to modify Stuffed Meatloaf, a recipe that was shared with the Holiday Helpings Story Bank earlier in the week. You can use the same tips with your favorite holiday dish!
Here are the original ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 pack of bacon
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
½ lb. steamed shrimp
1 container crab meat
1 bottle barbecue sauce
1 pack of crackers
1 egg
1 nine inch baking pan
And here are the suggestions from the participants in the nutrition/cooking class:
- Use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of ground beef.
- Add fresh vegetables like green peppers, garlic, onions, and tomatoes.
- Add kidney beans.
- Use hot sauce, tomato paste, or tomato sauce instead of barbecue sauce.
- Use rice, corn flakes, or bread crumbs instead of crackers.
- Use egg whites instead of whole eggs.
We’re not just growing vegetables on our rooftops here at Bread for the City. We’re growing gardeners.
Some of our clients have never really seen a garden before, let alone worked in one themselves. Many people, however, have fond memories of gardening in their youth (as part of family and community traditions), but no longer have access to green space these days. For all, our rooftop gardens are an opportunity to learn about food at its source, and to develop some capacity for growing it ourselves.
So in addition to our daily open hours (Monday through Thursday, 9-11am), we’re also conducting gardening workshops to learn and practice together. In these workshops, a mix of staff, volunteers and clients learn how to make their own containers, how to plant them, and facts about different herbs. We learn the science behind the plants and then we our hands dirty. Participants also enjoy lunch prepared with fresh ingredients grown right there in the garden. At the end of the workshops, clients receive both produce and potted plants to take home for their own budding gardens!
Brenden Armstrong, a local professional horticulturist, has been joining us to share best practices and ideas for how to grow vegetables and herbs in containers. Here’s what Brenden says about the class:
During the first class clients had the opportunity to plant basil, tomato, and pepper plants. For the second class they planted more herbs including thyme, oregano, lavender, and mint.
All of these plants were chosen because they are easy to grow both within and outside of the home, and they also provide good yields. Most herbs will supply plenty throughout the year when harvested correctly; basil, for instance, can be harvested every few weeks. Tomatoes and peppers can also be grown easily and grow enough that a couple of plants will suffice for each person in the household.
Throughout the workshops we emphasized the opportunities to use materials around clients’ homes to reduce the costs of gardening. We talked about how you can make everyday items such as yogurt cups and plastic juice jugs into containers for growing vegetables and herbs. [There's more...]
Most of the food in Bread for the City’s pantry is purchased directly by us from the Capital Area Food Bank – putting your donated dollars to great bulk-scale use. (And it’s not too early to give to our Holiday Helpings campaign, which starts next week!)
We also receive private donations of food, through organized food drives and individuals’ pantry-purging — especially during the holiday season.
We truly value the generosity of our donors. Yet because we also highly value the health of our clients, we hope to channel the energy and commitment of our donors to ensure that clients receive foods that best support their health.
This year we want to remind our community that not all foodstuffs are nourishing – and there are some that we simply cannot accept.
Research shows that there is a much higher incidence of diabetes and heart disease among populations that include our clients . These diseases are largely preventable through lifestyle changes like diet and exercise. By contributing foods that do not contribute to these diseases, donors can help Bread for the City be a part of the solution to this community health crisis.
With this in mind, we respectfully share our updated nutrition guidelines for donations.
Please keep in mind that we cannot accept the following: • canned or boxed soups that are not labeled low-fat, low-sodium
• ramen noodles
• pastry items, candy, other sweet snacks (cookies, Jell-o)
• drinks that are highly sweetened or artificially sweetened (sweetened fruit juice, soda, sports drinks, sweet tea)
• cake and brownie mixes
• boxed macaroni and cheese
Instead we encourage:
• canned vegetables and beans that are labeled low-sodium or no salt added
• olive oil
• dry beans
• fruit canned in natural juices
• canned salmon, tuna, sardines, or chicken, especially unsalted and packed in water
• 100% pure juice
• whole grain flour and cereal that is whole grain, not highly sweetened (plain oatmeal, original Cheerios)
And we discourage but will accept: • canned vegetables and beans that are not labeled low-sodium or unsalted
• fruit canned in light or heavy syrup
• sweetened cereal (Raisin Bran, Honey Nut Cheerios)
Thank you for joining us in this broad effort to improve the health of our community! To sign up to run a Holiday Helpings drive in your workplace or community, please contact Nathan LaBorie at nlaborie@breadforthecity.org or 202.386.7611.
Bread for the City’s new and upcoming Northwest Center Expansion is chock-full of exciting upgrades for our services, but one thing about which I am personally the most excited is our upcoming Green Roof, which will be built right on the top of our new building!
Green roofs are roofs that are covered with a layer of soil and some kind of plant life. Not only do they look cool, but they also bring all kinds of environmental and financial benefits. The soil and roots absorb rainwater that would otherwise run off the roof, carrying sediment and junk into the city’s already overloaded stormwater and sewage systems. The plants on the roof absorb sunlight, and the soil insulates the building, which reduces heating and cooling costs and extends the lifespan of the roof. The garden also reflects less sunlight back into the atmosphere than a normal roof, which reduces our input to the urban heat island effect.
I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet: Bread for the City’s new green roof will include a vegetable garden! Original plans for the roof included just sedums (sturdy, low-growth plants), but as the expansion moved ahead alongside our Nutrition Initiative, we started thinking about whether we could grow edible things. Upon consultation with DC Greenworks, we realized that our building’s plans could support the additional weight of a vegetable garden, and the prospect of growing food on top of a food pantry was just too enticing to pass up.
