Donate to Your Local Food Cupboard!

Did you know that the 2011 Census reported that one in six Americans live below the poverty line ($22,314 annual income for a family of four)? This is 15% of the US population and an increase of 18% from 2006. With the recession continuing, more of us are finding that the money doesn’t stretch as far at the end of the month for food.


Food cupboards are seeing a record number of new participants. While many people coming for food are unemployed or have disabilities, about 1/3 have earned incomes. And while poverty is more apparent in cities, the rates of hunger have increased more in the suburbs and rural area than urban areas.


Feeing America http://feedingamerica.org is a national network of 200 food banks in the United States. These food banks are able to take advantage in bulk buying, receive large donations from food companies and provide food for local sites. They often provide visibility and access for food drives, grocery store donations and advocacy that smaller sites cannot tackle. However, local sites may have to purchase the food that large food banks supply (at a much discounted rate) so direct donations are usually appreciated.

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There are 10 regional food banks in Pennsylvania. Within each region, many food cupboards, pantries and soup kitchens operate out of churches, nonprofits and community sites. Money is available to these local sites through the federal Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) which is appropriated funding from the United State Department of Agriculture. Funding also comes through the State Food Purchasing Program (SFPP) which is a line item in the state budget. These are accessed through a “lead agency” in each county. Not all food cupboards belong to this network and so they would only distribute donated food.


As we approach the upcoming holiday season, there are an abundance of food drives providing bags of food for the hungry in our communities. Volunteers are also appreciated as many sites have no paid labor and many volunteers are seniors. To find your local food cupboard, look on your county website, ask at churches and nonprofits in low income communities. Monetary donations are also appreciated to purchase foods not donated such as meats and fresh vegetables.


I hope that you have enough food to feed your family this winter. If so, consider donating some food, time or money to a local food cupboard. Include your children and family when you purchase food or donate.To find resources in Delaware Co. http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/humanservices/emgfood.html

Plan Ahead for Home Canning this Summer

Adapted from an article prepared by Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph.D, Extension Food Safety Specialist, University of Georgia, March 2011.

If you are thinking about joining the trend to can food this summer, start by checking your equipment and supplies. Proper equipment in good condition is required for safe, high quality home canned food.

A pressure canner is essential for canning low-acid vegetables, meats, fish, and poultry. Two basic types are available. One has a dial gauge to indicate the pressure inside the canner; the other has a metal weighted gauge. Dial gauges must be tested for accuracy before each canning season. Contact your local Extension Office for information on getting your gauge tested. Check the rubber gasket if your canner has one; it should be flexible and soft, not brittle, sticky or cracked. Also, make sure any small pipes or vent ports with openings are clean and open all the way through.

A boiling water canner is needed for canning other foods such as fruits, pickles, jellies, and jams. The canner should be deep enough to allow at least one to two inches of water to boil over the tops of the jars. Both types of canners should have a rack in the bottom to keep jars off the bottom of the canner.

Inventory your jars and decide if you need to buy new jars this year. Inspect those you have for nicks, cracks, or chips, especially around the top sealing edge. Nicks can prevent lids from sealing. Very old jars can weaken with age and repeated use; they break under pressure and heat.

Consider investing in new jars if you need to, and watch for specials at the stores. New jars are a better investment over time than buying used jars at yard sales or flea markets. Mason-type jars specifically designed for home canning are best. Jars that use two-piece self-sealing metal lids are the recommended container in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines. A "must" every canning season is new flat lids. Throw away used lids. The screw bands are re-usable if they are not bent, dented, or rusty.

A final must is reliable, up-to-date canning instructions. Visit the Penn State Home Food Preservation website at extension.psu.edu/food-safety/food-preservation where you will find resources and links to current canning information.

The most recently revised edition of the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning is dated 2009. All recommendations in this book are current. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service also sells So Easy to Preserve, a comprehensive book with information on all types of home food preservation. The order form for the book can be printed from http://www.soeasytopreserve.com/. Be sure to look at the instructions for what you want to can well before you are ready to prepare the food. You may need time to purchase some ingredients and small equipment that are necessary to prepare food exactly as the directions indicate. There are a few products in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning, for example, that use a starch only available through mail order for most locations.

Planning ahead can save you time, money, and frustration with home canning. Make it a happy, successful canning season by getting prepared before your harvest is ready.

