Nov. 3 – 16, 2012
www.SanTanSun.com
Healthy food bites into lunch budgets
Food bank donations down, needs up
by Cody Matera
by Cody Matera
With the holidays quickly approaching, local support groups can share plenty of seasonal spirit – but hardly any needed supplies. “We are currently 40,000 pounds below the amount of food we had this same time last year,” says Trinity Donovan, executive director for the Chandler Christian Community Center food bank. “In order to match the pounds of donated food we received last year, we need to receive 250,000 more pounds of food by the end of December. We are in need of both regular and holiday items for our food boxes.”
First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to win the war against childhood obesity is making inroads at Chandler schools. New guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) took effect this fall as part of a healthy school lunch initiative spearheaded by Obama and USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. As part of this initiative, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act now requires the Chandler Unified School District (CUSD) to provide students with more nutritious meals at breakfast and lunch. “We have the requirement to offer specific fruits and vegetables,” says Wes Delbridge, CUSD nutritionist. “Students have to have a certain amount of those fruits and vegetables with their meal every day. We have an increase in whole grains offerings, we have calorie minimums and maximums, reduction in sodium and limits for fat.” In addition to new menu items and nutritional guidelines, all soda has disappeared and meat, pasta and bread are now heavily regulated. “A lot of the negative student feedback we’ve gotten see School lunches page 6
STOCKING UP: Linda Peterson-Price helps pack up food sacks from the Salvation Army in Chandler for needy families. STSN photo
BETTER CHOW: SanTan Sun area school children are eating more fruits and vegetables with an improved lunch program. STSN photo
STREET FAIR: Live entertainment on three stages, a 12,000-square-foot Kids Zone and much more await visitors of the third annual “Rock the Block!” party from noon to 8 p.m. Sat., Nov. 10 on Arizona Avenue between Chandler Boulevard and Frye Road in downtown Chandler. Last year’s event party drew more than 12,000 folks. See story on Page 49 in Neighbors. Submitted photo
Needy families and individuals turning to the Chandler Salvation Army for assistance may also discover bare shelves at its Saragosa Street facility near Arizona Avenue. “Our pantry has been a bit low,” says Salvation Army Major Robert Deidrick. His colleague and fellow Major Candi Frizzell explains the summer months trigger a steep decline in food donations and deplete inventory. “Once the weather starts getting warm, people begin see Food bank page 8
Legendary band calls S. Chandler home by K. M. Lang
Bill Tole knows the power of music. As director of the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Southern Chandler trombonist has seen again and again how a few bars from a great tune can animate an audience. “Probably the most popular is Glenn Miller’s ‘In the Mood,’” he says. “I can play 10 songs, and if the dance floor is empty through those 10 songs – I mean, hopefully that doesn’t happen,” he laughs, “but once I start ‘In the Mood,’ all people need to hear is the first four or five notes, and that floor is immediately filled.” Big Band-era melodies are still delighting audiences some eight decades after they first inspired and entertained. Just as the songs have endured, so have the bands that first produced them, including the
Chandler-based Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra led by Tole and owned by his sister, Nancy Knorr, also the group’s vocalist. The 16-member ensemble recently started a monthly tea dance series at The Castle at Ashley Manor and continues to book shows in the United States and abroad. Although Jimmy Dorsey passed away more than a half-century ago, it’s not surprising his band has survived without him, says Tole. “There’s still interest in the big bands,” he explains, adding that nearly all the name bands have continued to this day. The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra began in the 1930s as the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra, with Jimmy sharing see Orchestra page 10
TEA AND A TWIRL: The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra is performing at monthly tea dances at The Castle at Ashley Manor. “Tea dancing is pretty new to people around here,” says the band’s director, Bill Tole. “We’re trying to introduce something new – and The Castle is a lovely place.” STSN photo
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