How to Help The SF Food Bank Get 15 Tons of Food -- Hunger Challenge 2010 Update

Breaking news:
Make a comment on San Fransico Food Bank's post on the Tyson Foods website and the food processor will get 100 pounds of chicken and other food!

Tyson will donate up to 30,000 pounds.  Thanks to Tyson for coming through for the food bank again (they also donated in 2008 and 2009.

Read more and leave your comment at this post.

Thanks.

9.20.10 Update:  We got 300 comments on the post and the San Francisco Food Bank will be receiving 30,000 pounds of chicken.  The truck pulls up on October 5th.

Recipes & Menus for Eating Organic on $4 a Day (Part 2) - Hunger Challenge 2010

Four dollars a day per person is a tough food budget for anyone, but if for health or other reasons you are committed to eating all organic it can be a daunting experience.  As part of my participating in Hunger Challenge 2010 and spending only $4 a day/person on meals (similar to what someone on food stamps would receive), I decided to plan an "all organic day" to see if I could do so.  The answer, was yes, one could eat 100 percent organic, but not without a lot of time shopping and cooking.  While there was definitely enough to eat and I was able to create a relatively nutritious meal plan for the day, I kept thinking if I could have only bought some ingredients non-organic I would have had more food (and definitely more chicken) in my day. Another compromise was relying on frozen and canned produce to keep down costs. Even within those constraints I tried to work in fruit, vegetables, fiber, calcium and a little variety.

For Part 1 and more background on the Hunger Challenge, please click here. For what else I've posted on Hunger Challenge 2010 and links, please click here.

Here's my menu plan and costs with some recipe suggestions.  All foods used were certified 100 percent organic and were purchased at Whole Foods. (For more on Whole Foods and how to shop for healthy food on the cheap, check out the post on my budget shopping tour.) 

Note: Menu plan was based on 4 servings.  (So that's leftovers for 1 or a complete meal for a family of 4).  Everything was organic.  My per person total for the day came out to $3.90. Since I like strong flavors, I would have used that "extra" 10 cents to add some more spice to the corn soup and or the pasta sauce.  I utilized "fractionalized" costs on ingredients that I did not use up in total in a recipe.  Some are pantry staples, others would be used in other meals on another day (such as the leftover pasta sauce and pasta).

See below the menu and recipes for my lessons learned.

Breakfast   -- Oatmeal with Fruit and Yogurt -- 75 cents a serving:
Rolled oats (per serving: 1/2 cup oats in 1 cup boiling water with dash of salt, cook, stirring for about five minutes) served with sliced apple, a drizzle of honey and 2 Tbs. of yogurt per person.

Lunch -- Corn Soup with Bread -- $1.25 a serving
My Hunger Challenge Corn Soup might have been a little less expensive with fresh corn since it's in season, but I wanted to make it a quicker meal.  Serve with 1 slice per person of whole wheat bread.

Hunger Challenge Corn Soup
Serves 4

In hindsight, if I had cut out the chicken in the pasta sauce and used beans, I would have put some of the savings into amping up this soup, which but could use some more vegetables or some beans.
1 Tbs. oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. paprika or chili powder (optional)
1 carrot, chopped
4 cups water
1 vegetarian or chicken bullion cube
15-oz. can of corn, drained
8 oz. frozen spinach (1/2 bag, reserve rest for another use)
7 oz. diced tomatoes (1/2 can, reserve rest for another use)
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in bottom of soup pot, brown onions and garlic. And optional paprika or chili powder and carrots.  Saute for a few minutes. Add water. Bring to simmer. Add bullion cube, stirring until dissolved.  Add corn, spinach and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper. Cook until carrots are cooked through. Taste and correct seasonings. If desired, puree part of the soup for a creamy texture.

Snack: -- 1/2 cup per person of non-fat yogurt --- 40 cents per serving

Dinner -- Pasta with Sauce and Bread OR Half of an Apple -- $1.50
This meal was the hardest, I kept having to take out fresh veggies (such as steamed broccoli or a green salad) and reducing the portion of chicken because of the cost of organic meat.  Another way to go would have been to skip the meat and use 2 cups of cooked white beans with bulk beans that would have cost a total of  56 cents, a savings of $1.19 over using just the 1/4 pound of chicken in the pasta sauce. I also could have skipped the bread or apple and used a bit more chicken in the recipe. 

Pasta with Peppers, Onions and a Hint of Chicken
Serves 4

Pick a pasta sauce with strong seasoning to help flavor the sauce without having to add other herbs or spices.
If you are not going to serve the sliced bread or half of an apple (either with the meal or as an additional snack), you can add an additional chicken or a side of steamed carrots and stay on budget.

1/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 small thigh)
1 Tbs. oil
8 oz.  frozen red and green pepper and onion mix (1/2 bag, reserve rest for another use)
7 oz diced tomatoes with liquid (reserved from soup recipe)
1 cup pasta sauce (from 25oz. jar, reserve rest for another use)
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups cooked whole wheat pasta

Chop chicken very fine.  Heat oil over medium high heat in a deep fry pan or wide pot. Saute, stirring until chicken is browned, breaking up any clumps.  Add pepper and onion mix, and stir until beginning to defrost. Add tomatoes with their liquid, and pasta sauce.  Lower heat to simmer, and cook covered, stirring until the vegetables and sauce are heated through.  Serve over pasta. (If using beans, leave out the oil and chicken and add 2 cups cooked beans when you add pasta sauce.)

Lessons learned:  I think if I had kept the day vegetarian I would have been able to have more food and more choices (and a more filling lunch), which would have been very much appreciated.  Another tact would be to decide which foods were the most important to have kept organic and just looked for high quality alternatives that were not necessarily organic.  I was determined to shop in one place (Whole Foods in this case), because many food stamp recipients don't have the wherewithal to go from store to store looking for bargains.  One place to look might have been local farmer's markets.  Another here in the West is The Grocery Outlet chain, which sometimes has organic canned and packaged goods for very low prices. Overall, though, I thought that Whole Foods was a good choice for accessible one-stop organic shopping, although locally I have several independent food stores that offer good choices. Many regular chain markets now offer some organic choices as well.

Eating Organic on $4 a Day -- Hunger Challenge 2010 (Part 1)

During past Hunger Challenges,* I have read posts from participating food bloggers about having to forgo organic food in order to eat a varied and filling diet on $4 a day. I thought it would be interesting to try and devise a Hunger Challenge $4 a person a day menu using only organic ingredients.

While organic products and produce are available much more widely now (even some items at my favorite discount grocer, The Grocery Outlet), for many people in the Bay area the widest variety of organic produce, meat, dairy, processed foods and more is Whole Foods. To get a good idea of how to accomplish this, I got a “budget shopping” tour from Oakland, CA, Whole Foods marketing team member Perri Kramer. Read more about that here.

While everything on my shopping list and my menu for the day was organic, it didn’t come without other compromises. My meals were mostly vegetarian and my dinner dish could be called more pasta flavored with chicken then pasta with chicken. I did need to opt for frozen organic vegetables to keep costs down and relied heavily on in-store specials to make up my menu (which meant shopping took even longer since mid-shopping trip I had to alter the menu to fit the specials).

