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Sharing Our Bounty, Food Drives Need Healthy Donations

What’s on the table can help lower risks of stroke, heart attack, cancer and diabetes, according to the American Heart Association. Not all families are able to afford the healthiest foods, but fatty, high-sugar options can be avoided. The most-needed donations are nonperishable and high in protein, but low in sodium, sugar and fats.

Give the best, most affordable products, according to these tips and the food drive’s guidelines. Organic and non-GMO (genetically modified) foods are welcome. Note that not all pantries can store fresh produce, glass containers or personal hygiene items.

“Pantries rely on informed community support,” explains Jim Byrnes, director of Pennsylvania’s Nazareth Area Food Bank. “Area churches, schools and businesses keep us supplied. We’ll help 300 families this year, compared to 100 in 2006, balancing nutrition with practical needs.”

California’s San Diego Food Bank feeds better choices to 370,000 people each month, including military families, seniors and children. Such community efforts change lives.

Meat: Tinned tuna, chicken and salmon store easily for use in salads or casseroles, on a sandwich and in whole wheat pasta, brown rice or low-fat stir fries. Avoid the bisphenol-A (BPA) associated with cans and plastic containers. Instead choose BPA-free pouch packaging and cans with BPA-free liners (see Tinyurl.com/BPAFreeCannedFood).

Soup and Stew: Containing meat and veggies, soups and stews provide filling, hearty comfort foods.

Vegetables: Yams and whole-berry cranberry sauce turn dinner into a holiday feast. Add color to the plate with mixed veggies. Lentils, pinto, black and kidney beans in stew, chili or salad provide fiber, calcium, zinc and iron. Spices add zing. Tomatoes, sauce and salsa add flavor; choose glass jar products only in order to be BPA-free, due to the acidic effect on cans.

Pasta, Rice and Grain: In Kansas City, Missouri, Katie Thomas, owner of Crazy Daisy Cleaning, regularly organizes food drives. She says, “Pasta and sauce make a variety of dishes and extend the number of meals.” Whole grain pasta, brown or wild rice, quinoa and couscous are better choices than white pasta. Bulgur provides nearly 75 percent of a day’s fiber requirement when added to soup or salad.

Cereal: Steel-cut or rolled oats, farina (Cream of Wheat) and grits are low-calorie and nutritious options for a warm start to the day. All can be found as organic; farina in whole wheat or white wheat that is certified kosher. Cold cereals should list whole grains as the first ingredient and be high in fiber and low in sugar, like organic Oat O’s.

Snacks: Unsalted nuts, full of fiber, protein and vitamins, are highly prized at food pantries. Packed in juice, fruit cups make a healthy treat. Dried fruit and sunflower seeds are another favorite. Low-salt, low-sugar peanut or sunflower butter packs protein. Honey is a healthy sweetener.

Collecting Party: “A group of us collected and donated 600 pounds of food for babies, pets and adults to Extended Hands Food Bank,” says Dee Power, in Fountain Hills, Arizona. For babies, include food without added sugar or salt and single-grain cereal.

Alternative Giving: Especially popular during the December holidays, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank offers prepacked bags to grocery store patrons, paid for at checkout. Customers can see what’s included and the food bank picks them up. (Tip: Cash donations allow lower cost bulk purchases with no need to transport or sort items.)

Non-Food: Make sure the food pantry has storage space before donating wet or dry food for cats and dogs and birdseed; baby wipes, shampoo and soap; and adult soap, deodorant, shaving supplies, toothpaste, shampoo and toilet paper. “A $5,000 grant gave us added storage space,” says Byrnes.

The bottom line is what food pantries need is much the same as what’s found in any healthy home pantry—comestibles rich in flavor, vitamins and fiber and free of unhealthy additives. Please be generous year-round, sharing well beyond the holidays.

Connect with the freelance writer via [email protected].


Annual Food Drives

WEB-CE_1115_FoodDonations_138508163Local Boy Scout troops remind us to prepare for their annual food drive. On November 7, be on the lookout for a door hanger reminder; on November 14, they’ll pick up food for delivery to local food banks.

The National Association of Letter Carriers’ (U.S. Postal Service) annual nationwide food drive is May 14, 2016. Since 1992, they’ve collected more than 1.3 billion pounds of food.

Feeding America’s drive benefits from a matching gift from motivational speaker and author Tony Robbins through December 3, aimed to provide a total of 100 million meals for the 49 million Americans that struggle with hunger. Each $1 given and matched helps secure and distribute 20 meals through its network of food banks. Donate at Tinyurl.com/TonyRobbinsFeedingAmerica.

 

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Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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