Thursday, June 28, 2012

Cooking demos in our food banks

Anna setting up cooking demo
at NW Tacoma FISH
We're very excited to be working with Anna Kitchin, Nutrition Educator with the WSU Pierce County Extension Program. Anna is giving cooking demonstrations in our food banks, offering food samples and recipes for nutritious dishes utilizing food bank items. This week's recipe is Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Greens, being demonstrated at our Edgewood food bank today and Lakes tomorrow.


Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Greens


  • 2 cups of greens such as spinach, kale or swiss chard
  • 6-7 medium potatoes 
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic                 
  • 1/4 cup of 1% milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon of butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

  1. Chop the potatoes in half then in quarters and chunks. Add to a pot of boiling water. 
  2. Peel the garlic and add to the water.
    Boil for about 10-13 minutes. 
  3. Wash the greens then chop or tear into small pieces. 
  4. When the potatoes are done remove them from the pot and place them in a bowl. 
  5. Add the greens to the pot of water. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove the greens and drain. 
  6. Mash the potatoes. Add milk, butter, salt, pepper. Mix ingredients well. 
  7. Add chopped greens. Stir gently and serve. Makes 5-6 servings. 
Provided courtesy of Washington State University Pierce County Extension.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Pierce County Gleaning Project


Have you ever watched that fruit tree on your street ripen, and noticed that most of the perfectly tasty apples ended up falling and rotting on the ground? If you hate to see good food go to waste, you’ll be relieved to hear that The Pierce County Gleaning Project is actively working towards a solution. We live in a time when thousands in our community struggle to put food on the table. Diet-related diseases in low-income populations are on the rise due to reduced access to healthy foods like fresh produce. And yet so much food just goes to waste. Gleaning is a great way to reduce food waste and relieve hunger at the same time.
The Pierce County Gleaning Project (PCGP), a collaborative effort of the Emergency Food Network, St. Leo’s Food Connection, and Rotary First Harvest, runs an urban fruit harvest in Tacoma, gleans from farms and farmers markets in the Puyallup Valley, and connects gardeners with food banks through a Plant a Row for the Hungry/Share the Harvest Program. Last year PCGP gleaned (harvested food that would otherwise go to waste) over 30,000 lbs of produce and expects to increase that this year.
Did your tomato plants produce far more than you expected this year? Do you have extra fruit on your fruit tree that you would like to see go to good use? Would you like to grow an extra row of carrots for the food bank? You can help PCGP to reduce both food waste and hunger in Pierce County.
Here’s how you can help:
Volunteer: Help pick tree fruit with your neighborhood fruit harvest group, join in on the Friday morning farm gleans, or plant an extra row for your local food bank.
1) Sign up online at www.piercecountygleaningproject.org or call 253-584-1040.
2) Attend a training to help with Tacoma fruit harvest or to learn how to set up a harvest in your own community (e.g., Gig Harbor). Training sessions will be offered:
Wednesday, July 11, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Wheelock Library, 2722 North 26th Street
Saturday, July 21, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Moore Library, 215 South 56th Street
Register your Fruit Tree: We can help you pick your excess tree fruit and donate it to a local food bank. If you have a fruit tree, register it online at www.piercecountygleaningproject.org or call (253) 383-5048

Friday, June 1, 2012

Gearing up for summer

The kids may be counting down to the end of the school year, and families may be looking forward to a slower pace during summer vacations, but the summer months are busy and challenging in our food banks.


For food banks, summer usually means that demand increases, while donations drop off. During the school week, for example, free and reduced price school meal programs help to ensure that kids from low-income families don't go hungry. But school vacations mean that families already struggling to make ends meet need to fill that gap, and that means increased demand on the food banks. Meanwhile, donations often hit a lull until organizations begin to gear up for fall and holiday food drives.

What can you do to help? Do you have extra produce from your garden? Consider donating it to the nearest FISH Food Bank. Fresh produce flies off our shelves when we are able to offer it. Consider a summer drive for food or funds to help stock our shelves. Remember that for every dollar donated, FISH can provide seven dollars' worth of food to hungry families -- your help makes all the difference!