March Newsletter: Healthy Food, Not ANY Food

The Food Mover: Monthly Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE > Jill's Message > Customers, Corporations Come Together to Fight Hunger > Fighting Hunger with Nutrition Education > Volunteers Lend a Hand at ‘Farm Madness’ > Tryon Rd. Farm Stand to Open in May > Volunteer Spotlight: Darlynn McCarter > Healthy "Green" Eating > IFFS in the News > Recipe of the Month WHAT'S "GROWING" AT THE FOOD SHUTTLE •As a part of NC Community Action Association's dedication to fighting poverty in NC they will be collecting healthy food items for IFFS their Annual Race 4 Change 5K on April 11. MORE INFO   • Register now for Raleigh-Wake Human Resources Management Association's (RWHRMA) annual 5K Fun Run and Walk on May 30! MORE INFO   • Have you seen our video? Watch it here   • Become a monthly Ground Level Giver and help sustain our programs year-round! THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY • Big thanks to the Wake County 4-H Horse Clubs for collecting over 230 lbs of food for BackPack Buddies!   • Shop AmazonSmile year-round to support IFFS KEEP IN TOUCH Share your stories and photos from volunteering, holding a food drive, or working towards a #HungerFreeNC! It’s a movement built piece by piece, forming a community and a coalition of hunger-fighters!    IFFS Website  IFFS Blog  IFFS Facebook  IFFS Twitter  IFFS Instagram OUR MISSION Inter-Faith Food Shuttle pioneers innovative, transformative solutions designed to end hunger in our community. CONTACT US 1001 Blair Drive, Raleigh, NC 27603   Phone: 919-250-0043  www.FoodShuttle.org Volunteer. Donate. Spread the word.

A message from Jill Staton Bullard Over the years, we've learned that hungry parents not only struggle to put food on their children’s plates, they struggle with the problems of childhood obesity! Hunger and obesity? Really? Did you know that in North Carolina, two-thirds of all adults (65.7%) are overweight or obese? Much, much worse is the fact that North Carolina ranks 5th worst in the US for childhood obesity. NC also ranks 5th in the nation for the number of children who go hungry. Our children are hungry, and too many of them are going to suffer a lifetime of ill health due to obesity at an early age. Yes, sadly those numbers are very true and give me nightmares. Cheap high caloric fast food is our enemy, but that is often the only option for families living in food deserts where access to fresh vegetables and low fat protein is non-existent. Nutrition Education and hot mobile meals served on our Mobile Tastiness Machine are two of our key strategies to address the health crisis of childhood obesity. March is National Nutrition Month. That gives us something to celebrate! Celebrate the fresh fruits and vegetables that we get into our food deserts, celebrate that we are teaching folks how to grow their own good food. And celebrate that IFFS and our many partners are creating a thriving local food system for a healthier and happier community where all have nutritious and healthful food. What a great dream for all of us! -Jill                     Volunteer. Donate. Spread the word. Fighting Hunger with Nutrition Education Hunger in America comes from a lack of nutritious foods, not just a lack of food, explains Elizabeth Weeks, IFFS Nutrition Programs Coordinator. National Nutrition Month is March, but our Nutrition Educators play a vital role in building a HungerFreeNC year-round. Volunteers Lend a Hand at ‘Farm Madness’ Workday Dressed in school colors, over 50 volunteers and staff dismantled old picnic tables, dug irrigation trenches from the water spigot to the Incubator Farmer plots, painted the new Classroom and Farm Office, scraped old honeycomb from the beehives, made critical repairs to the Egg House, and of course played with goats. Customers, Corporations Come Together to Fight Hunger Here at Inter-Faith Food Shuttle we fully believe that when consumers choose to shop with companies who choose to give back, hunger loses, and community wins. For proof, look no further than Walling & Spencer's “Food with Purpose” program, The Produce Box's "Community Boxes," and the “Get a Turkey, Give a Turkey” campaign run by Relay Foods. Tryon Road Farm Stand to Open in May Chemical-free, local produce is just a few weeks away! Our Tryon Road Farm Stand will officially open Saturday, May 9th. The Tryon Road Farm Stand is located at 4505 Tryon Road, Raleigh, NC 27606 and accepts cash, check, credit or debit card, and SNAP. MORE DETAILS Season 1: May 9-30th Fridays 2pm-6pm Saturdays 9am-1pm Season 2: June 4- Oct 31st Thursdays 2pm-6pm Fridays 2pm-6pm Saturdays 9am-1pm (Closed Saturday, July 4th) Volunteer Spotlight: Darlynn McCarter Meet Darlynn McCarter. She began volunteering with IFFS six years ago packing produce bags. Now she's a “Warehouse Warrior” and teaches Nutrition Education. She shares some of her most rewarding experiences on our blog. Healthy "Green" Eating They say it's not easy being green, but with these healthy recipes from our Nutrition Education Division, eating "Green" has never been simpler. Food Shuttle in the News: • IFFS Active at No Kid Hungry Conference • Inter-Faith Food Shuttle feeding Wake County’s young (pictured) • Chilling hunger • Dig In! to Urban Community Gardening in Cary • Papa Spud’s: Less Waste, More Goodness • Snow days lead to hunger pangs for some Triangle families • Snow days mean hungry nights for some in Triangle [contact-form-7 id="1356" title="Newsletter SignUp"]