|
WCHI 9.19.24 Meals on Wheels article FINAL
I wanted to write on Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley (MOW), who provides such a great service to our community. I worked with Erik McGaughey back in 2012 and 2013, when he worked at the American Cancer Society. I was the Event Chair for the Whitehall Relay for Life for two years held in June at the WCSD football field. I started the Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative in 2014 and Erik became MOW’s CEO in 2023. We both work to help those in need. Erik and I still work together to help each other. Last year on May 18, 2023, Meals on Wheels, BrightStar Care of Stroudsburg and Allentown, and Compassionate Care Hospice partnered with Friends of Pete to present a “Spring Into Giving Food Drive” to provide needed food items for the WCHI Food Pantry. Food donations filled a 14-foot box truck during the three-hour event. Karen Haberern, is an extraordinary volunteer, and helps at both WCHI and MOW. She delivers MOW meals to 7 households in Whitehall and Coplay monthly. These households also receive food from WCHI’s Pantry. Karen finds out which food items they will eat, and she brings them at the same time she delivers the MOW meals. I wanted to share info on Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley. This info below comes directly from their website https://mowglv.org/about They have other great info on their site including these statistics: They serve 1,494 Clients each day. The total number of Meals made in 2024 is 373,176. And 70% (of their Clients) live on less than $16,000 a year. For more information, please call 610-691-1030. “Welcome to Meals on Wheels, where our legacy is built on a foundation of compassion, community, and dedicated service. For over 50 years, we have been passionately committed to serving seniors and adults with disabilities, fostering a sense of well-being and connection within our community. Meals on Wheels of the Greater Lehigh Valley is a private, nonprofit organization serving all of Lehigh and Northampton Counties and portions of Carbon County in Pennsylvania. Our mission is simple yet profound: to provide nutritious meals and foster social connection across the Greater Lehigh Valley. We’ve become an integral part of the lives of over 2,000 seniors and adults with disabilities in the Lehigh Valley. From the age of 19 to the remarkable milestone of 106, our clients encompass a diverse range of individuals, each with unique needs and stories. To ensure our services reach those in various corners of our community, we’ve established 8 convenient pickup locations for our dedicated volunteers. These locations serve as hubs of generosity, where volunteers gather to contribute to our shared mission. Our commitment to making a difference is reflected in the extensive reach of our operations. With a network of 89 daily delivery routes, we strive to bridge gaps and provide essential nourishment directly to the doorsteps of those we serve. Each route represents a story, a connection, and a lifeline to those who rely on our services.”
0 Comments
WCHI 9.12.24 Written by Jenn Dietz (Info from FeedingPennsylvania.org)
September is Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness about hunger in America and inspire action. Orange is the color that represents this effort, so consider wearing orange and helping to involve others in making a difference. Tens of millions of people still don't have the food they need to thrive. In 2022, one in six people in the U.S., 49 million people, relied on food assistance from charities like Feeding America and I suspect that number may be growing. My message is two-fold: some information if you are food insecure and ideas for those who are interested in helping. If you are a member of the community in need of assistance you are welcome to attend a free community meal. They are held twice a month in the Whitehall-Coplay communities and are listed on the website WhitehallCoplayHungerInitiative.org Reach out to your local food pantry to receive food. You will need to provide some information about where you live, your income, the number of people in your family, and you will be assisted by a friendly volunteer to help you make food selections based on the size of your household. Previously known as “food stamps”, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is the largest anti-hunger program in America which provides monthly funds to buy groceries from stores and farmers markets. Second Harvest or SNAP office can help you find out if you are eligible for assistance and help you fill out an application. There are some ways that we all can contribute to making a difference: -Get to know your local food bank or pantry. What’s the difference? The food bank is the warehouse (Second Harvest) that helps supply the local pantry or soup kitchen where people in the community can go to receive free food. Over half of all soup kitchens, food pantries, and meal programs in the Feeding America network rely on volunteer support. Spending a few hours each month volunteering can make a difference for food banks and the families they serve. Our WCHI pantry is always welcoming volunteers to help with weekly tasks and monthly distributions. Second Harvest has info on their webpage for those who would like to volunteer there (shfblv.org). There are monthly opportunities to help pack food boxes for veterans and military families and senior citizens, or to help sort donations before they reach your