Graduation week

This Friday will be an exciting day for students of the Culinary Job Training Program-- it's Graduation day! The students have been working tremendously hard for the past 11 weeks learning all sorts of skills in the culinary arts leading up to graduation day at the end of the week. Throughout the week, we'll be posting some videos of students sharing why they came to the program, what they've learned, and what they are wanting to do upon graduation. The students have come from all sorts of backgrounds, but they all have amazing success stories to share!

Today, meet Herman

and Paul!

TCAR on the Farm

About 15 folks from TCAR- Triangle Commercial Association of REALTORS® came out to the Farm on Friday to volunteer. Despite the cold weather, the group came bundled up and had enthusiastic attitudes about working on the farm! They started work on constructing a potting shed and helped with moving compost.

TCAR's community service organizer, Baxter Walker, and Kim Brennen, Executive Officer at TCAR, took some time to make a video about their time on the Food Shuttle Farm and why they choose to work with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle this holiday season:

Cookie recipe from Katherine

For Share our Strength's 12 days of sharing, Katherine wanted to share one of her favorite holiday cookie recipes with you. A fellow blogger- Jennie- decided to have a "virtual cookie jar" this season to help raise awareness about the 12 days of sharing and the staggering childhood hunger problem in our country. New data suggests that 17 million children wonder where their next meal will come from every day here in America. Learn more about the 12 days of sharing by clicking on the badge below the cookie recipe or see how the Food Shuttleis combatting childhood hunger through BackPack Buddies and OFL classesin the Greater Triangle on our website. Here's Katherine's delicious recipe for Molasses Ginger Snaps, just in time for holiday baking and cookie swaps!  

Molasses Ginger Snaps

Makes 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar  *can use all white sugar if you prefer a crispier cookie
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped (can be omitted)
• 1/3 cup sugar (to roll cookies in)

Preparation

1. Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add applesauce, egg and molasses. Mix well.
2. Whisk flours, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves and ginger in another large bowl until well blended. Stir in crystallized ginger if using.
3. Blend the flour mixture into the butter mixture a cup at a time, mixing well, until it is all incorporated. Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray.
5. Place the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a shallow dish. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and then roll in the sugar. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet
6. Bake the cookies, in batches, until they crackle on top, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To see what other bloggers are cookin' up for the virtual cookie jar, check out Jennie's blog- In Jennie's Kitchen!

Take the pledge in the Pound for Pound Challenge!

Lose weight to help feed our community!

For those who are not yet aware, the Biggest Loser's Pound for Pound Challenge began yesterday! Food banks across the country have started gathering folks to pledge to lose weight in this competition. For every pound pledged, the Pound for Pound Challenge will donate a pound of food to Feeding America - the food will later be distributed to food banks across the country who are members of Feeding America! Top food bank performers will receive a monetary cash prize.

How can you get involved and help the Food Shuttle?

1. Visit http://www.pfpchallenge.com/Default.aspx and pledge to lose some pounds for Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (when pledging on the website, make sure to enter a zip code in the Food Shuttle's service area. You can use 27620 to ensure that Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is your preferred food bank to support)

2. Pass on the link to your friends through email, Facebook, etc and encourage them to pledge for the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle!

3. Share your success story with us to inspire others to be motivated to meet their goals.

Thanks for all of your help pledging pounds and passing this information about the Pound for Pound Challenge on to your friends and family! Stay tuned for updates on the Challenge with success stories from participants and updates from Food Shuttle staff.

 

Crew Call!

Come out Saturday before it gets any colder!  We will continue to work on building our vermin-composting program by preparing lumber and constructing bins. We’re also looking for roofing tin; please consider calling a friend in construction or anyone you know who is re-doing their home.  See below for more information.  VOLUNTEER TIME:

• Garden Crew will meet this Saturday December 12^th from 9:00–12:00 PM at the Food Shuttle Farm (see map below).   We will be de-nailing donated lumber and constructing bins for the vermi-composting unit.
• Our Nutrition Coordinator, Amanda, and volunteer, Melissa, will be leading the charge at the Community Gardens this year and would love your help in the garden and working with community members.  Please email Amanda at NutritionCoord@foodshuttle.org if you want to join and for directions.  Schedule Below:
  • Tuesdays     4-5pm  -  Neighbor to Neighbor
  • Wednesdays & Fridays    4-5pm  -  Mayview
• We can always use help during the week too!  Farm Manager Sun Butler can meet you on the Farm any day during the week from 8:30-12 PM and  3-6PM. Please call Sun ahead to let him know when you are coming or give him a heads up on your way out there (919.559.2391).  Sun’s number is also posted on the bulletin board at Food Shuttle Farm if you get there and cannot find him.

