The New Hampshire Food Bank’s
Fall 2006
Food For Thought Putting hunger on ice
The Monarchs Care Foundation and St. Mary’s Bank have teamed up to battle hunger in New Hampshire this season. For every goal the Monarchs score at home during the regular season, St. Mary’s will donate $100 to the New Hampshire Food Bank. “We look forward to a great season and a successful program that will be highlighted with a food drive during a Monarchs game in April benefiting the NH Food Bank.” said Cheryl Abbott, Monarchs vice president of public affairs. “We hope this promotion will create greater awareness of the Food Bank and its initiatives, and we certainly wish the Monarchs much success in their upcoming season to help this important program,” said St. Mary’s Bank president and CEO Ronald Rioux. For Monarchs ticket information and a full schedule visit: www.monarchshockey.com
How One Town Fought Hunger The town of Andover came out in full force on Columbus Day weekend for a New Hampshire Food Bank benefit, which at one point, was little more than a few pieces of furniture on it’s way to the dump. Through the determination of one man, and the big heart of a whole town, Andover raised over $5,000 in a grand yard sale and nearly 600 pounds of food to help feed the Food Bank’s programs.
“We are grateful to the folks of Andover for their creative efforts to help us provide food for the hungry.” When Proctor Academy maintenance worker and Andover resident, Bill Matulevich found a neighbor throwing away used furniture and other used items he encouraged the neighbor to donate the used items for a yard sale to benefit a local organization. “It was all in good shape,” said Matulevich in a recent interview. Matulevich put the used items in his driveway and advertised them as ‘For Sale to Benefit the NH Food Bank.’
Food Bank Executive Director, Melanie Gosselin, yard sale organizer, Bill Matulevich, and NH Catholic Charities President, and CEO, Thomas Blonski at the October check presentation. Matulevich’s yard sale raised over $5,000 to benefit the NH Food Bank.
“People would come to look, weren’t interested, but handed me money anyway,” said Matulevich. “By the end I sold virtually nothing, but I had $85 of donations sitting in a coffee can.” According to Matulevich that was when the idea for a bigger event came to him. “It was a happy accident, really,” said Matulevich. He read about the Food Bank’s dire need for donations and decided he would do something to help. With the help of the entire community Matulevich orchestrated a grand yard sale on the properties of CWS Fence and RP Johnson. ONE TOWN, CONT. ON PG. 3
Governor John Lynch stopped by the NH Food Bank in October to find out from Food Bank Executive Director, Melanie Gosselin how he could help fill some of the empty shelves.
COMING SOON: FOODIES 2006
The Director’s Corner Industry changes are having a direct effect on food banks throughout the country. As companies grow they become more efficient; it is no different for some of our major food donors: Supermarkets. Their improved inventory controls create less waste. This is one of the biggest challenges facing the NH Food Bank. Today in New Hampshire there are nearly 100,000 hungry residents, according to the most recent census information. Thousands more, the working poor, remain ineligible for aid because they just miss the poverty line set by the federal government. Since January, the NH Food Bank has picked up 22 new agencies throughout the state. This goes to show that hunger is an issue in New Hampshire, and the face of hunger will surprise you. We have some great long term plans to further our reach, and help more people in need. These plans include an industrial kitchen for capturing fresh rescue from catering companies and restaurants, and a new facility with more space, to store and display products. How can we achieve these goals? With the support of the New Hampshire community we can do anything. We have seen the outpouring of compassion from every corner of the state, and we know that we can achieve great things with Granite Staters by our side.
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NH Food Bank Presents Oktoberfest 2006 Oktoberfest 2006 Raised $16,000! Sponsors The New Hampshire Food Bank would like to thank the following sponsors for all of their support: AG Edwards, Anagnost Investments, Auger Realty, Autodesk, Autofair, Auto-Torium Suzuki, Brothers 6 Real Estate, Calypso Communications, Catholic Medical Center, Central Paper Products, Centrix Bank and Trust, Divers Den, Dobles Chevrolet Buick, First Resort Marketing, Heritage Plumbing and Heating, J.P. Chemical, Kentek Corp, Liberty Press, Logo Loc, Manchester Monarchs, Manchester Wholesale Distributors, Millenium Advertising, NH Plastics, Nixon, Raiche, Manning & Vogelman, Presentation of Mary, St. Joseph Hospital, St. Mary’s Bank, Stop & Shop, and WOKQ.
