We need your help!

This is a note from our Farm Educator/Manager, Sun Butler. He hurt his knee, and now needs your help to keep things running smoothly at the Farm! Read the note to find out how your talents and time can contribute to the growth of our fall crop.

Dear IFFS Farm and Garden Crew,

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, I spent mine with my leg propped up recovering from knee surgery. I blew my knee out lifting a box of vegetables last week. The Dr. says I have to take it easy on the heavy work for a few months to allow the injury to heal. I’m glad it wasn’t more serious and that I’ll still be involved on a daily basis with the Farm and Community Gardens Project. The rest of this year is going to be tremendous time of growth for our farm and gardens. Here’s what we’re involved with the next few months:

• Getting the Fall garden planted at the Food Shuttle Farm • Continuing the work we’ve started at the Mayview Community Garden • We have been given access to 4 more acres of land next door to the Food Shuttle Farm by Caroline McNair. We want to have these acres under cultivation by the end of the year. • We are starting a new community garden with Neighbor to Neighbor on So. Blount St in Raleigh.

We are exited about these projects and what they mean to hungry relief and the growth of local foods in the Triangle. But with me being limited in what I can do, we need your help to make these wonderful things happen. If you have extra time to donate to the Farm and Gardens program on the weekends or during the week, please contact me. My email is farm@foodshuttle.org. If you have friends and colleagues who might like to help out, please forward me their contact info.

We will discuss our plans for ramping up the Farm and Garden program to meet these new challenges at the potluck Tuesday at 6:30 at the Farm. I hope to hear from you soon.

Sun Butler

Grilling Tips for Labor Day!

Healthy Grilling Tips for Labor Day Weekend

• Buy lean low fat meats, including chicken breasts, ground turkey breast formed into burgers, pork tenderloin, and flank steak.
• Consider grilling fish and/or veggies instead of meat.  Squash, eggplant, zucchini, corn, bell peppers and asparagus are all great veggies choices for grilling.
• Marinate your meats, fish, or veggies ahead of time to reduce cancer-promoting chemicals from forming.
• Remove the skin from chicken before marinating and/or cooking.
• Try to avoid over-cooking or charring the meat. When meat and vegetables are cooked to very high temperatures harmful cancer-promoting carcinogens form.
• Try cooking meat slower at a lower temperature this helps to keep meat moist and lock in the natural flavors.
• Finish off your grilling celebration with grilled peaches, plums, or figs paired with low fat vanilla ice cream!

Flash Mob!

The Food Shuttle is a proud member of the United Way of the Greater Triangle.  The 2009 United Way campaign is kicking off this month. One of the events surrounding the kickoff was a flash mob in downtown Raleigh.  The Food Shuttle's own Cece White went to check it out and filed this report.

Ripe Recipe: Fresh Fig Tart

Fresh Fig Tart

Another wonderful Ripe Recipe from our Director of Administration, Sally Bache! Her other recipies may be found here: Italian Bread Salad and Thai Basil Eggplant.

If you don't have a tree in your neighborhood or yard, then do what I did and go buy a quart at the North Carolina State Farmer's Market

• 1 refrigerator pie crust
• 1 quart fresh figs
• 1 package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 Tbs honey
• 2 Tbs flour
• 3 Tbs sugar

Spread the pie crust into a 9" pie pan. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, egg, vanilla, honey & zest from one lemon. When smooth, spread across the bottom of the crust. In another bowl, combine the figs (cut into quarters), the juice from the lemon, the sugar & flour and stir to moisten all ingredients. Pour on top of cheese mixture. Bake in a 425 degree oven until the pie crust is golden brown--maybe 45 minutes.

Thanks!

OFL Recipes

Labor Day Weekend Fruit Energizers

These are some of my favorite recipes from Operation Frontline. Healthy food can be delicious, as these recipies prove. Try one today and let me know what you think! -Katherine, Director of Nutrition.

As summer draws to an end the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle presents OFL healthy recipes to remember summer! These recipes feature farm-fresh NC peaches and are a great treat for one or can be easily multiplied for a crowd.

Fresh local fruits that are in season can create a tasty treat during hot summer weekends and can provide loads of vitamins, energy and hydration. Below are two fruit based summer recipes with interchangeable ingredients that will keep you both refreshed and healthy during the upcoming holiday weekend.

 Fresh Local Peaches and Fruit Yogurt Dip

Serves 1

Ingredients:

•  1 Peach
• 1 cup of nonfat plain or vanilla* yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

 Directions:

1.  Slice peach, remove seed and chop.
2. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Mix well
4. Sprinkle a dash of ground cinnamon on top for display

Chef’s Notes:

•  Try adding 1 teaspoon of lime zest instead for a tangy treat.
• Remember that infants cannot have honey. You can use 1 tablespoon of sugar instead of honey in this recipe.
• Serve as a dip with your favorite cut up fruits such as peaches, apples, kiwis, bananas, grapes and strawberries.
• *If you use vanilla yogurt, do not add honey or sugar to the recipe.