Update your home canning knowledge by taking a free, self-paced online course. Preserving Food at Home: A Self Study, is available from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Topics include introduction to food preservation, general canning, canning acid foods, and canning low-acid foods. Find it at www.uga.edu/nchfp/.

Let’s Preserve Blog – Don’t forget to check out the Let’s Preserve blog at http://letspreserve.blogspot.com/. New posts are coming soon. You can read posts from last season on canning without salt, acidifying tomatoes, keeping the crisp in pickles, and freezing vegetables.

How Much Do You Spend on Food Weekly?

Can you feed your family of four on $68.88 a week? With the national unemployment rate at 8.9% many families for the first time have applied for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, better known as the federal food stamp program. Several factors determine the actual amount each family receives in food stamps dollars, however the national average for a family of four at the end of 2009 was $275.53 a month, or about $68.88 a week.

A family of four including two children between the ages of 6 and 11 spends an average of $156 per week on groceries. Each additional child would add to that bill. For instance, a one year-old would add an additional $22 per week. An 18 year-old son would mean an extra $45 per week. So what tips and ideas can be used to reduce what we spend on food? Several Blog post have been written about saving at the grocery store. Check them out: January 16, 2009 "Surviving a Recession Without Gaining Weight" by Kathy DiGuiseppe and March 27, 2009 post "Stop Rising Cost from Eating up Food Budget" by Mandel Smith.

Another area is to not waste food once we get it home. The average American family throws away 14% of their food according to a USDA funded study in 2004. In terms of money, that's almost $600 every year in meats, fruit, vegetables and grain products. So here are some helpful tips to reduce waste.

• Track daily meals for a week to see where waste is happening.
• Use highly perishables items first such as berries, dairy, and salad items.
• Create a "leftovers" or "to use up" list and to post it on the fridge.
• Freeze small quantities of vegetables, rice or noodles to add to casseroles or soups.
• Use see-through storage containers for refrigerated leftovers.
• Use leftovers in next-day breakfasts, lunches, snacks, or dinners.
• Label, date, and freeze leftover main dishes in meal-size servings.
• Check supplies before going to the store.
• Write the date on packaged foods before storing in freezer or cupboard. Arrange supplies so the oldest items are in front so you will see and use them first.
• Post a written inventory of what's in your freezer; designate a specific area for ready-to-reheat leftovers.
• Make less by reducing the size of the recipe you're preparing.

Plan Now for Summer Produce

Memorial Day weekend is finally here. This holiday is always a reminder that summer is just around the corner. With the warmer summer days, can come an abundance of summer fruit and vegetables. Whether you are harvesting from your own garden or purchasing from a local farmers’ market, it can be a challenge to properly store all of the fresh produce. Now is the time to plan how you will save fresh summer produce for use throughout the year. Canning and Freezing are two of the three main methods of preserving food. The preservation method you use really depends on the types of foods you want to preserve and which method suits your needs. According to So Easy to Preserve, a food preservation handbook published by the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, canning is the process in which foods are placed in jars or cans and heated to a temperature that destroys microorganisms and inactivates enzymes. Freezing reduces the temperature of the food so that microorganisms cannot grow. To prepare for the upcoming food preservation season keep these tips in mind. • Determine if preserving food will actually save you money. Consider the cost in growing food in your own garden. If you are receiving food as a gift little cost is involved. Purchasing food from a farmers’ market may offer good prices when you buy at the peak of the season. • Some foods may be better suited for freezing while others may be best if canned. For help determining the best food preservation method for a certain food, contact your local Extension office for detailed preservation instructions. • Assemble freezing or canning equipment early so you will have everything you need before your produce arrives. Also make sure your canner is in good working condition. If you have a dial gauge pressure canner plan to have it tested for accuracy. Contact your local Extension office or manufacturer of the canner for information on how to have this done. • Schedule enough time to finish your food preservation projects. Trying to preserve too much food in a small amount of time can be overwhelming. Be sure to read and follow reliable food preservation methods for the food you are storing. Set aside a realistic amount of time to work with and process the foods you are preserving. • Take a food preservation class. This is a great way to meet other people with an interest in home food preservation and to learn the latest techniques and requirements for safe preserving. Check with your local Extension office for class schedules or the latest publications. • Check these links for more information on home food preservation.The National Center for Home Food Preservation http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/ Penn State Extension Home Food Preservation Website http://foodsafety.psu.edu/preserve.html

The Changing Face of Hunger in Delaware County

We had a great day on Friday when over 120 people attended the Changing Face of Hunger in Delaware County awareness day on Friday, March 6, 2009 at Widener University in Chester, PA. The keynote speaker, Dr. Mariana Chilton, principal investigator for the Grow Project at Drexel University, challenged the audience to think about the living conditions that contribute to hunger.