neighbors in need. -Organize a food drive. Contact your local pantry to see what items are most needed. Businesses, youth groups and faith-based organizations can make a big difference, because a few small individual donations will add up when many people pull together. -Make a donation of non-perishable food. Use the opportunities offered through grocery store sales, promotions, coupons or freebies to donate your extras. -Share your extra garden vegetables with neighbors in need or allow the pantry to offer them for you. WCHI accepts donations Monday through Friday during business hours in the lobby at Re/Max Unlimited, 1080 Schadt Ave, Whitehall. -Make a financial contribution to your local pantry or Second Harvest Food Bank. -Support a strong farm bill Tell Congress to prioritize passing a strong farm bill to improve and protect central nutrition programs like SNAP and TFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program) -Assist your neighbors. You may know someone who would appreciate a ride to the pantry or to a local community meal. -Follow us on social media to stay informed: Instagram: whitehallcoplayhungerint secondharvestlv feedingpa “Every action, big or small, is one step closer to an America where no one is hungry. When people are fed, futures are nourished, and we can all reach our full potential.” www.feedingamerica.org 9.8.24 WCHI Garden Written by Gwen Herzog, Pantry Garden Chair
To say the least, August has been a productive month at the Pantry Garden. Despite the on-going issues of our eggplants being eaten, we were able to harvest 220 lbs. of peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, watermelon, corn, and herbs. The storms brought enough rain to fill our water tank; however, the strong winds uprooted our sunflowers which had stood approximately 12 feet high. Tom’s crop of bi-color sweet corn started to be eaten by groundhogs, or so we thought. We found ears that were picked, the husks peeled back, and every kernel of corn completely eaten from each cob. Empty cobs were strewn about the corn bed and surrounding grass making it look like someone didn’t clean up after a picnic. The only thing that could not be determined from the empty cobs was whether the culprits ate the corn going across or around. We subsequently learned that our corn was not being eaten by groundhogs, but by raccoons! To keep from losing the entire crop, Tom ended up picking the remaining corn about a week earlier than planned. The 76 lbs. of corn were picked and distributed August 8th. We harvested 6 watermelons in August which accounted for just under 72 lbs. of our total harvest weight. We have one watermelon remaining in the garden that will be picked before our September distribution. Upon doing more research, we have learned that the culprits eating our eggplants are also not groundhogs, but more likely raccoons. We have had two rounds of eggplants eaten so far, but the third round has started to grow and there are a few that are getting some size. On our work night August 27th, we enclosed the plants with some mesh deer fence that was left over from our “save the pepper plants from the finches” project. This time, we tacked down the fence to the ground and we will open the top when it is time to harvest. Fingers crossed!! Our winter squash is growing like gangbusters! We have two shapes of squash growing in one of our larger beds. On her next visit, Hannah from The Seed Farm will advise us on the proper time to harvest. After recovering from the finch damage, our peppers that survived completely bounced back. We picked about 10 lbs. on August 6th and over 30 lbs. on August 13th. We look forward to picking more peppers for our September and October distributions. The tomatoes continue to ripen slowly. Unfortunately, some have been snacked on by our groundhog friends; however, we have been able to pick and share a few at our community meals and at August distribution. On our work night August 20th, we picked the last of our zucchini and pulled the plants. On our work night August 27th, the empty beds were rototilled and replanted with lettuce and chard provided to us by The Seed Farm. We have plans for Tuesday, September 3rd to plant brassicas in the former corn bed. Hannah will be bringing the plants and will help us get them into the ground. In my October article I will update you on exactly what we planted. Did you know that WCHI is a Lehigh Valley Plant-A-Row drop off location? Extra fruits and vegetables you grow may be left on the table in the foyer at Re/Max Unlimited, 1080 Schadt Avenue, Whitehall, M-F 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. All produce will be distributed at our WCHI Pantry and free community meals or shared with other pantries in the Lehigh Valley. Nothing will go to waste. So far this summer our local gardeners have donated over 170 lbs. of fresh produce including tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, herbs, and sweet corn. Thank you for your generous donations! Happy September! As I have mentioned before in several articles, this year our WCHI Food Pantry has been serving almost 1,200 Whitehall and Coplay residents a month. In July 2024, WCHI fed 300 households consisting of 430 children, 530 adults, and 227 seniors totaling 1,187 people. Included in these numbers are 17 new households consisting of 22 children, 27 adults, and 8 seniors for a total of 57 people. In April 2024, we fed 316 households, 430 children, 547 adults, and 242 seniors totaling 1,219 people.