Food & Beer Vendors
Special thanks go out to our food vendors, Inn at Danbury and the Red Arrow Diner, and to our beer vendors, Samuel Adams, Red Hook, Smuttynose, Pennichuck, Peak Organic, and Milly’s Tavern.
Special Thanks to all of our dedicated volunteers. Oktoberfest 2006 would not have been a success without you!
Snapshots
Holiday Happenings The holidays are especially hard times for families and individuals who struggle to put food on the table year-round. The NH Food Bank is happy to announce several food drives and holiday events to alleviate that stress for the thousands of people throughout New Hampshire. By attending just one of these events you are making a difference.
Hannaford and 96.5 The Mill present: Tons of Turkey
Irving & WOKQ Turkey Drop On Saturday, November 11 drop by your local Blue Canoe or Mainway store and bring a frozen turkey or monetary donation for the NH Food Bank. Last year’s event brought in over 8,400 pounds of turkey. Tune in to WOKQ for more details.
Pleasant View Retirement presents: A Festival of Wreaths
On Saturday, November 18, co-sponsors Hannaford and 96.5 The Mill invite New Hampshire residents to donate frozen turkeys at select Hannaford locations (locations to be announced). In addition to turkey donations, monetary donations will also be accepted. Last year’s event raised 12,053 pounds of turkey.
On Saturday, November 11 and Sunday, November 12 from 10 am- 3pm, at Pleasant View Retirement on Pleasant Street in Concord, choose from a large selection of impressive wreaths, all donated and designed by local businesses in support of the NH Food Bank. Admission for adults $2; children $1. There will be a wine and cheese reception on Friday, November 10 at 5 pm. Reception will include a silent auction.
Donates 5,626 pounds of food! Monro Muffler/Brake and Service held food drives at all twelve of their NH locations to benefit the Food Bank! They delivered nine truckloads of food, and plan on continuing the food drive throughout the holiday season! Thanks, Monro!
Thanks to Recent Supporters TD Banknorth $20,000 Electric Co-Op $10,700 Pampered Chef $3,706
Full Moon Margarita Madness On Monday, December 4, grab friends and co-workers and head down to Margarita’s in Manchester for food, fun, and Margarita’s from 4pm-1am. 5% of the evening’s gross lounge sales will be donated to the NH Food Bank.
ONE TOWN, CONT. FROM PG. 1 Volunteers “just appeared” to help Matulevich load and unload yard sale goods, locals donated $25 for their own space on the property, and helicopter pilot, Dale McLeod, donated helicopter rides. Local businesses donated gift certificates for an impromptu raffle, students from Proctor Academy donated baked goods, and New London radio station WNTK donated free on-air plugs. “It’s encouraging to know that people in New Hampshire are realizing that hunger is an issue,” said Executive Director, Melanie Gosselin. “This is an outstanding example of a community coming together for such an important cause.” “This is not something I did,” said Bill, at the October check presentation. “The town of Andover supported [the event]… This was definitely a ‘we’ event.”
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The Snack Shack - Your Source Warehouse News Regular Shipments The Food Bank receives weekly shipments of Stoneyfield Yougurt. We currently receive two pallets of Stoneyfield product every Monday.
Purchased Food Program The Food Bank offers a Purchased Food Program which allows agencies to shop for bulk staple items including: frozen hamburg, canned beans, and mashed potatoes.
Holiday Produce The Food Bank currently has an inventory of holiday produce including fresh carrots and potatoes.
Turkey Wishlist For any agencies that have not turned in their turkey wishlist, now would be the time to do so. At this point the Food Bank cannot make any guarantees on turkey orders.
