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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] Hunger in America

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: Pat Meadows <pat@meadows.pair.com>
  • To: "self-reliance, networking, and simple living, for small farm sustainability, rural independence and security." <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Hunger in America
  • Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 09:22:27 -0500

On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 14:02:14 -0700, you wrote:

>I compiled a bunch of recipes for the local commodities folk using the
>commodities. They had told me that nobody wanted the instant potatoes or the
>dried milk and I found an amazing quantity of recipes utilizing these
>ingredients. Even doughnuts from the potatoes! I don't think soups would be
>a good start. I think that fresh mac n cheese and soups from canned veggies
>would be better. I have a very simple recipe for minestrone using a can
>mixed veggies,a can kidney beans,a small can tomato sauce and some elbow
>macaroni. Fresh pizza would be easy.Or fried chicken and mashed potatoes.....
>First you have to use what's at hand. Besides, this way you don't feel so
>bad when experimenting and getting those inevitable learners failures. I
>also think it would be helpful to put together a recommended monthly menu
>with recipes and tips. Start small and work into it. I agree about the
>muffins and quick bread. Even the bran cereal handed out makes great muffins
>as well as breading for some fried things.

PS - we used to go to the Food Bank here, until we decided
it was a waste of time and not worth it for us as they give
essentially nothing worth having in our opinion. Nothing
that would help our health rather than tear it down.

* No dried milk, not ever (I use a lot of dried milk for
making yogurt and in cooking, and I would have welcomed it).
* No bran cereal.
* No dried beans of any kind (we use a lot of them too).
* No whole grains of any kind. No even white rice, much
less brown rice.
* No whole grain products of any kind.
(Sometimes some pasta, yes, that's an exception in that it's
a fairly basic food, but of course it's not a whole-grain
food: OK, but we eat pasta.)
* No fresh veggies except what we and one other person
donated from our gardens.
* No instant mashed potatoes (which I probably would not
have wanted anyway, but maybe I could have found a use for
them).
* No fresh milk (not for us at least, possibly people with
children get fresh milk, I'm not sure).
* No evaporated milk - I use a lot in cooking, and would
have welcomed it.
* Very limited fresh fruit: one apple, plus one banana or
one orange (in other words two pieces of fruit per month for
a family of two).
* Canned fruit sometimes: one can per month for a family of
two.

(Unless you certify that you have a short-term emergency,
you are only allowed to go to this Food Bank once a month.)

They mostly seem to give out canned sugary stuff plus stale
doughnuts and stale bagels and small pudding-type desserts,
it seemed. And canned beef stew, and sugar-laden cereals.
Also cans of tuna; that's nutritious although neither of us
will eat it. (It makes my husband sick, and I gave up tuna
when it all started resembling catfood: it makes me gag
now.) They do give out one can of vegetables each time, and
one jar of peanut butter or jelly. The peanut butter is the
sugar-salt laden variety, unfortunately.

Also they give out very high quality venison, but we're
afraid to eat it since we found out where it comes from (CWD
is a possibility).

God help anyone trying to live on this stuff.

Pat
--
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