KNOW OF SOMEONE IN CONSTRUCTION?

We are looking for donated roofing tin. We need 20 pieces, at least 10 ft. in length each, to repair the roof on the vermi-compost building and to build a potting shed off the greenhouse.

FARMS & GARDEN BLOG

Keep up with what’s going on with our Farms & Gardens and PAR programs through the IFFS blog farmsandgardens.wordpress.com.  Never miss the latest Food Shuttle news by subscribing to the blog on the top right of the page. Use the blog to check out weekly ripe recipes, find yourself in photos of weekly crew calls, hear from other volunteers, and stay up to date with activities at IFFS.  Let us know if you’re interested in contributing to the blog!

LOCAVORE LUNCH – Every Wednesday!

Every Wednesday at noon we are holding local agricultural discussion groups at Farmhouse Pizza, 3011 Hillsborough St. in Raleigh. We will be serving a pizza made using some (hopefully soon to be all) local ingredients from NCSU's Farmers' Market. Please RSVP to Steve (steven.p.horton@gmail.com) so he knows many pizzas to have made.  If you can contribute, he is asking for a $5 donation... if you can't afford the cost we’ll gladly cover you in return for good conversation!   A portion of the proceeds will go to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

We will be discussing the same topic as last week (resources available in NC for small sustainable farmers), but with a wrap up of the CFSA conference.

**This will be our last meeting until January when schools start their 2010 semesters**

GARDEN SUPPLIES:

We are still in need of hand-tool donations.  We gladly accept new and/or lightly used equipment. Thanks to all who have responded.

 GROW VEGGIES AT HOME?

Our new Plant a Row (PAR) program has kicked off… We are hoping anyone with home grown vegetables will consider planting extra or just giving any excess harvest to our community members in need.   Check out the attachment, spread the word, and/or get in touch with Katherine if you are interested in finding out more.

New Volunteer?

If you have not filled out a volunteer form or have a friend who is interested in helping out please email Janet at RGSJRS@aol.com.

Week of Giving @ Farmers Market

As we tweeted earlier this week, the State Farmers Market will host its “Week of Giving” to benefit the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Sunday, Dec. 6, through Saturday, Dec. 12, in the Market Shoppes. Shoppers are invited to leave non-perishable food items under the Giving Tree, as well as make monetary donations. Read more here. Here's Cece out at the Giving Tree, as well as a message from a special guest.

Countdown to graduation!

4 times a year something incredibly exciting happens at the Food Shuttle. (well, let me clarify...working to alleviate hunger in the Triangle with the support of the community is a remarkable thing to see and be a part of on a daily basis!!) Our Culinary Job Training Program holds a graduation for students in the program who have completed the 11 week class! The ceremony is complete with a wonderful meal prepared by the students as their final exam, certificates, hugs from family and friends, and many joyful tears shed in light of a new beginning for many students. (view photos from the 48th graduating class on our Flickr site)

Over the next week  or so, the Behind the Scenes at the Food Shuttle blog will be showcasing video interview clips of the students graduating on December 18th!

Stay tuned for these inspiring videos to be released...the students have been interviewed and the raw footage is on the editing floor.

Merry Christmas to Bob and to Bob a good night

Remember back a few months ago when we went a little BobDylan crazy? Here's the proof. What nutty times those were! But it was all for a great cause. Proceeds from Bob's Christmas album, "Christmas in the Heart" benefit Feeding America, the national food bank network of which the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle is a proud member. We can tell by the handy stats we get that many of you who stop by Behind-The -Scenes at the Food Shuttle blog are  looking for the latest news on Bob. We're happy to be associated with him.  We know that Bob Dylan, unlike windbreaker undershirts, will never go out of fashion. The fact is we're too busy developing and operating innovative solutions to hunger to be able to cover Bob as extensively as you may like, but we can still help out now and again.

Here's the video for "Must be Santa", fresh from the new album. If you like it, pick up a few copies of "Christmas in the Heart" for your family and friends. It'll make a great gift and help fight hunger in the US (a problem that is getting worse, not better).

Team White Rock fights hunger with a food drive

It is amazing to see what can happen when folks join together to drive hunger from our community here in Durham! Our friends at White Rock Baptist Church did just that when they raised 949 pounds of food for BackPack Buddies. 

Thanks for all your hard work, Team White Rock!! 

We rely heavily on our volunteers to get good food out to those in need in Durham. Want to help with BackPack Buddies in Durham by volunteering or hosting a food drive like White Rock Baptist Church? Let our Durham Coordinator, Jerome Diggs, know by sending him an email, DurhamCoord@foodshuttle.org