Recipe Budin Azteca - Tortilla Lasagna 1 tbsp oil 1 Spanish Yellow onion 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp oregano 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes 1 green pepper ½ pound mushrooms, sliced 1 bay leaf 1 cup cooked sweet potato, diced small ½ tsp cayenne pepper ½ tsp black pepper 12 -6” flour tortillas 2 cups Monterey jack cheese (or other mild shredded cheese) 1 tsp salt 12 sprigs cilantro, chopped 1 cup non-fat, plain yogurt
Stir in tomatoes, bring to a boil.
Preheat oven to 350˚ For sauce:
Bake for 25 minutes or until heated through and cheese melted.
Heat oil in large pan, sauté onion and garlic 5 min. Add oregano.
Sprinkle with cilantro and garnish with dollop of yogurt.
Add pepper, mushrooms, bay leaf, cook 10 minutes, remove bay leaf. Add cooked sweet potato, salt and pepper to taste (add cayenne pepper for spice). To assemble: Place spoonful of sauce on bottom of casserole dish, place single layer of tortillas on sauce. Add 1/3 of remaining sauce on top of tortillas. Add 1/3 of remaining cheese on top of sauce. Continue to layer tortilla, sauce, ending with cheese on top.
Ask The Nutritionist by Becca Story, R.D., OFL Coordinator
I have picky eaters at home and it’s been very difficult to get them to eat the colorful fruits and vegetables I know are healthy for them. What nutrients might they be missing out on? Choosing a variety of colorful fruits, vegetables and legumes is certainly one of the best ways to ensure you are meeting your needs of all nutrients. The vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables come from the type of phytochemical found within the foods which work together with other nutrients to provide a variety of health benefits including, reduction in the risk of cancer and heart disease. Red foods contain lycopene and anthocyanins which promote heart and urinary tract health, memory function and protects from oxidative damage reducing cancer risk. Red foods to consider are red apples, red grapes, red berries, red peppers, radishes, and red onions.
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Yellow/orange foods are known for their quantity of Vitamin A and other antioxidants. Foods of this color promote vision and immune system health.
Look for apricots, cantaloupe, grapefruit, oranges, yellow potatoes, and pumpkin. Green foods contain lutein and indoles which help maintain vision health and strong bones and teeth. Green foods to look for include: honeydew, artichokes, asparagus, and broccoli. Blue foods contain anthocyanins and phenolics which are being studied for their antioxidant and anti-aging benefits. Blue foods to consider include: blackberries, blueberries, black currants, and plums. White/Brown foods contain many phytochemicals including allicin. White foods promote heart health, help maintain healthy cholesterol levels and lower the risk for some cancers. Look for bananas, white nectarines, mushrooms, onions, and parsnips.
e For Agency-Related News & Events Spotlight Agency Fall Mountain Food Shelf: Many Challenges Ahead It has been over a year since Fall Mountain Food Shelf and Friendly Meals lost their building to the Cold River, but the resilience of director, Mary Lou Huffling, and the goodwill of the community has kept the organization alive. Locked away in a rural community, Fall Mountain Food Shelf and Friendly Meals is the only agency the communities of Alstead, Langdon, Walpole, and Charlestown, NH. These communities are reliant on the services provided by the Food Shelf, Friendly Meals, and also a Meals-On-Wheels program. Fall Mountain found a temporary home at the Masonic Temple in Langdon, until moving to two news sites in September. The Baker House in Langdon and a space in the Heritage Restaurant in Charlestown. Neither of these spaces are permenant. “One of the challenges we face is finding a permenant building,” says Mary Lou Huffling. “Being in a rural area there are no buildings that we can just move into.” The town of Langdon has plans to renovate the space that currently houses Fall Mountain, therefore giving the agency a year to find a new facility. With the support of many volunteers and the aid of Sister Kathleen, NH Catholic Charities Parish Outreach Coordinator, Fall Mountain continues on its mission serving the people. Serving 60-70 families through the Food Shelf, and providing
130 people a day at Friendly Meals. “It is an interesting operation,” commented Sister Kathleen. “It is very much a small New England town, communal operation. Everyone is lending a hand.” In fact, according to Huffling, Fall Mountain has logged close to 30,000 volunteer hours. “We have been fortunate that we haven’t run out of food, we haven’t run out of money,” says Huffling. “The main thing is we’ve been able to take care of the people.” One of Fall Mountain’s biggest challenge seems to be the food shortage which has touched every NH Food Bank agency. Perhaps, more profoundly in the Alstead region where the business at Fall Mountain has tripled. “I called [the Food Bank] today to see if there was enough salvage to make it worth the trip,” says Huffling. “With the price of gas, most times we find the product isn’t worth the trip.” Huffling has occasionally resorted to paying retail price at the grocery store in order to provide food for Fall Mountain’s programs. “It’s a huge strain on our budget to have to pay full price,” says Huffling. “But that is what needed to be done.”
