For those who haven’t: in response to a CDC report that cited Huntington, WV as the most unhealthy city in America, British Chef Jamie Oliver decided to kick-off his U.S. food revolution.

He began by addressing the food being served in one Huntington elementary school. He was given a one week trial period by Food Service in which he had to replace the typical school lunch with  healthier, fresh cooked options and get the kids to eat it. He then tackled similar challenges at a high school, college, and with individuals.

Now he has started a petition to improve school food all across America.

If you want to support his efforts and learn more about the work he is doing, you can check it out here.

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An article recently posted on the blog, Salon.com, begs to differ. The article entitled “Hipsters on Food Stamps” highlights a group of 20 to 30 somethings who are popularizing a ‘new’ way to use food stamps. This group, containing many self-proclaimed ‘foodies’, have broken the long standing stereotypes that food stamps can only be used for government commodities and are instead using them to buy things like organic veggies and fresh baked bread at places like farmers markets and food co-ops.

Despite the fact that probably none of the clients you serve would fall into the ‘hipster’ category, this article brings up a great point for discussion about what you can and cannot buy with food stamps. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service website provides helpful information about the program, including what foods are eligible for purchase with Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards:

So the next time you are talking with your clients about food choices and healthful eating, remind them that they are not limited to packaged, processed, and frozen foods. Maybe even point out how they can stretch their food stamp dollars by buying fresh foods and cooking from scratch when they have time (and freezing meals for the week).

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A mere two days before the class of 2013 began to arrive at W&L, I went with Jenny to make CKP’s first food pickup from Walmart.   After some initial confusion about which of the many back doors we were supposed to go to, we made our way to the egg bunker where we met the women who would be facilitating the food pick-ups.  As they took us to the back of the store, I was stunned by the sheer volume of food.  The women gave us a brief tour and then we started loading up the cars.  My first impression of these two women was how excited they were that this food was not going to be wasted.  Despite the fact that they had to do some extra work to give us the food, they were more than happy to do so and just as excited as we were to be rescuing this food that otherwise would have been wasted.  Walmart has high standards on what can be sold, so there is an abundance of perfectly good food that they cannot sell because of damaged packaging.  The number of eggs that they were throwing out was unbelievable.  After saving the eggs for only two days, they were able to send us away with over 500 eggs.  From now on, CKP will be picking up from Walmart three times a week, which will supply more than enough food to fill the fridges and many hungry mouths, if my experience is any indication of a normal Walmart run.                            - Austin Branstetter

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The original plan for CKJHU was to pick potatoes; however, due to rainy weather conditions, plans were changed and we picked apples instead. Despite rainy weather, the volunteers had a great time. Instead of staying in bed watching the rain drip down the window, people were out and about making a difference. Overall, we managed to pick more than 2,000 pounds of apples! CKJHU donated most of the apples to DC Central Kitchen, but kept about 200lbs. Half of these were donated to a local elementary school, and the remainder will be used in CKJHU’s meal production… mmm… apple cobbler.

This is the second gleaning trip for CKJHU this summer. Earlier this summer, CKJHU began working with the Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network (www.midatlanticgleaningnetwork.org) to build relationships with farmers who want to donate the produce that will not end up in the markets and volunteers who will pick the produce. First Fruits Farm, a not-for-profit farm run by Rick and Carol Bernstein, is dedicated to feeding the hungry in the surrounding communities. All of the produce is volunteer-picked and then donated to organizations such as the Baltimore food bank and local churches. For more information about the farm, visit www.firstfruitsfarm.org.

Due to the two gleaning trips this summer, CKJHU has a total of 3000 pounds that would have been left on the trees and vines to rot. In exchange of a couple hours of apple picking in an orchard with friends, CKJHU was part of the solution of keeping healthy food to our community and getting it to those who might not have had.

(Written by Chandni Mahtani, Lia Metreveli, Jessica Zha)

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 Michelle Obama makes a return visit to Good Stuff.  I recommend Spike’s Sunnyside (a bacon cheese burger with a fried egg on top).

 Another Type 1 beef recall.  New food safety bill to the rescue!

 Civil Eats has a good write up on the “Rewards of Growing”

 More than you ever wanted to know about chicken trade policies.

 This week was President Obama’s birthday – amidst all the turmoil, at least he can enjoy an incredible cake.

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 The bill failed to pass the House today as it was brought to a vote by special rules where there were no amendments and only limited debate.  Therefore, the bill had to pass with 2/3 of the vote as opposed to the simple majority.  It fell six votes short.

