Volunteer

Ok guys, I've been super slack on my Food Bank for NYC duties this month, but with the holidays coming up, it's time for me to step it up.

Thanksgiving is a huge food holiday. It's also a huge time for volunteers. Most soup kitchens get an over abundace of help on Thanksgiving, but struggle the rest of the year to fill their shifts. If you can volunteer on Thanksgiving, by all means, please do, just don't forget the other 364 days a year that need attention too. It's easy to remember to help out on a day dedicated to counting your blessings and being grateful for what you have. It's easy to remember people less fortunate than you when you're feeling so filled up on love and luck. It's much harder to remember that the same people who have nothing on Thanksgiving also have nothing the day after and the one after that. Hunger doesn't know holidays and it doesn't take a vacation. If you have an extra can of food, or an hour or two to spare, give that to someone who needs it. If you have an extra few dollars, give that. I don't care what you do, as long as you remember to give of yourself. Trust me, it goes a long way.

The clients I work with at GCN are some of the most gracious people I've met. They come in looking tired and sometimes grumpy, but most of them cheer up after a plate of food. While I get the occasional client who's bitter and unhappy, more often than not, they thank me for my time. They thank me for smiling and for making them feel taken care of. I go because I get a natural high from being there and knowing that for a few hours, I made someone feel less weary. That's what giving is about, and that's what we should all be doing at every chance we get.

This year, please support Food Bank for NYC, City Harvest, Feeding America, or any of the countless other organizations dedicated to ending hunger. Not just on Turkey Day, but on any day.

Orange Cake

It's that time again. NYC Goes Orange Recipe of the Week. This week's recipe is orange cake. It was supposed to come out like birthday cake, but I think it's more like a pound cake. Still very delicious.

Recipe:
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour (Pamela's baking mix for me as per the usual)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (one stick, unsalted, softened)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs (room temperature, separated)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 whole milk + 1/4 cup half and half
1 tsp orange zest
the juice of half an orange

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8" round cake pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until light in color. Add the egg yolks one at a time, then the vanilla. Slowly add the flour until the mixture resembles wet sand. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Add milk to flour mixture along with orange juice and zest. Fold in egg whites gently. Pour mixture into greased pan and bake until tooth pick comes out clean (30-35 minutes). Allow to cool slightly before turning out onto a plate.

I didn't ice this one. Just dolloped a little raspberry preserve on a plate and ate it with that, but feel free to ice with butter cream or chocolate ganache. Your choice. Enjoy and remember to Go Orange.

Seeing Orange

Food Bank for NYC is gearing up for the annual NYC Goes Orange to raise awareness for hunger in the city. To coincide with this, Feeding America is leading September's Hunger Action Month. In the spirit of both, this blog will be going orange all month. In addition, I'll be posting orange themed recipes through December to show my support for NYC Goes Orange. If you'd like to get more involved yourself, check out www.foodbanknyc.com or http://hungeractionmonth.org. You can also send me recipes you'd like to see posted. Please help these organizations in their efforts to end hunger in America. Donate your money or your time. And please spread the word.

Thanks!

Kind Kitchen

Yesterday, I had the most rewarding experience of my life. I worked the kitchen for the people at Grand Central Neighbors on E. 32nd in Manhattan. I didn't do much, just wrapped plastic forks in napkins and handed them to people, but it felt amazing to be a part of something larger and better than me. It was something to smile at people and serve them a hot meal. There's nothing that describes the gratitude or humility the experience left me with. I enjoyed myself tremendously and I'm going back as soon as possible.

Being Hungry

Ok guys, today's post is about hunger awareness. It's a really important issue to me and I want to share it with you guys.

The fact is that there are people in this country going hungry. People unable to afford nutritious food for themselves and their families. These are hard-working citizens, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and saddest of all, children. 11.1% of households in America are food insecure according to Share Our Strength's website (http://www.strength.org/). That's about 13 million households nationwide. Half of them are white families. One third of them live below the poverty line, which is currently just over $21,000 a year.

According to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (http://www.fns.usda.gov/) the average monthly SNAP benefit is $101.53 per person, or $1.12 per meal. Can you imagine a meal that only costs $1.12? A healthy meal, I mean. Not from the dollar menu at McDonald's. It's incredibly difficult to achieve a healthy, varied, and balanced meal on such a budget.

So what can you do? A lot of things. You can donate a few dollars each month to a local food pantry or soup kitchen, or you can donate your time. Share Our Strength has a ton of programs such as the Great American Bakesale, A Tasteful Pursuit, the Great American Dine Out, and Operation Frontline. Feeding America has an advocacy program called the Hunger Action Program and a network for volunteers. Or you can check in your community to find out which soup kitchens and food banks need volunteers. And, if you're in the NYC area, Food Bank for NYC has a TON of programs to join. You can also check which pantries need food donations. Canned goods and dry goods are almost always welcomed, but some pantries also accept fresh goods. If you work in the food industry, see what your business is able and willing to do to get involved.

I support the efforts of a few organizations:

Feeding America (http://www.feedingamerica.org/)
Share Our Strength (link listed above)
Food Bank for NYC (http://www.foodbanknyc.org/)
Grand Central Neighborhood (http://www.gcncommunity.org/)
Single Stop USA (http://www.singlestopusa.org/)

Thanks for taking the time to listen, do your homework, and get involved.