Welcome New Agencies
Gospel Light Food Pantry, Concord
Nashua Boys & Girls Club- Fairgrounds
Nashua Boys & Girls Club- Mastricola
Nashua Boys & Girls Club- Pennichuck Middle School
Nashua Boys & Girls Club- Elm Street Nashua Boys & Girls Club- Litchfield
So. Meadow School Food Pantry, Peterborough
IN BRIEF FALL MOUNTAIN FOOD SHELF & FRIENDLY MEALS BAKER BUILDING, RT. 12A, LANGDON, 122 MAIN ST., CHARLESTOWN ESTABLISHED: FOOD SHELF IN 1980, FRIENDLY MEALS IN 1986 FOOD BANK MEMBER SINCE: 1984 FOOD PANTRY HOURS: MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY, BY APPT. FRIENDLY MEAL HOURS: TUESDAY & THURSDAY CLIENTS SERVED PER MONTH: 12,000 MEALS PROVIDED: APPROX. 24,960 Despite the challenges facing Fall Mountain, Huffling, Sister Kathleen, and the many dedicated volunteers refuse to give up hope. Fall Mountain continues to serve the community with compassion. “We remain optimistic that everything will come out well,” say Huffling. “We truly appreciate everything the Food Bank and many others have done for us.” Plans are currently in the works for the holidays, including the delivery of holiday baskets on November 11, and a Thanksgiving feast on November 21.
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From the Frontline Operation Frontline Calendar Nov. - Dec. 2006 CLASSES SCHEDULED: Eating Right Portsmouth Head Start October- November
OFL has been pretty busy these past few months. Here’s a snapshot of what’s new from the Frontlines. First Operation Frontline Class Hosted at NH Food Bank!!! Saving Smart, Spending Smart, taught by volunteer instructor Kenneth Banks, Financial Advisor from Ameriprise. This was the first OFL class held in the resource room at the food bank. We are looking forward to offering more classes and utilizing this great space. Many thanks to Ken for volunteering!
New Curriculum!— Step Up to Eating Right
The Way Home
(SUpER) for pregnant teens SUpER fuses teen class, Power of Eating Right and adult class Eating Right to best reach teens who are going through the very adult experience of pregnancy. SUpER encourages teens to make better food choices and develop cooking and budgeting skills and focuses on self empowerment. We will start offering SUpER classes in 2007.
November- December
Power of Eating Right New Heights Program November- December
Lamprey Healthcare September- October
Kids Up Front Kids In Gear Hillsborough September- October
Saving Smart, Spending Smart NH Food Bank October
New Collaboration/Community Partner!!! African Refugee and volunteer Train the Trainer workshops. OFL has collaborated with the New American Africans organization and UNH Cooperative Extension to host several train-the-trainer workshops for volunteers with New American Africans organization in Concord. The volunteers participating in these workshops work directly with newly placed African refugee families. We have hosted three volunteer workshops focusing on food safety, community resources, and nutrition and cooking. We have also started cooking and nutrition workshops with refugee adults. UNH Cooperative Extension Nutrition Associate, Elizabeth Martin, will conduct one cooking and nutrition workshop in October, November, and December.
