By Jean Blish Siers *
I eat some pretty weird stuff. I’m not talking about those reality TV shows where people eat bugs dipped in Sriracha sauce. I’m talking about cleaning out the refrigerator to make sure food doesn’t go to waste. My mother, who lived through the Depression and World War II, was a genius at that, and I’m grateful that she passed the skills down to me.
For me, lunch might be a ...
Continue Reading →By Jean Blish Siers *
I bought rhubarb at Barbee Farms this week. That simple sentence doesn’t really tell you how important that was to me! As a child growing up in Minnesota, I took rhubarb for granted. My father had veritable hedges of rhubarb scattered around the farm and it was one of the first signs of spring, a dependable fresh fruit that we all loved. My mother made cakes and pies and ...
SoSA crop drops are held in parking lots of schools, convention centers, municipalities, and a variety of faith groups. Volunteers come from colleges, civic organizations, scouts, and congregations. Last September, a truckload of potatoes arrived in the parking lot of the Zoroastrian Center of Chicago in nearby Burr Ridge, Illinois. This faith group took on its first crop drop experience in a very big way – and they’re eager to do it ...
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SoSA’s new Indiana office is open and food distribution has begun. The first gleaning by the new region was held in February, netting 165 pounds of apples. In March, a volunteer group cut and tied 800 bags to be used at a crop drop The first grant to help support the work came from Kosciusko County in March. And SoSA Indiana has become a member of Indiana Grown (a grassroots movement to encourage Hoosiers to buy, sell, and share food and ...
Continue Reading →By Jean Blish Siers *
I just got home from grocery shopping. My big cloth bags were heavy on avocados, cara cara oranges, salad greens, hothouse tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers (something needs to pep up my salads until the real stuff starts coming in!) I had potatoes, onions, and garlic. I had celery and carrots and a big old cabbage. It can get expensive, but eating a healthful diet matters: ...
By Jean Blish Siers *
According to a recent report by the Urban Institute and the University of Illinois, in Mecklenburg County, where I live in North Carolina, the average cost of a buying groceries and preparing a meal is $2.44. (See the very cool interactive map here.) In Charlotte, Mecklenburg County’s largest city, that feels like a pretty good deal compared with eating out. We’re fortunate to have ...