WCHI has almost 1,000 households registered since we opened our Food Pantry on January 14, 2021. Some guests have returned to work and no longer qualify with the USDA income limits based on household size, moved outside our area, have gone into nursing facilities, or passed away. WCHI is 100% volunteer, and we could never provide for every registered household if everyone wanted to come in the same month. WCHI’s Food Pantry is open only two days a month on the 2nd and 3rd Thursdays from 9am-1pm and 4:30-7:00 pm. This is by appointment only. If you need to schedule an appointment, please call 484-225-0358. WCHI could never feed all our guests without the support from Second Harvest Food Bank, the Grants that I have secured through Lehigh County, Trexler Trust, and the Diocese of Allentown. We have very generous residents, local social clubs, faith based & other non-profit organizations, and businesses who also provide food and monetary donations. Our WCHI Board, our guests, and I, THANK YOU ALL! Since we feed so many people monthly, I wanted to share some very interesting statistics. WCHI provides food quantities to our guests based on the household size. Our guests select the food they will eat. WCHI does not pre-package bags of food. Based on data we collected for the last six months, on average, WCHI has 135 households in both the 1–3-person category (45%) and the 4–6-person category (45%) and 30 households in the 7+ person category (10%) of our 300 monthly guests. Our Pantry coordinators maintain this data. I found this very fascinating and wanted to share these numbers with you. I list the total number items in the food category that we disburse monthly: 1020 cans of fruit; 1,320 cans of vegetables; 3,000 protein items (includes canned tuna, salmon, chicken, and beef, peanut butter, and a wide variety of canned beans); 1,020 cereal/breakfast items; 1,020 boxes/bags of rice and pasta; 2,040 ready to eat items like beefaroni, mac & cheese, canned soup; 1,020 snacks; 300 condiment or baking items; 600 beverages (shelf stable milk, fruit juice, and coffee). We also provide 330 - ½ gallons of milk and 330 dozen eggs each month. Also distributed are 5-10 pounds of other dairy, i.e cheese; and frozen items like meat, fish, & fruit. The fridge & frozen food weighs roughly 2,000 pounds a month. And we provide1,020 rolls of toilet paper, 330 boxes of tissues; and 320 packs of sanitary napkins. Do you find this data very informative too? Again, a big THANK YOU to all our selfless Volunteers, Grant Funders, and our public food and monetary Donors. Without you and our wonderful guests, WCHI would not be the successful Food Pantry that we are, upholding our Mission to alleviate food insecurity in Whitehall and Coplay. When I was young, my mother was a single mother of three small children. My dad left us when my sister was a baby. My brother was the middle child and has cerebral palsy. I am the oldest. My mother could not work because she had to take care of my brother. We were on welfare and grew up poor, lived in one of the housing projects in Phillipsburg, NJ. We were happy. We didn’t know anything different.