A panel of CityTeam, Loaves and Fishes, the Bernardine Center and the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger shared success stories regarding recruiting and retaining volunteers and finding funding for food cupboards and food resources. Good tips for any organization that depends on volunteer assistance!

Lunch provided an opportunity for participants to peruse displays from WIC, the Food Trust, Penn State Nutrition Links, DCIU Head Start, CityTeam, CAADC (SNAP-food stamps),Chester Food Coop, DIFAN, NDS-Archdiocese of Phila., Philabundance, SHARE, Bernardine Center, COSA and Greater Phila. Coalition Against Hunger. This was a wonderful chance to network and find out what resources were provided by these organizations.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are often missing in diets when money is tight. Panelists from the Food Trust Farmer's Markets, Philabundance's Fresh for All, SHARE and Penn State Urban Master Gardeners shared where to find these foods in Delaware Co. at low cost, free and where WIC participants and seniors can use summer farmer'smarket vouchers.

The day wrapped up with FRAC's Ellen Teller, advocate for hunger issues in Wash DC, who stressed that we all need to let our legislators know what we are doing to address hunger in our county, what our clients need and how our representatives can vote to support adequate food for all.

Many thanks to the planning committee of Amy Nardi, Marilyn Sileo, Linda Freeman, Kelly Hile, Karen May, Sr. Josandra Ciucci, Sr. Rose MacDermott, Linda Wolk, Cynthia Barrar, Filomena Ahlefeld, Kathy Hornberger, Anne Ayella, Alan Edelstein, Barbara Myers, and Fran Alloway.

Are you Food Secure?

Do you have enough food in your house to feed your family? Do you skip meals to stretch food throughout the week? Or until the next paycheck arrives? Have you begun to purchase food at the dollar store instead of the grocery store? Are you worried about providing for your children? Food insecurity is a term used to describe a lack of accessable food to provide a healthy diet obtained in an acceptable manner. While the use of food banks may provide food for the hungry, for most this is not a socially acceptable source. As the unemployment rate rises, food resources are seeing larger numbers of applicants and less donations. Demand at food cupboards increased 30% in 2008 according to a survey from Feeding America, which distributes more than two billion tons of food each year. These numbers were confirmed in Delaware County, PA food cupboards where directors reported a 34% increase in clients in September 2008 from September 2007. WIC, which provides supplemental food for low income pregnant women and children from birth to age five has also seen an increase that exceeds their capacity to provide infant formula, dairy products, beans and peanut butter and cereal to new families. A Philadelphia phone survey of 10,000 households in the five surrounding counties for the Community Health Data Base found that nearly one in ten suburban households, one in five urban households, skipped or cut back a meal due to lack of money. Unfortunately, cut backs can include healthy choices such as milk, vegetables and fruit. Lower quality food choices do not provide the nutrients needed to support good health and can lead to greater incidences of chronic disease. Ironically, obesity rates are highest in communities where food insecurity is highest. Fortunately the US Stimulus Bill that was passed this week will increase the money available for SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps), funding for food cupboards (TEFAP), WIC site support and school lunch and breakfast programs. Food resources are also available for seniors and WIC clients through summer fruit and vegetable vouchers, hot lunches at senior centers and afterschool snacks and summer meals for children at low income sites. Penn State Cooperative Extension provides educational resources to assist low income households stretch their food dollars, prepare lower cost meals that meet nutritional needs, and make better food purchases that are nutrient dense, not calorically dense. The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and SNAP-Ed programs are federally funded to assist food stamp eligible persons to use their food dollars wisely. For more information on these programs in PA, check http://nutrlinks.cas.psu.edu. In Delaware Co, a conference will be held on March 6, 2009 to address many of the issues related to hunger, allow opportunities for networking and discuss solutions. The Changing Face of Hunger in Delaware County will be held at Widener University, Chester, PA . For a brochure, go to http://delaware.extension.psu.edu. Penn State Cooperative Extension, Southeast Region, has also assembled resources on a website, http://extension.psu.edu/livingbetter. Included are educational materials and classes to help you live better for less. Check out these materials and learn to grow a garden, stretch food dollars, purchase healthy food for less, find sources of free food and budget your money. I hope that you don’t feel food insecure in the year ahead.