While eating 100 percent organic was doable on $4 a day, I couldn’t have done it on $3, which was the “regular” California allotment for food stamps. A temporary $1 a day increase is due to expire this December 31st. Even without the organic restraint, fitting in fruits and vegetables was very difficult in 2008 when I did the challenge on $3 and that extra dollar a day is very meaningful to those who depend on the program. If you would like to see this funding extended, please contact your member of Congress and let them know how important you think it is.

To be truthful, it’s late and I’m tired. Catch up with rest of the story with Part 2 and my Eating Organic on $4 a Day menu and recipe.

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*The Hunger Challenge is being sponsored by the San Francisco Food Bank to increase awareness of hunger in the Bay area and elsewhere. This is the third year of the challenge. It has not only raised awareness but also funds and literally tons of food for local food banks. This year 25 five food bloggers are living as if they were on food stamps for a week, with a total food budget of only $4 a person a day and blogging about their experiences. Links to all the participating blogs can be found at http://www.hungerchallenge.blogspot.com./ You can see what else I’ve written about the Hunger Challenge this year here.

About the photo: Overview of Oakland, CA, Whole Foods

Kosher on $4 a Day -- Hunger Challenge 2010 and a Stuffed Cabbage Roll Recipe

It’s tough to eat on the $4 a day a person the food stamp program allows and even tougher if you have religious or health constraints. So I thought as part of my 2010 Hunger Challenge experience I would try a sample day where all I would consume would be kosher (according to Jewish dietary laws) and another where everything was organic. Here’s a bit about my experience of trying to keep kosher on $4 a day.

(A brief recap – the Hunger Challenge is sponsored by the San Francisco Food Bank to increase awareness of hunger and related issues in our community by having bloggers and others live on a “food stamp budget” of $4 per day per person for food.).

These constraints can be costly and time consuming. For example, the kosher ground beef I bought for the recipe below was $5.99 a pound. The same grade of ground beef without being butchered and handled in the prescribed religious manner was about $2.29 a pound. Also, any processed food has to be certified and labeled kosher, meaning it does not contain any prohibited food items (such as pork or shellfish) and does not mix meat and milk products. Such certification limits choices and can add to the cost as well. I kept costs down by shopping discount food stores spending about double the amount of time I normally would comparing prices and reading packaging to make sure my choices were properly certified.

I bought quick oats certified kosher in bulk and having that for breakfast with a small piece of fruit and a dollop of yogurt also helped keep my overall food costs down. For lunch I had a large bowl of vegetable soup with a slice of bread, but a serving of my Hunger Challenge Chili (cut the recipe in half and use only ½ pound of ground beef) over some rice or a baked potato would have worked well. I snacked on some carrots and celery stalks dipped in yogurt.

Since we are in the middle of celebrating the Jewish holidays this fall, I thought I would break some of the rules I make for myself when it comes to the Hunger Challenge. I generally develop easy, relatively quick-to-make entrees, but I wanted to make something special for a holiday dinner. This Hunger Challenge Stuffed Cabbage will take a little more time but can be made ahead and reheated. Serve it to a group of guests or enjoy it for several meals.

I had to change the recipe to reduce meat and seasonings to trim costs. My cost for the food used was $1.05 a serving, which means I could serve the stuffed cabbage rolls with mashed potatoes or rice and steamed carrots on the side and still come in at about $1.25 a person for this meal.

Hunger Challenge Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Serves 8

1 cup long grain rice
½ cup raisins
1 large green cabbage
2 Tbs. oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
½ cup chopped mushrooms
½ lb. ground beef, 15 percent fat or less
¼ tsp. and 1/8 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
Dash hot pepper sauce
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes, divided
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
¼ tsp sugar
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

Make rice according to package directions. Leave covered and set aside.

Soak the raisins in ½ cup of hot water. Core the cabbage and pull off 16 leaves plus extras if they are small. Submerge the leaves in a large pot of boiling water and cook covered until tender about 4 minutes. Drain and cool. Chop remaining cabbage. Keep 3 cups and reserve the rest for another use. (Perhaps this 12-Serving Vegetable Soup from Hunger Challenge 2008)

In a large sauté pan, heat oil. Fry onions until golden, add garlic. Sauté and add 3 cups of chopped cabbage, carrots and celery. Sauté until softened. Add mushrooms, sauté for 3 minutes, add beef, browning and breaking up any clumps. Add ¼ tsp salt, pepper and hot sauce. Add ½ can of crushed tomatoes. Combine well. Fluff rice. Mix well with meat mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread ½ cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9” x 13” baking pan. Place a heaping ¼ cup of filling in the middle of a cabbage leaf. (Overlap two leaves if small.) Fold over the two shorter sides of the leaf. Fold over one of the longer sides, then the other. Place folded side down in the baking pan. Repeat.

Combine remaining tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes in a sauce pan, add drained raisins, 1/8th tsp of salt and the sugar. Heat through. Add 1 Tbs. of vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning to as needed. Spread sauce over top of rolls. Bake until heated through, approximately 40-45 minutes. Can be made ahead and reheated.

If you would like information on how to help in your area, please go to Feeding America to find a food bank near you. For more information on the San Francisco Food Bank, click here. To get the latest on the Hunger Challenge, go here.

This recipe and part of this article first appeared in the j. weekly. You can see the original column here.

Hunger Challenge 2010 -- Kick Off

Today is the kick off for the third San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge. Twenty five bloggers (as well as others in the community) are spending just $4 a day per person for all their food and beverages for seven days to get a feel for what it is like to subsist on food stamps (which are now called SNAP).

Some will be blogging about how they cope with the limitations of such a budget, others will be writing about hunger in the Bay area and elsewhere.  Some will be creating menus, recipes and shopping tips that the food bank can share with their clients to help make existing on such a budget as filling, healthy and easy as possible. Many of the participants will be posting on Facebook and Twitter as well.

The Hunger Challenge participants have also helped to raise awareness, literally tons of food donations and cash contributions not just for the San Francisco Food Bank, but for food banks across the Bay area.

You can learn more about the Hunger Challenge at http://www.hungerchallenge.blogspot.com/ and get all the links and the Twitter handles to follow along.  Or if you'd like to sign up and give the Hunger Challenge a try (even for a day or two), you can also sign up there.  You don't need a blog or even a Facebook or Twitter account to join in, but if you do have one or more of those, please help spread the word about the importance of food banks (the SFFB estimates 150,000 San Franciscans a day face hunger) and the need for continued and improved funding for programs such as food stamps.

This is the third year that I've participated.  You can see everything I posted on the 2008  challenge here, including shopping lists, daily menus, meal planning tips and more.  In 2008, we only had $3 a person a day to work with, so filling up my family of four and keeping the food nutritious was even more challenging. (The extra dollar a day really makes a difference, but it is just a temporary change and is due to expire.) I think the Hunger Challenge Chili was my favorite recipe from that year. I also feel that what I wrote in my wrap up/recommendations for change post still sums my experience and what I learned and what I would like to see change to make it easier for Food Bank clients and those on food stamps to feed themselves and their families as well as possible.

You can read about my 2009 experience here.  In 2009 we were able to use $4 a day per person. Like the year before, I also planned out a weekly meal plan, gave shopping trips, shared about my experiences and developed recipes.  Probably my favorite from 2009 was the Hunger Challenge Cassoulet (a bean and sausage stew).  I summed up my reactions here.