We did not have the fanciest clothes or designer shoes (most of our clothes were hand me downs), but they were always clean. My mother always went without anything fancy for herself. We did not have a tv until I was in 8th grade. It was a black and white small one. But for us, it was wonderful. We had to get up and change the channels. Remote controls weren’t available yet. The main thing was that our mother always gave us love. We always had food on the table and lived in a clean row style home. I remember every Saturday; my mom would make us egg salad and tuna fish sandwiches. We loved it. We had normal breakfasts and nutritious dinners. During grade school in the1960’s, everyone went home for lunch. When we went to middle and high school, we brought a bagged lunch. My mom always gave us an apple for a snack when we came home from school. We did not own a car and walked everywhere we had to go. Our housing project was one block inside the school transportation line, so I, and later my sister, walked a mile to and from high school every day in rain, snow, and sunshine. There was a major grocery store several blocks from our home. We needed to bring the shopping cart home with the four small bags of groceries and always brought the cart back. We never had steak, shrimp, or any of the expensive food items. My mom made a lot of hamburger helper type meals. Honestly, we had thought everyone ate the way we did. And of course, we were teased at school. We knew many others were in the same economic situation we were in and everyone got along. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of Humanity is compassionate, sympathetic, or generous behavior or disposition: the quality or state of being humane. Why am I telling you about my family and my life. It is because I and every WCHI Volunteer, Food and Monetary Donor that helps our Whitehall-Coplay Hunger initiative, though our Food Pantry, Vegetable and Herb Garden, Free Community Meals, and at our Bingo games has HUMANITY. Our Guests truly need us with whatever their life situations entail. Some cannot work due to physical or mental disabilities. Some own or rent their homes but barely manage to pay their mortgage or rent, rental or homeowner’s insurance, and utilities. Others have medical bills and need medicines. Some do not own cars, and rely on friends, co-workers, public transportation, or Uber types to get them to and from work and to our WCHI Pantry. And others are working three jobs just to make ends meet. You are helping WCHI feed on average 1,200 low-income people a month at our Whitehall-Coplay Food Pantry. Our Guests and Everyone associated with WCHI, THANK ALL OF YOU!! August HPI Article Written by Jenn Dietz Oatmeal Raisin Bar Recipe –
I am a person who really enjoys food, which has been my motivation for volunteering at the WCHI pantry. Food is a basic need and it’s important to make sure that everyone has enough. Sometimes it’s easy to be lazy and eat whatever is accessible, what is put on your plate by the person who cooks for you, or to grab fast food on-the-go. I have recently started to become more selective with my dietary choices, while still enjoying a variety of flavors. I am trying to eat more natural foods; Foods that are grown in nature, have originated from plants and have had less manipulation from humans and factories. When I want a snack, I look for nuts or seeds, fruits or maybe something from a box if I see that it has limited ingredients that I know how to pronounce. The WCHI pantry food tasting sample in July was a simple and healthy recipe that fits the above requirements. This was an Oat Bar or Cookie made with only oats, bananas, peanut butter and raisins. I am excited to share this recipe because it has only four ingredients, is natural, fits a minimum of two food groups and I found it to be enjoyable as a snack, a dessert when I was looking for something sweet, and also as a breakfast nibble along with Greek yogurt or a glass of milk, which adds another food group. I will list here the reasons that this recipe is a nutritious treat. There is a saying in the nutrition world that says to “make half your grains whole.” Grains have two subgroups: whole grains and refined grains. Whole grains have the entire grain kernel, which includes the bran, germ, and endosperm. Some whole-grain examples are whole-wheat flour, bulgur (cracked wheat), oatmeal, and brown rice. These are a good source of dietary fiber, which is generally associated with being good for bowel regularity and may be said to help lower LDL Cholesterol. Refined grains have been milled, which removes the bran and germ. This is done to give grains a finer texture and improve their shelf life, but it also removes dietary fiber, iron, and many B vitamins. Some examples of refined grain products are white flour, corn grits, white bread, and white rice. Refined grains should be enriched, which