 Peachy Fruit Smoothies

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 Peach
• ½ Peeled Banana
• ½ cup of ice cubes
• 1 cup of non-fat plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup of 100% orange juice
• ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Special Materials: Blender or food processor

Directions:

1. Cut peach, remove pit and put in blender or food processor
2. Add remaining ingredients to the blender or food processor.
3. Cover and blend until smooth

Chef’s Notes:

• Try using other fresh local fruit that may be in season from your back yard or local farmers market.
• Replace orange juice with non-fat or 1% milk for a creamier smoothie.
• Try frozen fruit instead of ice.
• If the smoothie is too thick, add non-fat milk. If the smoothie is two thin, add more fruit.

PAR Donation Total

Another week of great participation from local farmers and gardeners! We are almost at the 10,000 lbs. mark for the PAR program! Continue bringing in your tomatoes, squash, eggplant and other fresh veggies to help feed folks in our community!

Bob Dylan Joins the Fight Against Hunger!

The coolest thing that I've ever seen in the world of hunger relief is happening right now.  Bob Dylan has announced that the US royalties from the sales of his upcoming album of holiday songs will be donated to Feeding America.   The Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is a proud member of Feeding America and we are super-excited about this partnership. Bob came to town recently on his tour of minor league ballparks. He played the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in July.  Several Food Shuttle staffers went and reported back a great show.  I had to miss it. I once drove 8 hours to see him on the Love and Theft tour when I was in college but couldn't make the one 45 minutes away.It would have been my 6th Dylan show dating back to the mid-90s.

But we'll make up for it here on the Behind the Scenes at the Food Shuttle blog.  We'll keep you updated on any more news around the album and we'll be posting some Dylan clips via Youtube up until the release. And there are rumors circulating that we may try to work with one of our great downtown Raleigh establishments to have an event around the October 13 release. We'll keep you posted.

Here's Like a Rolling Stone, live circa 1966

Jennifer's PAR Adventure

The Hills Are Alive...With Vegetables?!

By: Jennifer Bingham 

This is the second dispatch from Jennifer Bingham, a Hunger-Squasher from Raleigh who is working to make the PAR Program a huge success. Read her first entry here.

This past Saturday I visited the local North Hills Farmers Market in search of extra veggies to add to the already abundant supply at the Food Shuttle.  Luckily, I came across some very generous vendors that handed me bags and basketfuls of peppers, onions, okra, corn, squash, and tomatoes.  As the vendors were packing up for the day, whatever had not been sold suddenly became donations to the PAR Program.

One vendor, who donated not only peppers, but ears of corn, cucumbers, and tomatoes, let me know that she was, "So glad there was a program that was making good use of all these extra veggies."  She said that the majority of her left-over produce was bound for the garbage...but NOT ANYMORE!  The brave woman in charge of organizing all the vendors, Angela, was so glad to see that the North Hills' Farmers' Market could be involved with the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.  Overall, pounds of vegetables were dropped off at the Shuttle, making a small, but important difference, in the world of hunger.

Get to know the Food Shuttle Staff: Katherine Andrew!

Name and title:  Katherine Andrew, Director of Nutrition What does at typical day at IFFS look like for you?   A typical day could include:

Sourcing food from the warehouse and garden for Operation FrontLine (OFL) classes;  Working with interns from local universities to create new programs and curricula for our Nutrition and Garden programs;  Catching up on Hands on Health communities; Working in Garden at Mayview; Setting up new classes & helping OFL Coordinator find volunteers, order books, and recruit participants;  Teaching healthy eating, budgeting, and gardening to agency staff and communities; Coming up with new recipes and curricula for healthy eating;  Connecting with local Health, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture organizations, individuals, and programs;  Creating new programs and health or gardening education for agencies and their communities;  Updating PAR pounds and members; Evaluating current programs

How long have you been at the Shuttle?  Since November, 2007

What’s your favorite part about working at IFFS?  The variety and movement in my day.

What did you do before IFFS?  Most recently,  got my Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Nutrition from UNC

What do you like to do when you’re not fighting hunger?  Cook, run, travel

Favorite Movie? Princess Bride

Your last meal would be?   All fresh from the garden of course!   Spinach salad with balsamic, yellow tomatoes, and walnuts;  Fish in herb sauce with roasted okra, beets, and sweet potatoes; dark chocolate dessert with berries to finish it off!

P.S. Katherine has starred in a few Food Shuttle videos.  Check out our Youtube Channel!