This year, I'm going about the challenge a bit differently. I'm figuring out the cost of each meal and keeping it to about $1.25 or less per person.  I'm developing menus day by day rather than by the week to highlight the different needs of different communities -- for example: organic, kosher, ethnic and others.  Each has its positives and negatives and I look forward to sharing them (and the recipes) with you.

Please look for my daily Hunger Challenge update.  If you have any experiences with food banks, food stamps or budget meals you'd like to share, please feel free to leave a comment.

If you would like information on how to help in your area, please go to Feeding America to find a food bank.  For more information on the San Francisco Food Bank, click here.

Canned Food -- To Donate and To Cook (Cranberried Chicken and Tuna with Chickpeas)

Check out my latest column at the j. weekly. It focuses on the local tradition of donating non-perishables to local food banks during the Jewish High Holy Days and has two recipes that use canned goods themselves -- cranberried chicken and tuna and chickpea salad.

The cranberried chicken makes the best leftovers. The recipe is great for the high holidays as well as a regular Shabbat or other dinner. I love the contrast of the juicy, savory dressing-like bread layer and the tart and sassy cranberry layer. I hope you'll try it and let me know what you think.
The make-ahead tuna salad works well for Yom Kippur break fast. It works as a salad or sandwich filling.

You can see the recipes and write up here.

To find a food bank in your area (guaranteed they will be looking for donations), please go to Feeding America .

Julie & Julia Food Drive Reminder

Dear Bay Area Readers,
Just a reminder that the Alameda County Food Bank will be holding a food drive at the Piedmont Cinemas on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland through Sunday 8/16 in conjunction with the showing of Julie & Julia. Free movie mini-posters to donors while supplies last.

Check out this post for background (and all the links).

P.S. Thanks to the Oakland Tribune for including a blurb about the food drive in its food section last week.

Can It -- Food Drive at Julie & Julia Movie Opening in Oakland

Alameda County Community Food Bank Food Drive at Piedmont Cinemas for Julie & Julia Opening

The corporate powers behind the new movie Julie & Julia are trying to tie into the blogging phenomenon that shaped the success of Julie Powell's blog and subsequent book about the personal and culinary growth she experienced by cooking her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. (There is a natural synergy, it shows they are social media savvy and it helps create a lot of buzz for them. Oh, and it's probably a heck of a lot cheaper than traditional advertising.

They really needn't bother, the blogging and food world (even those with issues about Powell and/or the blog and/or the book) have done it on their own -- everything from Julie/Julia commemorative dinners and dinner parties to philosophical discussions about the place of Julia Child and/or Julie Powell in today's food world. (FYI -- the link is to Julie's current blog, the one the book is based on seems near on to impossible to find now -- if you know the link, please leave a comment below.) The movie is also based on the excellent memoir of Child's years in France, My Life in France.

My contribution to all this hoopla was very personal. The joy of cooking both Julia and Julie experienced left me wondering about those for whom eating is more of an elemental existence and for whom hunger is an unfortunate fact of life. I couldn't believe that with all the corporate, blogging and other tie-ins, I had not seen anything like this. I did what I had to do. I emailed. I emailed the food bank, I emailed local theaters and then I followed up. In the end, the movie theater and the food bank worked it out and there will be a barrel for collecting non-perishable food at the Piedmont Cinemas for the Julie & Julia August 7th opening and for the week beyond.

It would have been nice to try to get more of a fundraiser and a wider campaign, but I'm happy that at least the people going in and out of that one theater in Oakland CA will see the barrel, maybe make a donation, and become more aware of the growing hunger in our communities even while they celebrate the unique accomplishments of Julie & Julia.

I encourage you to donate food or cash equivalent to the cost of your movie ticket to your local food bank. (You can find your local agency here.) Thanks.

About the photo: donations from the barrels at Alameda County Community Food Bank, circa 2/2006

I haven't written much about the wondrous Julia Child, but do here.

Stamp Out Hunger -- Saturday, May 9

This Saturday is the National Association of Letter Carriers and the U.S. Postal Service's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

To participate, simply put out some non-perishable foods in a bag and leave it by your mailbox on Saturday, May 9. Just be sure to put out the goods before your regular mail delivery time and your letter carrier will pick it up and deliver it to your local food bank. More info is available at Help Stamp Out Hunger.

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Photos of stamps from Microsoft Clip Art

Today -- Help the San Francisco Food Bank by Getting a Bite to Eat

From the SF Food Bank:

DINE OUT AGAINST HUNGER DECEMBER 18
13 Top Restaurants Will Donate a Portion of Proceeds to the San Francisco Food Bank

Restaurants have seen a real slump in business lately, but the folks at Maverick realized some people are facing worse circumstances – the 150,000 San Franciscans at risk of going hungry this holiday season. So Scott Youkilis and Michael Pierce created Dine Out Against Hunger, and organized some of the city’s top venues to donate up to 10% of today’s [December 18th] dinner sales to the San Francisco Food Bank, which supplies over 600 food programs throughout the city.

Participating Dine Out Against Hunger restaurants are: Maverick, Slow Club, Serpentine, Foreign Cinema, Magnolia, Sociale, Slanted Door, Kuleto's, Delfina, Americano, A16, Incanto and SPQR. Maverick will also take 10% off the tab for any customers making an additional donation to the Food Bank.

The focus is on raising cash, because for every $1 donated, the Food Bank can distribute $9 worth of food into the community – thanks to its relationships with retailers, growers and distributors. San Francisco Food Bank’s goal is to distribute 66,000 holiday meals this season.

For reservations, contact the individual restaurants; for more information, visit www.SFFoodBank.org.

Hunger Challenge -- Not Quite a Wrap Up

I'm still not quite finished with my Hunger Challenge posts but I thought I would start to try to wrap up and bring some closure. Yet to come is a post with recipe about the uses of cottage cheese (which the organizer of the challenge asked we tackle since so often cottage cheese is available to San Francisco Food Bank clients) and perhaps some more cabbage recipes (ditto).

Also, Gayle Keck, the Hunger Challenge participant and SFFB organizer of the event), is holding an information sharing meeting with the challenge bloggers and food bank staff, and I'm likely to report back on that.

I'll be sharing some of my experiences and some of my conclusions about the experience. I'll also be including the thoughts of those who left comments on the various Hunger Challenge posts. If you would like to make sure the San Francisco Food Bank gets your thoughts about the challenge, about what's needed locally to help combat hunger or to help food bank clients, please leave a comment on this post (or email me through my profile) and I'll be sure to pass your thoughts along.

If you would like to volunteer at or donate to the SFFB or your local food bank, you can find info here. If you would like to see what else I've written about my experience -- including menus, recipes, shopping lists, etc., please click here.

The key to the Hunger Challenge was to eat for a week and/or create menus and recipes for a week as if all you had to eat was what a food stamp recipient had: $1 a meal a person. I planned and cooked meals for a family of 4 so I had $84 available to me. I spent $83.98.

Here are my concerns and suggestions/ideas based on my experience.

Concerns:

What worked well for me was planning a menu based on what I saw in the stores and advertised and even online at a supermarket chain that delivered. That really helped me know my prices and choices. Would a food stamp client have access to this info? Well, I used safeway.com for research and that is certainly available if someone has internet access, but that is hardly a given. Libraries do have free internet access, but I don't know if that is doable for most.