means adding back certain B into enriched grains, which detracts from the healthfulness. Some food products are made from mixtures of whole grains and refined grains, but only foods that are made with 100% whole grains are considered a whole grain food. (Grain info from www.myplate.gov) Bananas are 75% water and they contain potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C and antioxidants. They contain fiber, and the natural sugar is better than the unrefined sugar found in candy and cakes. (Wikipedia & healthline.com) Peanut Butter contains protein, fats and carbohydrates and is suitable for plant-based diets. It should not be overconsumed, but does contain many minerals and nutrients including magnesium, folate, vitamins B3, B6 and E, and iron. It also contains oleic acid, a monounsaturated, heart-healthy fat similar to olive oil. (healthline.com) Raisins are a dried fruit and are a good source of antioxidants, fiber, potassium and iron. They are naturally sweet and may be high in sugar and calories, but in moderation (about ¼ cup) are a good addition. (www.webmd.com) Oatmeal Raisin Bars Servings: 12 Recipe from TheBigMansWorld.com These oatmeal raisin bars are soft baked bars loaded with plenty of juicy raisins! Made without oil, butter, or eggs, these healthy raisin oat bars take less than 15 minutes to make! Prep: 5 minutes, Bake: 15 minutes Ingredients: -4 cups rolled oats -1/2 cup maple syrup (optional) -1 cup peanut butter - you can also use smooth almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or tahini. -6-7 medium bananas mashed – approx. 2 cups -1 cup raisins -Add cinnamon and nutmeg for a little more flavor if desired. Instructions: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a mixing bowl, add all your ingredients, except for your raisins, and mix well. Fold in raisins, reserving a few to top the bars with. Transfer the batter into the lined pan and top with extra raisins. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the tops are golden. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, before slicing into bars. 7.31.24 WCHI Pantry Garden Article Written by Gwen Herzog, Pantry Garden Chair
July was a month of substantial growth, but we had great sadness at our WCHI Pantry Garden. The zucchini and pepper plants worked overtime to provide us with a bounty to share with our Pantry guests. Over 60 pounds of peppers and zucchini from our garden were shared during our July distributions. Sadly, the groundhogs ATE ALL our eggplants, many of which were ready to be picked. None were spared! We have begun a groundhog trapping program, but despite our best efforts, our culprits have eluded us. If anyone reading this column has other ideas on how we can capture these critters, or if you are willing to help us be more successful in our efforts, please give me a call at 610-379-6823. We’ve lost one important crop so far. We don’t want to lose more. We have several other crops that are growing well but are not yet ready to be harvested. We have many green tomatoes on our vines, but no color has changed yet. We have at least 6 watermelons growing in two beds and have placed cradles underneath each to keep them off the ground. Tom’s corn plants have tasseled, and most are showing silk. Our winter squash plants are growing nicely, but no sign of fruit so far. Our herbs are a mixed bag. Hannah from The Seed Farm planted additional basil and parsley plants which are still small. We were able to harvest some of our existing herbs for the July 11th Food Pantry distribution. We have a small number of chives and oregano that may be ready for August. Mint remains plentiful. We used the resources of The Seed Farm to help us to diagnose what was eating the leaves of our pepper plants and sunflowers. The damage was consistent with finches, so we placed nylon mesh over our pepper plants to keep them out. Our WCHI Garden Volunteers began to notice that some of our small zucchini were turning yellow before they reached full maturity. The Seed Farm diagnosed this issue as a calcium deficiency in our soil and possibly not watering deeply enough. They recommended removing the affected zucchini, applying natural fertilizer, deep watering at the roots, and mulching. I mixed liquid fish fertilizer with water according to the package directions and applied it around each plant before watering heavily. Because we were also seeing some cucumber beetles, a small amount of vegetable dust was sprinkled on the soil. Finally, each plant was mulched. This activity was completed on Tuesday, July 16th and so far, it seems to be working. I will update you in my next article. At our two July Pantry Food distributions, we were fortunate to have Doria join us. She is a Summer Student Intern at Second Harvest Food Bank. Doria offered our WCHI Pantry guests basil plants to take home to grow on a windowsill or in their garden. She also