So! Bread for the City is about to begin construction on the first large-scale roof top agriculture project (that we know of) in the DC region.
The 3,500 square foot green roof will feature between 40 and 60 raised beds growing a seasonal variety of fruits and vegetables. The plants will be anchored in an 8 inch soil base, specially blended for the elevated environment, atop layers of drainage, protection, and filter fabrics. A team of volunteers and green roof specialists will tend to the crops, ensuring a healthy yield for Bread for the City’s constituents.
Check out more pictures of the construction progress here!
While the volume of food harvested from this “intensive” rooftop will not compare to the thousands of pounds of produce we acquire through our gleaning program, we expect that this garden will serve its own unique purpose.
We’ll quote Sherita Evans, talking about our Southeast Center’s rooftop container garden: “We lack these kinds of green spaces and educational places here in the community. We’re hungry down here– not just for food but for nourishment of the mind and the spirit. And here at Bread for the City, we’re not just feeding people’s bodies–we feed souls.”
We know that addressing the complex needs of our community will require a multifaceted, holistic approach, and this is another opportunity to build a vision of a city in which all people have access to the resources and space they need to live lives of dignity and respect.
We will not just be planting a garden — we will also be using the space to teach workshops on nutrition, growing one’s own food, and maybe even basic botany. In partnership with City Blossoms (which operates the Marion Street Garden directly behind Bread for the City), DC Greenworks and other organizations, we will invite volunteers, clients and community members to join us on our roof to help maintain it and to learn about growing vegetables.
And we need your help to make this rooftop garden a reality. DC Greenworks estimates that the garden will cost $50,000 to build, and $15,000 a year to maintain — not cheap, but we belive it will be worthwhile for a space with such transformative potential.
Will you help us raise our first installment of funding by October 10, 2010? On that day, we’ll be hosting a massive block party to celebrate sustainable community projects like these. So in the spirit of 10.10.10, we want to raise: one hundred donations of ten dollars each, ten donations of one hundred dollars each, and one donation of ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Will you help? Join us today by giving to:
Next Sunday October 10th, Bread for the City is where it’s all going down. So what does 10/10 look like at DC’s premiere food bank and urban garden? To start with, Roadside Organics and Hip Hop Caucus are hosting a Green the Block Local Food Block Party event from 12-4:30. Featuring music, cooking demonstrations, and a general atmosphere of fun, the event will help fund Bread for the City’s green roof project.
Immediately following the block party, Live Green and A Well-Fed World are hosting a massive, veg friendly potluck. The potluck will include local, sustainable food, great speakers, and information about local environmental organizations. They are currently seeking volunteers to help set up before to the event, bring veg friendly food for the potluck, and tidy up afterwards (We hear you get first dibs on leftovers if you help!). RSVP on Facebook with what you’re bringing.
Both parties are in celebration of 350.org’s Global Work Party Day. On 10/10 citizens all over the world will take to the streets to plant trees, install solar panels, anything and everything to green their communities and spread the word about climate change! So dig out your work clothes and favorite vegan recipes and come spend the day at Bread for the City!
Meanwhile, here in the District of Columbia, we are getting to work. Members of the DC Food For All are convening workdays at community garden sites across the city.
Then we’ll all join together at Bread for the City Northwest to celebrate with the Hip Hop Caucus, Roadside Organics, and Live Green. Local chefs preparing local food with local hip hop acts in the early afternoon, and a community potluck of sustainable food in the evening. Sneak previews of Bread for the City’s new facility, complete with green roof-top garden.
With that announced, sign up for one of the events below!
Groundwork Anacostia invites you to the Mayfair Community Center (3744 1/2 Hayes Street N.E.), a new community garden site, where volunteers will help build build raised beds, lay soil, and learn about community gardening techniques and strategies. They need 15-20 volunteers to get down and dirty. The action will be from 9am-12pm, followed by rides back to Bread for the City NW for the Sustainable Food Block Party. Contact Dennis Chestnut of Groundwork Anacostia or email dcfoodforall@gmail.com.
The Farm at Walker Jones needs 5 to 10 volunteers to help building a new compost bin. Come see our 3/4 acre farm in the middle of the city, check out our composting system and our large worm farm. 9-noon on 10/10/10. The Farm at Walker Jones is located at the corner of NJ and K Streets NW. Contact sidraforman@gmail.com for more information.
The Virginia Avenue Park Community Garden (corner of L St & 9th St SE) invites you to a fall harvest gathering! From 12-4pm, bring friends and family to learn how-to plant your own food, care for it, and harvest it. Get gardening tips and tricks and try them out in our garden! Volunteers will be needed before and at the event, for planting, harvesting, and compost-turning. Before the event, volunteers can help make, print, and hand-out flyers. Email Karin Edgett and check out their Facebook Page.
There will also be a big bike tour, sponsored by WABA, of most of these sites and more! Email DCFoodForAll@gmail.com for more info. And stay tuned…
Some of our clients have never really seen a garden before, let alone worked in one themselves. Many people, however, have fond memories of gardening in their youth (as part of family and community traditions), but no longer have access to green space these days. For all, our rooftop gardens are an opportunity to learn about food at its source, and to develop some capacity for growing it ourselves.
On October 10th, 2010, 