Since I cook, plan menus, create recipes and sometimes cater, I have a good sense of quantities and amounts and the like. Someone without that experience may have had a harder time putting together a menu and being so flexible with choices and using up leftovers. It was also time consuming since I was continually reworking it and it was mentally tiring.

I ended up shopping in three or four types of store to get the best deals. I don't know if others have the time or means to do this.

While I wanted to keep meals healthy, I also wanted to make them filling. I found there was a huge trade off between quantity and other concerns. I could not afford as much fresh fruit, whole grains and other such items as I liked. I tried to make my week's recipes varied and remake familiar foods to make them appealing to a family's tastes and interest. Since I tried to focus on avoiding pre-prepared foods and overly packaged foods, I did save money (and sodium, sugar, chemicals, etc.) there, but even with my menu planning calling for cooking once and eating the results for two or three meals, I really don't know if most food bank clients have time, expertise or equipment to do so. (On a another Hunger Challenge site, one commenter pointed out about the expense of plastic storage containers, for example.) Accordingly, my recipes were designed for kitchen with two stove top burners, a microwave, and four pots and pans -- a large and small fry pan and a sauce pan and a large pot big enough to boil spaghetti.

Ideas

Explore ways to reach and educate food bank end-use clients since usually it's the agencies that serve those folks who deal with the food banks directly. Ideas include flyers in weekly grocery boxes with education, preparation and other tips, materials to go to schools to go home with children receiving free or reduced costs breakfasts and lunches, outreach through the agencies as well as outreach through cultural, religious and other associations and groups that would come in contact with end use client. Ultimately I like to see workshops offered on cooking skills, recipe alternatives, menu making, nutrition and even political activism.

Perform a cooking skills and cooking equipment survey with end-use clients (I have a number of thoughts on ways to do this). Based on this survey, reach out to retailers and manufacturers and create programs to decrease the reliance on less-than-healthy food options. I'd love to be able to have a program to provide basic cooking equipment to those who need it at no charge. To be honest, I'm not sure how many folks have access to a real kitchen at all. Just like groups sponsor community gardens, I'd love to see community kitchens with a paid staff (jobs could go to participants) to clean up and manage them. In my Utopian ideal, recipes and basics (such as flour, oil and spices) would be available and participants could come in a cook up a big batch of chili or soup or whatever and then package it up in (free) reusable containers they can take home and put in their fridges for healthy, low-cost meals during the week.

Make food shopping easier and "level out the playing field." -- Some ideas -- increase internet access to online resources, distribute info on weekly specials (supplied by supermarkets ahead of time, highlights of which to be put in weekly outreach flyers mentioned above), taxi vouchers to enable larger or farther afield shopping trips, agency-centered van shopping trips). I'm not sure if food stamps are accepted at farmers' markets so I don't know how to work that in, but if it could that would be a good addition. I know of at least one Whole Foods that has a tour of its store focused on "budget" cooking. Perhaps similar tours could be developed for other, more mainstream and/or accessible markets.

Develop a system for the clients themselves to share information, challenges and successes. In the end, I lived the Hunger Challenge for just a week. These are the people that must do it day in and day out. What works for them, what doesn't. What would they like to learn or have access to? How would they like to be communicated to? What would they like to say to others also facing the same challenges and to those of us who want to help? In the end, they are the experts. I am humbled by their hard-won expertise and their daily experience on the frontlines of hunger.

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About the photo: Boxes waiting to be filled with food donations for clients of the Alameda Food Bank. You can read about my experience here.

Another Click to Feed the Hungry

Thanks to all of you who left a comment on the Tyson site -- the company received more than enough comments and will be donating 200,000 lbs of chicken to Bay area food banks.

Uncle Ben's Rice is donating money to programs that feed hungry children. They are pledging up to $250,000, or a $1 for each signature in their "journal." For more info click here.

If you know of other such promotions, let me know by emailing me through my profile or leaving a comment and I'll update this post.

Asian Sauté and Food Bank Fried Rice -- Part of the Hunger Challenge

As part of my participation in the Hunger Challenge I tried to add variety and convenience into a budget that only allowed for $1 a day per meal per person.

I’m told some of the basics San Francisco Food Bank customers often receive are onions, carrots, rice and cabbage. I’ve put them to work in this recipe, however, even if you had to pay for those ingredients, the recipes still cost out at a $1 per serving or less. You can see my shopping list, my other recipes, how this fits into my week’s menu, how to donate to your local food bank, and more by clicking here.

First up, make the sauté and rice. Leftover rice and sauté will be used with some other basic ingredients to make the Food Bank Fried Rice.

This is family dinner fare with an Asian flare; the techniques and seasonings are simplified to keep costs and prep time down a bit. If you have some Chinese or Japanese chili or sesame oil handy, you could mix in a teaspoon or to taste a minute or so before the sauté finishes cooking. Another nice addition would be a sprinkle of freshly minced cilantro or green onions on top the finished sauté and fried rice dishes. A good add-on to the stir fried veggies would be a chopped red bell pepper. I couldn’t “afford” any of these additions on my Hunger Challenge “budget” however. Even without the extras my 17-year-old son couldn’t believe these dishes were part of the Hunger Challenge because, according to him, they looked and tasted like something I would “normally” serve.

Some other suggestions: You could substitute a few packs of the soy sauce that comes with takeout Chinese food (if you have some) and save buying the soy sauce. For the lowest cost soy sauce, look in Asian grocery stores. These grocery stores often have very reasonably priced produce and meats. If you have access to one it might be a way to save a bit on food costs when you shop.

Asian Sauté

Note: Use whatever green vegetable you have on hand. My menu had a half pound of frozen chopped broccoli left so I would use that. I’ve also made it with snap peas and green beans. Use what is cost effective and tasty for you.

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1” cubes,
½ cup chopped onion,
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 small hot red jalapeno or Serrano chili peppers (seeded if you prefer milder), chopped
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons peeled, minced ginger (you’ll need a piece of ginger approx. 1” long and 2 inches wide)
2 medium carrots, shredded or chopped into small pieces (larger ones will take too long to cook)
About a third of a pound of green cabbage, shredded or chopped
½ pound green vegetables, fresh or frozen, chopped. If using frozen, do not defrost (see note)
1 package (14 to 16 ounces) firm or extra firm tofu, rinsed, drained and cut into 1” cubes
16 ounces of chicken broth or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce or more to taste

Heat the oil in a large fry or sauté pan or a wok until a bit of onion sizzles when it is dropped in. Working in batches if necessary so as not to overcrowd the pan, brown the chicken pieces. When browned on all sides, remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add in onion and sauté or stir fry until it begins to turn golden brown and soften. Add the garlic, peppers and ginger and fry, stirring often, until garlic begins to color. Add carrots and cook, stirring often for a few minutes until they begin to soften. Add cabbage and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften and wilt. Add the chopped green vegetable, and mix well to combine, stirring often as the mixture cooks.

Add in tofu and the browned chicken with any juices the chicken may have exuded. Cook for a minute or two, stirring often so tofu doesn’t stick but picks up a little color. (Add some of the broth or water if you need to prevent the tofu from sticking.) Add chicken broth and the soy sauce, cook, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through and the liquid has cooked down to make a sauce that just covers the bottom of the pan. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed.