shared samples of a tasty bruschetta salad with the recipe to take home. If you have thought about planting a fall garden, consider purchasing your plants from The Seed Farm at their Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, August 17th from 9am-3pm and Sunday, August 18th from 11am-2 pm. They are located at 5854 Vera Cruz Rd, Emmaus, PA 18049 (484) 866-6076. I don’t specifically know which plant varieties will be available for purchase, but the focus is on cold and frost-tolerant vegetables and herbs. Did you know that WCHI is a Lehigh Valley Plant-A-Row drop off location? Any extra fruits and vegetables you grow may be left on the table in the foyer at Shari’s Re/Max Unlimited office, 1080 Schadt Avenue, Whitehall, M-F 9am-5pm. All produce will be distributed at our WCHI Food Pantry, at our WCHI Free Community Meals, or shared with other Food Pantries in the Lehigh Valley. Nothing will go to waste. Enjoy your summer! WCHI, the Faith-Based Community, and others are proud to provide these FREE MEALS to low-income Whitehall-Coplay residents twice a month. All are welcome to attend both meals on the 1st Sunday and 3rd Tuesday each month from 4:00-6:00pm. WCHI will post a meal reminder and the meal being served on Facebook and Instagram. It will state if it is an inside sit-down meal, take out, or a version of both. For
questions about 1) hosting and attending our 2025 meal planning meeting in September or 2) guests wanting more info, please call Karen Haberern, Program Chair, at 610-730-3184. I want to give a huge shout out THANK YOU to all the faith-based organizations and others that provide these meals. They obtain the food, prepare the meals, set up the eating areas, serve the meals, and clean up. Many, many hands help to make each meal a huge success. We cannot do this much needed outreach program without YOU, and we truly are grateful for all your support. Each meal site does keep attendance records for the total people served each month. I need to provide data on these meals to Second Harvest Food Bank since I have a Soup Kitchen account. WCHI sometimes orders food for our meal partners. This data reported below is from the time frame September 2023 through June 2024. From this date range, the September data was the last time we had more children and adults attending our meals than seniors. September 2023 attendance: 54 children (ages a baby-17), 81 adults (ages 18-59), and 32 seniors for a total of 167 people served from 85 households. Since November, the seniors have been the largest group by age attending our meals. In January 2024, we canceled both meals due to snow, so we have no data for all the categories. The largest attendance from February through June 2024, was in both April when we served 3 children, 25 adults, and 149 seniors for a total of 177 people served from 148 households. And in June when we served 1 child, 76 adults, 103 seniors for a total of 180 people from 105 households. This year the attendance by far has mainly been our seniors. We have not been able to figure out why the drop in children and adults. Please mark your calendars. These are WCHI’s upcoming Free Community Meals: Sunday, August 4, Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley, 1988 Schadt Ave., Whitehall 703-346-8698 Sit down with Take out available. While supplies last, MALV also will be giving all school-age children who attend, a school backpack with basic school supplies. Tuesday, August 20 (4:00-5:30 PM) St. John the Baptist (Social Hall behind the School), 3024 S. Ruch St., Whitehall. Put Coplay in your GPS or Coplay Eatery, otherwise you may end up at our WCHI Garden. Call Shari 610 -730-8067 Meal provided by Whitehall Wawa. Sit Down Only. No Take-Out. Sunday, September 1, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3355 MacArthur Rd., Whitehall 610-435-0451 Sit down with Take out available. Tuesday, September 17, Whitehall Bible Fellowship Church, 3300 7th St., Whitehall 610-434-8661 Sit Down Only. No Take-Out. I also would like to thank all the meal providers for posting our meals in their parish bulletins and have our fliers available for new and repeat guests. And I would also like to thank the Whitehall-Coplay Press for including every one of our meals in their Happenings section of the paper. As a community working together, we truly are making a difference in people’s lives. Have a great week! WCHI is pleased to report that we continue to help many Whitehall & Coplay residents. These are the June 2024 statistics. WCHI served 274 households - consisting of 376 children (ages 0-17); 481 Adults (ages 18-59); and 199 Seniors (Ages 60+) for a total of 1,056 people. We also had 16 new households consisting of 54 people. Our Pantry attendance has been ranging between this June low and April’s high of 316 households consisting of 430 children, 547 adults, and 242 seniors for a total of 1,219 served guests.