 The bill is supposed to be re-introduced today under different rules which call for a simple majority vote, which assuming everyone votes the same way they did yesterday, should pass with flying colors.  Major opponents of the bill included Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH).

 This bill has been in the works for a while.  With the recent emphasis on food and the role it plays in the healthcare debate, it makes sense that food safety has become a hot button issue.  Food Inc is opening around the country and opening the public’s eyes as to how food gets from the farm to the plate. 

 Its great to see Congress take another step towards improving food and the greater public health of the nation.  At this point, it’s hard to tell what the overall affect of the bill will have on local farmers and producers.  Hopefully it will create a safer environment for food cultivation and not just more red tape to sort through.

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A story in yesterday’s New York Times revealed how close to 300 people are going to lose their food stamp benefits in NYC for failing to disclose the fact that they were legally married.  The kicker is that food stamp benefits are based on people living inside the home, not marital status.  In some cases the victims would have been entitled to MORE benefits.

The city sent notices to the 300 people that said that they were over-issued food stamps for the amount of $0.  These people did not get anything extra from the state, and now the safety net has ripped.  These people are now losing their benefits for “failing to provide accurate information”.

What are these people, these parents, and these kids going to do now that their food stamp allotment has been unfairly taken from them?  There is no second state safety net in place for them.  This is where the role of the non-profit sector comes in to fill the void left by state run programs.

Our Campus Kitchens are a shining example of how communities can rise up and help those that are in need.  We currently have 20 kitchens across the nation from Spokane, WA to Gainesville, FL that work to end hunger on a daily basis for hundreds of people just like those affected in New York.   Interested in starting a Campus Kitchen?  Click the link above to get started. 

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There has been another innovative idea in the quest for fresher food.  Thanks to the

The program itself is very simple.  People come to the farmers markets with their food stamps and get twice the value when the purchase fresh produce.  With all the talk of reforming healthcare, people need to remember that what we eat can be just as helpful on an individual level than national policies. 

This innovation is a great way to help bring fresh produce to urban areas.  Hopefully the program expands beyond its original eight sites and begins to infiltrate further into urban areas.  This is also a good initiative for Campus Kitchens to further help the people they serve. 

I want to give a big shout out to Ann Arbor, MI who participates in the program.  I’m not the least bit surprised

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My daily life is pretty easy.  Mostly everything is scripted and generally painless.  I check my bank statements online, I do my laundry at 9pm on weekdays and I pay higher rent to walk to the Giant blocks from my house.

In today’s economy everyone doesn’t have it so easy.  Check out this article.  Being poor means you don’t have access to a lot of the things we take for granted in our daily life.

How did we get to where we are now economically.  Greed, most certainly.  Compassion, most certainly not.  Businesses that prey on those who have access to the least; didn’t we learn our lesson the first time? 

Go ahead, google next day loans.  The first 30 pages are littered with sites just begging to loan you money.  Pictures of stacks of $100 bills.  All for 25% of your paycheck.  My checking is free.  But what if you aren’t educated on what to do?  Pictures designed to bait the uneducated.

Subprime mortgages, credit targeting and security derivatives were all in the pursuit of money.  Why don’t we pursue making our cities stronger communities?  Why not help those who are struggling so they contribute to the economy?  Shouldn’t we be working together to fix the problems of our future instead of exploiting them for a profit.

Will we ever learn?  CKP certainly hopes so.

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Bucket gardens will offer ‘food security’ to needy families in Oswego County: The Food Bank of Central New York (the primary supplier for the food pantry where I volunteered an undergraduate!) is launching a Garden in a Bucket program, distributing tomato plants in bucket pots to families in need. Not only will the program show people how to grow their own food, but it will show them how delightful and empowering it can be.

Since we posted the link a couple of weeks back to a story called Let Them Eat Arugula, there’s been considerable backlash in the blogosphere. I like the way Kathryn Baer, Poverty and Policy blogger, puts it:

 As everyone should know by now, there are significant long-term social and economic costs associated with unhealthful diets–obesity, related chronic health problems, unemployment, etc. So cutting corners on food assistance will ratchet up the costs of other services.

High school students carve out a future in the culinary arts: The Slow Food USA blog this week featured this interview with the directors of the new movie Pressure Cooker, which follows three high school students from northeast Philadelphia as they try to make it through Mrs. Stephensen’s  culinary arts curriculum and out of the circumstances in their neighborhoods. Jennifer Grausman identifies one of the many benefits of working with food for the students:

Some students develop a passion for food and cooking, some gain respect and understanding for the products used in the kitchen, and many learn about nutrition as they broaden their palate and modify their eating habits.

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