The recipe makes about six cups. Reserve two cups of the sauté mixture for the fried rice recipe. Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each of the sauté. Serve on top of rice. (Note: you’ll need at least four cups of leftover rice for the fried rice recipe, so make plenty. Generally 1 ½ cups of raw rice will make about 4 cups of cooked rice, but check your package for specific quantities.)

Next, make the Food Bank Fried Rice. (One tip -- I made it the same night after dinner. The rice had cooled and the pan was dirty already, anyway. The fried rice reheated just fine in the microwave the next night. Or you can reheat in a large fry pan with a bit of oil or water.)

Food Bank Fried Rice

Note: To prep the leftover rice for this recipe, spread it out on plates or in a baking dish so the grains don’t stick together as much as it cools. Once it has cooled to room temperature you can go ahead and make the fried rice or store the rice in a container or storage bag in the refrigerator. Let the chilled rice come to room temperature before using.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red jalapeno or serrano chili pepper, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 eggs
2 cups leftover Asian Sauté
4-5 cups, leftover cooled rice
3 tablespoons of soy sauce or more to taste

Heat the oil in a large fry or sauté pan or a wok until a bit of onion sizzles when it is dropped in. Add in onion and sauté or stir fry until it begins to turn golden brown and soften. Add the garlic and peppers and fry, stirring often, until garlic begins to color. Add celery and cook, stirring often for a few minutes until they begin to soften.

Break the eggs into a small bowl or cup and beat well. Drizzle the beaten egg slowly into the vegetable mixture, letting the eggs rest about 20 seconds until they just begin to set, then quickly stirring hard and thoroughly until the eggs resemble strands of cooked scrambled eggs mixed throughout.

Add leftover sauté and cook, stirring often, until chicken is beginning to warm through. Add a few tablespoons of water if need to prevent the mixture from sticking. Stir in the rice, breaking up any clumps and incorporating into chicken and vegetables. Stir in the soy sauce, mix well. Heat until dish is heated through. Makes 4 servings about 1 ½ cups each (using 4 cups of leftover rice).

Hunger Challenge Chili

More Budget Cuisine.

Here's the recipe I created for the San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge. It features a pound of dried pinto beans, two pounds of ground meat and 12 servings.

For more about the Hunger Challenge, my participation, and how to donate, click here.
To see how the chili fits into the overall menu for the week, click here.

The recipe can, of course, be halved, if you don't need 12 servings. Feel free to substitute other types of beans and ground turkey or chicken for the beef. Up the jalapenos, garlic cloves and/or chili powder for more of a bite.

12-Serving Chili

This makes a mild, flavorful chili that reheats beautifully. Look for low-cost chili powder in ethnic food sections of supermarkets, at grocery discount outlets and dollar stores, or buy just as much spice as you need by the ounce at stores that carry bulk spices.

1 pound of dried pinto beans, soaked overnight, water drained and then cooked with fresh water. (Approximately six cups of cooked beans)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 cup chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-4 jalapenos (I used red ones), seeded for milder kick if desired, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 can (28-32 ounces) of diced, peeled tomatoes with juices
2 plus cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste

Prepare the pinto beans. Set aside.

In a large pot, add the oil and heat over medium high heat. Saute the beef, using spoon or spatula to break up any clumps. Cook until browned but not cooked through. (Work in batches if all the meat doesn't fit or if it doesn't seem to be browning. If the pan is too crowded the meat will steam rather than brown.) Remove to a plate or bowl and set aside. Pour all but 2 tablespoons of drippings out of pan. Heat on medium high, when a bit of onion sizzles immediately on contact with the oil, add the chopped onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion are beginning to turn golden brown. Add the garlic and the jalapenos, cook, stirring often, until the garlic is beginning to turn golden. Add the carrots and celery pieces, cook for a minute or two, stirring often. Add the chili powder and cook, stirring constantly, for a minute. Add diced tomato with juices and 2 cups of water. Mix well. Cover and let come to simmer (not quite boiling). Add meat with any liquids it may have exuded, stir well. Cover and return to simmer. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes until meat is cooked through and flavors well combined. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste and additional chili powder if desired. Add additional water if needed. With cover off, return to simmer and let cook a few more minutes.

Makes 12 servings.

I served the chili with rice, with a bit of grated cheese on top. I also used it as a topping for baked potatoes. It would also be good with tortillas or pasta. Or use a half portion and scramble with eggs and tortilla chips for a kind of chilaquiles. Or try it with cornmeal to make a tamale casserole.

The chili reheats well, but will probably thicken a bit, so add some water to it when reheating. For the sake of the photo, I sprinkled some chopped cilantro on top of the chili. It adds a nice flavor and if I had had room in my weekly food budget under the Hunger Challenge I would have made it part of the recipe.

12-Serving Soup Helps Stretch Food Stamp Dollars

(Note: See the comments for my vegetable soup secret!)

This may have been the least expensive meal/dish for my week of menus for the San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge.

Developed mainly to provide a quick, nourishing, light lunch, this 12-serving pot of vegetable soup goes a long way into stretching the $21 per person per week food stamp allowance. To make it a heartier meal, trying serving with a slice of bread or adding a half cup of cooked rice or beans to a bowl before ladling in the hot soup. One idea I had since I had a few extra eggs in my food allowance was to serve the soup hot with a poached or fried egg on top of it sprinkled with lots of black pepper. (I’ve had some French-style vegetable soups served this way and have always enjoyed them.) I used all of my pound of two-percent cheddar cheese, otherwise I would have served the soup with a bit of grated cheese on top. My husband enjoyed his soup with a splash of hot sauce. Since this recipe makes 12 servings, it formed the basis of three meals for my family, so a little variety in how it was served was very much appreciated.

To see how this soup fits in my Hunger Challenge menu, click here. For about my participation in this event, including how to donate, click here.

Of course, if you don't need 12 servings of vegetable soup, the recipe can be easily divided in half or even thirds.

12-Serving Vegetable Soup

Feel free to vary your soup to reflect what you have on hand and your family’s taste. You may want to double the garlic and/or jalapeno if your family likes bolder flavors. Using the seasoned tomatoes and the optional spices will also add some more zip.

1 tablespoon canola or other vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 red jalapeno, minced. I used red since that's what I had, but green works, too. (Seed it if you prefer a milder soup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cups (1 quart) of chicken or vegetable broth or water (using the broth will add a lot more flavor, but you can use plain water or water with chicken or vegetarian boullion cubes if you prefer)
8 cups (2 quarts) of water
1 ½ pounds of russet (baking) potato (about 4 small), chopped into ¾ to 1” cubes
1 lb of green cabbage, chopped (this was a bit less than half of my 2.36 pound specimen)
1-14-16 ounce can of stewed or diced tomatoes with juice (preferably the kind with Italian or Mexican seasoning)
½ lb of frozen (no need to defrost) or cooked fresh chopped spinach or other greens
1 teaspoon of either Italian seasoning OR oregano OR 1 tablespoon curry powder, (optional)
2-3 cups of water
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add onions, fry, stirring occasionally until just lightly golden brown. Add the minced pepper and the garlic. Fry, stirring often until garlic is golden. (Add a few tablespoons of water if the vegetables begin to stick or burn.) Add carrots and celery, and continue to fry stirring occasionally for a few minutes. Add the chicken broth and the 8 cups of water. Stir well, being sure to loosen and stir into the mixture any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add cabbage, potatoes, tomatoes and spinach. (If using stewed tomatoes, break them into small pieces in the pan with your cooking spoon or spatula.) Mix well, bring mixture to a simmer, lower heat to medium low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes have softened but are not falling apart (about 30-40 minutes but the time will vary greatly, so you'll need to keep checking). Add 2-3 cups of water to the pot as needed and return to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer a few more minutes. (Please don’t add the salt before. The broth or the boullion can be salty and the potatoes can really absorb seasonings so you won’t know how much salt you need until towards the end of the cooking.) Can be made ahead and reheated, although the soup may have thickened and you may need to add some more water when reheating. Makes 12 servings, 1½ cups each.