Unfortunately, WCHI did have 101 June scheduled guests that did not show up. We give our guests appointment cards monthly. We normally have an average of 25 “no shows”. Many times, our guests forget their appointments, are called into work, or do not have transportation on distribution days. WCHI is perplexed why so many people did not show (1st time ever) since food and gas prices remain high. Because WCHI has a Lehigh County Food Grant through the federal government, we need to keep demographics for each household that attends our Pantry distribution. This government form is based on household size and income. The Pantry guest fills it out and signs it. The new year started for this data on May 1,2024 and is two months (May & June) of non-repeat households. I wanted to share some of this grant demographic info with you. For the two-month period, WCHI served 17 moderate income households with 63 people; 95 low income households with 360 people, and 224 Extremely low income households with 918 people. We had one “other” household with two people. All total, WCHI served 337 households for 1,343 people. Race and Ethnicity include - White 196 households with 646 people; Black/African American18 households with 94 people; Asian 11 households with 69 people; American Indian/Alaska Native 4 households with 26 people; Asian & white 2 households with 17 people; Black /African American & White 1 household 5 people, other multi-racial 105 households with 486 people. This makes up the 337 households and 1,343 people in the previous paragraph. Also, in the race section Hispanic and Latin ethnicity numbers are already included but separately are 152 households and 705 people. The government has this as a separate category on the form. Also, of the 337 household and 1,343 people; other traits include: Disabled 75 households with 234 people; Elderly (age 62 and older for this form) 101 households and 291 people, and head of the household is a female 157 households with 602 people. We could not serve all our wonderful guests without Second Harvest Food Bank (SHFB), the generous public who donate money for us to purchase food, and all those who do food drives and donates food at my office. From 1/1-6/14/24, WCHI ordered from SHFB 111,489 pounds of food, valued at $17,947. WCHI’s cost to SHFB was $764.23. WCHI also started to weigh all the donated food we receive from food drives and the food donated to my office. From 1/1/-6/30/24, the donated food weighed 9,141.36 pounds. And we received many monetary donations. Because of YOU, WCHI is feeding so many Whitehall & Coplay residents. We really appreciate all you do for us and our guests. Thank you all! 7.11.24 WCHI HPI Pantry Article written by Jenn Dietz Beans as Protein
I grew up in a home that followed a diet that might be classified as “meat and potatoes”. Our meals were simple and met our needs, but I don’t think we strayed far from the basics of a meat, a starch and a vegetable on our plates. In my adult life I have tried to include more variety for my family including ingredients that would have been considered unusual when I was growing up, such as quinoa, lentils, and beans…even if it requires hiding them in a soup or stew by mashing them into the broth. MyPlate.gov offers more information about foods in the protein group. Eating a variety of proteins gives the body more of the nutrients it needs. Protein is a building block for bones and muscles. Many people do not know that beans are a great source of protein and fiber. They are less expensive than meats and are great for a vegetarian or vegan diet. Beans, peas, and lentils; and nuts, seeds, and soy products are part of the MyPlate Protein Foods Group. A cup of beans is the protein equivalent of 4oz of lean meat. Beans, peas, and lentils belong to a group of vegetables called “pulses.” This group includes all beans, peas, and lentils cooked from dry, canned, or frozen, such as: kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans, pink beans, black-eyed peas, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), split peas, pigeon peas, mung beans, soy beans, and lentils. Beans, peas, and lentils are also part of the MyPlate Vegetable Group. I love that they naturally cover both categories. On our WCHI pantry protein shelves, there is a selection of canned meats, such as and chicken, salmon, tuna, and beef, and there is also a second protein shelf of canned and dry beans. We usually offer black beans, kidney, cannellini, pinto, and garbanzo (chickpeas). They are very versatile in menu planning when you start to get a little creative with this ingredient, since they can be eaten in cold salads or in hot dishes, mashed into dips such as hummus, or even eaten right out of the can. At the pantry, we try to offer a tasting sample each month using an ingredient found in the pantry that is also within our Healthy Pantry Initiative guidelines of low salt / low sugar, as well as to provide a new recipe idea. In June, we shared an easy bean salad recipe from www.MyPlate.gov that is simple to put together and is great to make in the summer heat. I hope you enjoy it, too. *Note - I prefer to double the recipe and use full cans of beans, then there’s no need to drain; It can be served as its own side dish or is great to add to a green garden salad. I also added a can of corn for color and fiber. Marinated Three-Bean Salad Serving Size: 1 1/3 cup (230g) - makes 4 servings Ingredients: -1/2 can cannellini (white) beans, low-sodium (8 ounce) -1/2 can cut green beans, low-sodium (8 ounce) 1/2 can red kidney beans, low-sodium (8 ounce) 1 onion (medium, chopped) 1/2 cup celery (chopped) 8 ounces Italian salad dressing Directions: Wash hands with soap and water. Drain the canned beans, Peel and chop the onion & celery. In a large bowl, combine the cannellini beans, green beans, kidney beans, onion, and celery. Pour the Italian dressing over the vegetables and toss lightly. Cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour. The salad can be left in the refrigerator overnight. *Drain before serving (optional) |
RSS Feed