New Program Materials!!! Volunteer training manuals— With support from the UPS Foundation, Share Our Strength has created several tools that will help OFL better recruit and train their class instructors and other volunteers. The volunteer instructor training manual was designed as a reference guide for volunteers. Volunteers can use this guide to learn about Share Our Strength, Operation Frontline, and the value of a cooking-based education. In addition to information on food security and standardized volunteer job descriptions, the new volunteer training manual extensively covers effective teaching practices, including connecting with participants, preventing problems, motivating and encouraging class participants, effective communication, and dealing with difficult behaviors. The manual also covers special interest topics including the elderly, diabetics, food allergies, hypertension, immigrants, obesity, physical activity, and pregnancy/nursing. If you are a volunteer instructor and think you might benefit from receiving a copy and/or reviewing it with the coordinator, please call Becca at (603) 669-9725 or email at Bstory@nhfoodbank.org.
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Volunteer View NH Food Bank Volunteers Lend a Helping Hand This year saw many Granite Staters fall on hard times with high oil prices and the Mothers’ Day flooding. Food Bank donors were no exception. The 4-H Green Thumb Program was displaced when their home in Goffstown was taken over by the prison, and Nesenkeag Organic Farm, nestled on tiered land along the banks of the Merrimack River in Litchfield, suffered losses due to the spring floods. Both of these programs found themselves in need of help this spring and summer, and Food Bank volunteers enthusiastically answered the call to help out.
Priscilla from Nashua Christian Bible Church hoses off at the 4H Green Thumb gardens in Auburn.
Food Bank volunteers unsoiled and loaded carpet squares, hefted picnic tables, loaded birdhouses, hoses, tomato cages, and shelves at the Goffstown Green Thumb site and convoyed to the Massebesic Audubon Center where the 4H-ers made their new home. The work to be done was considerable, so we made another trip with more volunteers. On our second trip we pooled our engineering geniuses and managed to divine the assembly procedure for a Quonset hut and helped to secure carpet squares in the garden paths. At Nesenkeag, Food Bank volunteers toiled in the fields on numerous occasions. Kids from Webster House
Volunteers from Nashua Christian Bible Church gather pumpkins at Nesenkeag Farms, in August.
in Manchester joined us to harvest carrots during one of the hottest weeks of the summer. Relief came when we hosed off the fresh picked carrots with cool water before bagging and boxing them. On another trip, a number of kids and adults from Nashua Christian Bible Church (CBC) joined us in late August to pick pumpkins and green beans. We were able to fill half a greenhouse with French Red Pumpkins after drafting the Nashua CBC van and our volunteer coordinator’s station wagon as farm trucks to bring our bounty up from the lower fields. In early September, volunteers from Nashua CBC joined us once more working quickly as we tried to help Nesenkeag gather as many crops as we could before the frost that was forecast for that night. Our experiences in lending a hand to two of our loyal donors were good ones, an opinion shared by both Nesenkeag and the Green Thumb Team. We were glad we were able to give back to folks who consistently help us achieve our
mission by providing us with fresh produce during the growing season.
A Nashua Christian Bible Church volunteer plucks a pumpkin.
Our Volunteers Keep Coming Back! Our regular volunteers keep coming back time after time to help us out with whatever we need. Our weekly and monthly volunteers stuck with us through a spring and summer of lean donations. Our regular crews have swelled over the past few months with new members being added to our weekly crews and to many of our monthly crews. Many thanks to everyone who stuck with us through the hot and sticky months, for continuing to help us out and coming in, each time with a quick wit and a smile. We certainly could not do any of this without you folks.
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NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE PAID MANCHESTER, NH PERMIT NO. 37
Feeding the Programs that Feed the Hungry 62 West Brook Street Manchester, NH 03101
Volunteers: Keep the World Spinning
Fall 2006 Newsletter
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” --Anne Frank
Also Inside: How One Town Fought Hunger Pg 1 2006 Oktoberfest Pg 2 Holiday Happenings Pg 3
Color & Nutritional Value Pg 4 Spotlight Agency Pg 5 From the Frontline Pg 6 Volunteers Lend A Helping Hand Pg 7