Variation: For a thicker, more potage-like soup, puree about half in a blender or food processor in batches once the soup has cooled.

Chicken Stew Takes the Hunger Challenge and I Get All Spicy about Seasonings

This recipe is part of the San Francisco Food Bank’s Hunger Challenge. It was created for a menu of meals for a family of four costing $21 a person for the week (how much a food stamp recipient would receive.) Ingredients in the stew depended on what sales and values I could find primarily at a local chain supermarket and an independent grocery discount outlet. For about my participation in the Hunger Challenge, my shopping list, other bloggers participating in the challenge and how to support the San Francisco or your local food bank, please click here.

Since didn’t figure out the cost per serving of every meal I cooked since I knew overall for the week I was on budget, but I do estimate that this stew cost about 85 cents a serving. (I have to say that this stew didn't know it was on a budget, it tasted full-flavored and was very satisfying.)

I paid $1.99 for fresh, boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If those are not a good value in your area, feel free to substitute other cuts or meats. One tip, check the freezer case. Sometimes frozen chicken and meat can be a much better value than fresh.

A word about seasoning. Many dried spices and herbs are relatively expensive, so with the exception of chili powder for my chili (more about that in another post), I made them optional. Use them if you already own them. If you want the punch and flavor of a seasoning, for the best value, skip your supermarket spice aisle and look in the ethnic food section, were there are significant savings. Or buy just a tablespoon or two from stores (such as some Whole Foods) that sell bulk spices and herbs. The spices are usually cheaper to begin with, they are often fresher and since you can buy just the little bit you need, they are much easier on the budget. The discount grocery outlet was a great resource for most common seasonings, having small bottles of spices, herbs and seasoning mixtures for about 50 cents. (I did assume families had salt and pepper, though.) Adding flavor and seasoning helps make the food more enjoyable and add some variety into what is by the very constraints of the food stamp program not a very variable diet. I wanted the food I made on the challenge to not only be filling and nutritious but also as tasty and satifsfying as I could make it.

I couldn’t find a way to work fresh parsley, cilantro, basil and/or mint into the weekly food budget, however, and missed the dash of color, texture and taste they add to a dish. I compensated by using fresh onion, garlic and red jalapeno peppers, all relatively inexpensive and big flavor boosters. For example, the peppers cost me 20 cents for 10 of them.

In this dish I choose tomatoes that already had Italian seasoning such as basil added to help pump up the taste. You could also use Mexican, traditional (with bell pepper) or plain in the recipe.

If eight servings is way too much for you, the recipe works well the amounts cut in half.

Chicken Stew on a Budget
Makes Eight Servings

While this was good the first night, the second night it tasted even better. You can pump up the flavor by using more garlic and/or jalapeno peppers. I served it over rice. Other serving options are listed below.

Kitchen Note: Peeling is optional. I generally don’t peel vegetables I’m going to cook, I just wash them well. So I didn’t peel the carrots or potatoes. And I also didn’t core the cabbage; I just made sure the denser core pieces were thoroughly chopped.

2 tablespoons canola or other vegetable oil
2 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ¾” to 1” cubes
½ cup of chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small red jalapeno pepper, minced (seed the pepper for a milder flavor)
2 large carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
16 ounces of chicken stock (store bought) or water
1 teaspoon of dried, ground herbs, spice or seasoning mix, optional. (Try Italian seasoning or maybe oregano.)
1 lb baking potatoes (about 3 small), cut into cubes about ¾”
¾ of a pound of green cabbage, chopped (That’s a little less than a third of a medium large head of cabbage.)
1-14.5 ounce can of Italian, Mexican, traditional or plain stewed tomatoes with juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, add the oil and heat over medium high. Brown the chicken cubes, working in batches if necessary so they brown, not steam. Stir them so they don’t burn or stick to the pan. When browned but still raw on the inside, remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate.

Add onions to the pot, stir in the onions and fry, stirring frequent until they begin to turn a light golden brown. Add the minced garlic and jalapeno and continue to stir and fry until the garlic as turned a light golden brown. Add the carrots and celery pieces, and continue to fry for a few minutes, stirring often. Add the broth or water, stir well, being sure to scrape up and incorporate any little browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the optional seasoning, the potato cubes and the chopped cabbage. Stir well. Once the mixture returns to a simmer or very low boil, turn the heat to low and cover the pot. Stir the mixture frequently. Once the potatoes have begun to soften (about 20-40 minutes), add the stewed tomatoes with their juices. Using your cooking spoon or spatula, break up the stewed tomatoes into smaller pieces. Stir to combine and then add the brown chicken pieces with any liquid they may have released on the plate. Stir well. Cover, return to a simmer, stirring occasionally and making sure the mixture doesn't reach a full boil, until the potatoes and chicken are cooked through. Taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. If the stew has gotten too thick or if you would just like it soupier, add some water, stir well and return to a simmer once more before serving.

Makes eight, one-cup servings. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, polenta or noodles.

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About the photo: Every house should have a chicken (stew) in a pot. Boy, did I miss that green bling parsley would have brought to this photo!

What the Hunger Challenge Means to Me and Menus for Lunch and Dinner and More

“I’m hungry.”

When one of my kids whines that he needs to eat, maybe I grumble about having to deal with it, but I can turn to my stocked fridge, overflowing fruit bowl, full extra freezer or packed pantry and get him something to snack on or make him a meal. My only thought is what to serve and if it will spoil his dinner.

When a family is on food stamps it’s just not that easy. Very often the cupboard may be bare; whatever food is available needs to portioned out to make it through the month and to be honest, you hope there’s enough for dinner. And based on my experience this week, I bet there aren’t a whole lot of snacks, treats or even fruit in the house when all you can count on for food is $21 a person a week in food stamps. And portions will be smaller than you are probably use to.

I decided to join the San Francisco Food Bank’s Hunger Challenge because I feel those of us that are food obsessed need to use our talents for good, not evil. And helping to spread awareness and educate others about the issues and realities felt right. To be honest, while many of the meals I ate met the guidelines this week and all my planning did I did not stay on the program continuously, but even so my part-time experience made quite an impact. (The rules, such as they are, of the challenge allow for such “fudging.”)

Since I have two sons, I kept them in mind when I designed the week’s menu. Hearty breakfasts to fill them up and to keep their energy up in school and a variety of dinners and foods I know they would like, soup, stew, chili, meatballs and an Asian sauté. We aren’t much of a sandwich family, so only one lunch features sandwiches. We tend to eat leftovers from dinner at lunch when we are home, so I just planned 56 servings for a family of 4 for a weeks worth of lunches and dinners and figured they could be divided up any way you liked. I aimed for accessible variety -- flavor profiles I knew they liked and enough variety to keep it from getting boring. I simplified the recipes wherever possible to keep the KP duty down to a minimum.

My new best friend is green cabbage. It truly was a magic vegetable. The 2.36 pound cabbage I bought seemed to always be there when I wanted to add nutrition, fiber and bulk to any dish I was making. It made its first appearance in the chicken stew, appeared in a walk-on part in a salad, helped bulk up my Asian entrée and played a commanding role in its final performance in vegetable soup. From week start to end it stayed fresh, crisp and tasty. When I put the last scrap in the soup I couldn’t believe it was all gone.

I was also thrilled when I was able to work in a four-pound bag of rice, which meant I could add lots of rice to my meals and make them more filling.

For more about the San Francisco Food Bank’s Hunger Challenge, check out the food bank’s website and the Hunger Challenge blog. Click on one of the links below to read what other bloggers are writing about their experience planning, shopping, cooking and eating on $1 a meal a person.

Cooking with Amy
The Inadvertent Gardener
Vanessa Barrington
Been There Ate That
Petit Appetit Newsletter

See what else I’ve written about on the challenge here (including how to donate).

FYI – I spent $83.98 for the week’s food, just two cents below the cap. You can view my shopping list here. From what I thought I would be able to offer to what I ended up being able to buy was a huge gap. Vegetable after vegetable was crossed off my list, fruit after fruit. Whole grains went next; I just couldn’t afford them without literally taking food out of my family’s mouth. Plans and recipes changed and changed and changed as my shopping list shrunk and morphed depending on the realities of the marketplace and my ability to find sales and values. In a future post I’ll do something about the philosophy I tried to keep in mind for cooking for the week.

For my breakfast menus and recipes (well more of assembly instructions), click here.

Below is my menu with serving suggestions for 56 lunches and dinners (14 meals for 4 people). Watch Blog Appétit. I will be posting the different recipes in the next few days.

Chicken Vegetable Stew: 8 servings, 1 cup each – featuring two pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, carrots, celery, cabbage, potatoes, onions and garlic.
Serve over rice. (Recipe to come, I’m still working on a dumpling option.)

Turkey Meatballs, Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti – 12 servings. (Reserve 8 meatballs and 1/3rd cup of sauce for Meatball Sandwiches) Eight servings of two meatballs each, 1/8 sauce, 1/8 pasta. Served with green salad made with a few ounces of shredded cabbage, fresh tomato, ½ sliced carrot and ½ sliced celery stalk. Dressed with oil, vinegar and salt and pepper. (Reserve 2 large lettuce leaves 4 slices of tomato for sandwiches.) Four servings Meatball Sandwiches. Toast 8 slices of bread. Slice meatballs in half. Spread sauce on top of a bread slice, layer 1/4th of sliced meatballs on top, add lettuce and tomato, top with more sauce and second piece of bread.

This was one of my only “convenience” meals. I had planned on making the meatballs, but the price of the frozen ones was great – 2 pounds for $5. I was glad to work in a meal that didn’t require as much time in the kitchen.

Asian-Flavor Sauté – 4 servings, 1 cup each. Not really a stir fry but almost a one-pot dinner with chicken, tofu, vegetables and Asian flavors. Serve over rice. Make extra rice, because leftovers will be turned into the next meal. (Recipe to come.)

Food Bank Fried Rice -- 4 servings, 1 ½ cups each (or more depending on the amount of leftover rice you use). This dish (recipe to come) combines the leftover sauté with additional veggies, eggs and leftover rice.

Vegetable Soup – 12 servings, 1 ½ cups each. A hearty, tasty soup featuring potatoes, cabbage, carrots, celery, tomatoes, onion, garlic and more. If needed, make it a heartier meal by serving with a slice of bread and/or a poached or fried egg on top (optional, note that will affect your egg count for other uses). Or put some leftover rice in a bowl before ladling in the soup. (Recipe to come)

Beef and Bean Chili – 12 servings. I’m still working out this recipe, so more detail when I’m done. Serve with a bit of grated cheese over rice (for 8 servings) and over baked potatoes (4 servings).

Stuffed Potatoes – 4 servings. The innards of four baked potatoes get mixed with chopped broccoli, cheese and a white sauce and get stuffed back into their shells. (Recipe to come.)

A word about beverages – Drink tap water. It’s healthy, it’s there and it’s cheap. (It’s even trendy now.) Gussy it up with ice or maybe a bit of juice for flavor. My budget did allow for two cans of frozen orange juice. I mostly worked it into breakfasts, but leftovers could certainly be drunk anytime. I also had two gallons of low-fat milk. While some is used in cooking, the rest is available to drink. One of my early shopping list revisions was getting rid of coffee, herbal or black tea, cocoa or chocolate syrup. With my emphasis on “real” food I just couldn’t afford it.

Speaking of snacks, I thought it might be good to save the milk for snack time instead of drinking it with meals. Also, I was able to provide 16 pieces of fresh fruit in my budget that are available for snacks or as meal add-ons (12 apples and 4 nectarines) enough for four servings for four people. There are also about 20 slices of bread unaccounted for. Even if some slices might be used to accompany the soup, there should still be some available for use with butter, left over peanut butter, and left over jam. Also there is a celery stalk or two extra and a carrot or two extra. They could be cut into sticks and eaten with a meal or as a snack. Any leftover eggs can be hardboiled and eaten as a snack. Or set aside two and turn into rice pudding with leftover rice, some sugar, some milk and a dot or two of butter. Some of the orange juice could be made into homemade juice pops. Pour into ice cube tray, stick in toothpicks and freeze. There are also two whole grain waffles left from breakfast. Toast, sandwich with peanut butter and jam, and cut into sticks or cubes for a snack.
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About the photo: My cutting board right after I used the last scrap of my magic green cabbage.

The Hunger Challenge -- How You Can Help

Update: Help the SF Food Bank and other area food banks get more chicken from Tyson. Here's what to do from the SF Food Bank website:

"Tyson Foods has offered to donate up to 200,000 pounds of high-quality, protein-rich foods to 6 San Francisco Bay Area food banks. Please help get this food on the trucks. Here's how you can help:
1) Go to the Tyson website.
2) Read the information about hunger in the Bay Area and post a comment. (NOTE: the format asks for an email address to prevent spam, but Tyson guarantees they will not harvest emails or use them for any other purpose whatsoever.)
3) Tyson adds another 100 pounds of high-quality, protein-rich foods (chicken, meatballs, lunchmeat, etc.) to trucks heading for 6 Bay Area food banks!"

Be sure to let your friends and colleagues know -- their comments are worth 100 lbs of chicken each!

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Here's a post I kind of adapted from the San Francisco Food Bank Hunger Challenge blog on how you can help. In addition to the items below, you can also volunteer at the SF or your local food bank.

(Click here for info on food banks elsewhere.)

Donate: Contribute to the San Francisco Food Bank. For every $1 donated, the San Francisco Food Bank can provide $9 worth of food to the hungry.

Advocate: Contact your local elected officials about hunger issues.

Experience: Try eating on just a $1 a meal a person for a meal, a day a week. Blog about it or just share it with your friends and family. Consider donating the money you saved that meal, day, week to your local food bank. I bet you'll never look at food or think about the food stamps the same way again.

Shopping List for Hunger Challenge

Below is my finalized shopping list for the week’s food (non-staples) with prices paid. I was able to take advantage of some phenomenal sales. For example $1.99 pound for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, 39 cents a pound for cabbage, four pounds of rice for $2.49 and a two gallons for the price of one deal on the milk. While these values vary from week to week, they represent what was out there while I was planning my menus. Most of the shopping was done at my neighborhood Safeway and Lucky’s, but items were also bought at Grocery Outlet and an independent supermarket.

Diced tomato $1.85
Chicken Broth $3.34
Stewed Tomatoes $1.38
frozen spinach $0.99
frozen broccoli $0.99
boneless chicken thighs $5.97
green cabbage $0.93
onions $0.89
red jalapeno peppers $0.20
garlic head $0.25
ginger $0.25
potatoes $2.49
bananas $0.50
apples $6.99
red leaf lettuce $1.29
pinto beans $0.99
rice $2.49
cheese - 2% cheddar $5.00
eggs $2.69
milk $3.29
turkey meat balls $5.00
pasta $0.88
bread $3.00
blackberry jam $2.50
cereal $2.00
peanut butter $1.99
firm tofu $1.79
carrots $1.49
celery $1.99
whole grain waffles $3.19
frozen oj $3.50
yogurt, plain, low fat $2.49
pasta sauce $1.55
ground beef, frozen $4.00
nectarines $1.50
fresh tomato $0.99

Some Assumptions
The cost of staples (such as butter, canola oil, sugar, flour, etc.) made my tab higher than $84, but since I would only be using a fraction of those ingredients in my weekly menu I only counted the amount used for each meal. Because I tried to buy the smallest packages available, that did mean my per ounce price was less economical. In addition other ingredients would also probably last beyond the one week period such as peanut butter, but I included them entirely in the weekly total, although in my price per meal I figured out how much the ingredient cost for the ounces used. I did just count half of the cost of my eggs in the weekly total, since they were on sale -- two 18-egg packs for the price of one. (I included the other half in my staples accounting.) Since many households may have one or more of these ingredients in the house already, that would bring the shopping total down even further.

To recap from a prior post, total shoping was $96.55, of which $15.92 was for staples. Total weekly groceries were $80.63 and I used $3.35 of staples which made my total $83.98.

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About the photo -- one of the many list of ingredients, recipes, shopping lists, etc. I created during the challenge.

The Breakfast of Hunger Challenge Champions -- Getting a Good Start on a $1 a Meal a Person a Day

Here is part one of my basic menu for the week for my mythical family of four spending an average of a $1 a meal per person (which I figured out as $84 a week total).

I tried to use San Francisco Food Bank basics such as rice, cabbage, onions and carrots. If my family was able to get them in its food bag, the total would go down by almost $6, a significant amount of money that would add more fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and variety to the family’s diet.

Some Assumptions

The cost of staples (such as butter, canola oil, sugar, flour, etc.) made my tab higher than $84, but since I would only be using a fraction of those ingredients in my weekly menu I only counted the amount used for each meal. Because I tried to buy the smallest packages available, that did mean my per ounce price was less economical. In addition other ingredients would also probably last beyond the one week period such as peanut butter, but I included them entirely in the weekly total, although in my price per meal I figured out how much the ingredient cost for the ounces used. I did just count half of the cost of my eggs in the weekly total, since they were on sale -- two 18-egg packs for the price of one. (I included the other half in my staples accounting.) Since many households may have one or more of these ingredients in the house already, that would bring the shopping total down even further.

My week’s shopping cost $96.55. I spent $15.92 of it on “staples.” My purchases directly for the week were $80.63. I used $3.35 worth of my staples, which made my total for the week $83.98.

I assumed salt and pepper were available in the house. All other seasonings were made optional.

The Breakfasts

I tried to pack in as much nutrition as I could. I tried to keep the meals fairly easy (well except for maybe the Weekend Pancakes with Caramelized Apples) and anything involved could be made the night ahead and reheated. School age children could make the yogurt parfaits themselves and older children could make themselves the waffle sandwiches.

Total of 28 servings

Waffle “sandwich” – two whole grain frozen waffles toasted or heated in the microwave, on one spread 2 tablespoons peanut butter, 1 tablespoon blackberry or other jam, ¼ of a sliced banana, topped with the second. (note there are 10 waffles in the pack, so that will provide five servings of this option, but the waffles were on sale two packs for the price of one, but I only figured on eight servings for breakfast, so that leaves four waffles for snack or two servings of breakfast next week.) Serve with milk. (Note: if the waffles were not on sale for two packs for $3.15, I probably would not have been able to afford the whole grain option and would have spent $2 a pack for regular waffles.)

Breakfast parfait – ½ cup of cereal layered with jam or sliced banana with ½ cup of yogurt. Serve with orange juice. (Eight servings)

Popeye’s breakfast – Cook ½ pound of frozen spinach in a fry pan until heated through. Drain and squeeze out excess liquid. Dry fry pan, add butter or oil. Optional – when the butter or oil is heated, add ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 clove garlic minced and fry until lightly brown. Add eight beaten eggs, and salt and pepper to taste and scramble until the eggs are almost set. Add eight ounces of chopped, grated or cut up chunks of cheddar, and the spinach. Cook until eggs are done and cheese is beginning to melt. Serve one eighth of each mixture as a filling for a sandwich with two pieces of toasted, buttered bread. (Eight servings, reserve half for another breakfast.) Serve with orange juice or milk. (Note: egg mixture can be made the night before and reheated in the microwave.)

Weekend Special – Homemade pancakes with caramelized apple slices (four servings, 2-3 pancakes each depending on size). Serve with orange juice or milk.

First, mix the pancake batter and let it sit.
Pancake batter – 1 cup flour mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar and 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir in 1 cup of milk, 1 egg and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Mix well. Set aside.

Next peel, core and thinly slice two apples. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a fry pan or larger sauce pan. When the butter is melted, scatter apple slices in pan and sprinkle sugar to taste on top (optional – add ½ teaspoon cinnamon). Add more butter if needed. Cook on a low heat until the apple slices are soft. Keep warm.

While the apples are cooking, heat oil a skillet or large fry pan. Heat over a medium heat, when oil is hot, cook pancakes, turning over when bottom side is brown and top side is bubbling. Use about ¼ cup of the batter for each pancake. Serve with the warm, buttery apple slices on top or jam and butter. (Or warm about a ¼ cup of the jam in a small pot. When it becomes loose and a bit liquid, spoon one fourth on top of each serving.)

Still to come are menus for lunches and dinners, snack suggestions, my overall shopping list, and recipes for savory chicken stew, vegetable soup and Asian stir fry. I also plan on including some shopping lessons learned and some suggestions for using San Francisco Food Bank frequent “best sellers” such as cabbage and cottage cheese (although probably not in the same dish, but you never know). Plus, more ways you can help the San Francisco and other food banks combat hunger in our communities.

Read more about the Hunger Challenge .
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Note: FYI the totals were revised on Thursday, Sept. 25. Turned out I had made some math errors (that's what happens when you post at 1 a.m.!) and had not completed all the shopping I planned on, so I was able to take advantage of some sales and values I had not known about when I first figured out my totals and was able to buy some more fresh fruit and vegetables as a result.