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| Articles about Pantry |
| Homeless win - Open Pantry funded - Thanks, everyone! | | 2008-07-31 06:42:50 | | I heard the good news about 1 a.m. and received this email from Kevin Noonan. I'm unbelievably relieved. This was a very close call-- Michaelann,We were quite surprised to learn the senate was considering each override as soon as they were voted upon favorably by the house.So I am happy to report the senate also approved the override last night; in fact they voted unanimously.We cannot thank you enough for your unwavering support for the people we serve. Please ask folks to take time to visit the open pantry web site: http://www.openpantry.org. They they can follow the links for contact information of legislators and a list of the representatives and senators who helped us to make this happen.Please ask folks to send them an e-mail to let them know you appreciate their efforts on behalf of people who need their help.This most recent experience has been a long and exhaustive struggle.I know there are difficult days ahead but today as i enjoy the honor of completing my 19th year as | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | House supports open Pantry, now call the Senate TOMORROW! | | 2008-07-30 21:11:17 | | Great news on the House side: the House just voted to override the governor's veto of line item 4403-2120 which earmarks an increase in funds for the Open Pantry. Now the issue moves to the Senate. Please call your senators and the senate leadership tomorrow, Thurday, July 31, 2008 and urge them to follow the House's lead and to vote for an override of the govenor's veto of the Open Pantry's earmark in line item 4403-2120. (It is crucial to call on Thursday because Thursday is the last day of the legislature's formal session.) Below is a link to the Senate leadership: http://www.mass.gov/legis/leadership.htmAtom
| | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Letter from Open Pantry board member: why the governor's veto should be overridden | | 2008-07-29 16:46:43 | | I received a letter today from an Open Pantry Community Services Board Member, and he has given permission for me to post his letter.There is a lot of *misinformation* about Open Pantry versus Springfield's preferred provider, Friends of the Homeless, which the City and the Governor prefer to fund: Fact #1. Open Pantry and the city's Friends of the Homeless non-profit do not compete. Open Pantry runs the biggest emergency food pantry in Western Mass; Friends of the Homeless has never run a food pantry. Open Pantry feeds poor individuals from around the city, not just homeless people; Friends of the Homeless feeds only the portion of homeless individuals who reside in their own shelter. Therefore it is unreasonable for the City to state that it is prepared to step in if Open Pantry fails. The City has no experience in the Open Pantry's missions, and no additional funds. There will be a huge void. Fact #2. Open Pantry receives over $400,000 in private cash donations every year, | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
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| Open Pantry backstabbers: bad reporting assists cowards | | 2008-07-25 10:38:23 | | I was at the Open Pantry press conference yesterday, where the agency asked for the community's help. We were asked to help convince legislators to override Gov. Patrick''s veto of funds for the agency.After the press conference, when some of us were milling around talking to each other, there was an odd moment when I realized that the agencies and individuals who had come to support the OP-- not the best-heeled groups in the city-- had gradually been infiltrated by people from the community who were there to get food. We were pretty indistinguishable from each other.This morning I went to MassLive to read the Springfield Republican's coverage of OP's plea. Why I should be surprised at what I read I don't know, but several paragraphs referenced 'homeless advocates" and Noonan's "detractors" without ever saying who those people were! What kind of reporting is Stephanie Barry's piece supposed to be?"Noonan's detractors say he should not be seeking "new funding" from a barren state | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Open Pantry: One chance left to override Governor's veto | | 2008-07-15 20:07:35 | | Why do some people hate poor people so much?Yesterday there were folks posting on Springfield's forum MassLive who were rubbing their cyberhands with glee over Governor Patrick's veto of funds for Open Pantry Community Service. You can read more about it here:Today an apartment building in the South End caught fire and thirteen families were displaced. As one MassLive Poster says, "One less low income ghetto the tax payers have to keep funding."Sometimes it's hard not to hope that these people get a chance to find out firsthand what poverty is like, not only to be poor, in fact, but to have to put up with the slurs and assumptions that others will make about them.If the Open Pantry has to cut back services, it will cut holes in our already tattered safety net.Last year the Legislature overrode many of the governor's vetoes; this year, with everyone tightening their belts, it won't be as easy But poor people can't go without much more and still survive.Readers of this blog who have b | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Control Board Monday: Save Open Pantry/Loaves & Fishes | | 2008-06-22 07:58:15 | | I heard from Kevin Noonan, Director of Open Pantry Community Services, yesterday. I knew the funding situation for two of the OPCS most important programs, the Food Pantry and the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen, had not improved. Money was not allocated by the House of Representatives and although it's technically still possible, the odds are very much against it. I wrote some about what a catastrophe for Springfield's poor that loss or reduction of these programs would be this last April. Nothing has improved since then.Kevin has been trying for a month to follow up with a presentation to the Springfield Finance Control Board and thought he had succeeded for this Monday but it turns out that that presentation must be made at the public speak-out-- three minutes only, thank you.If you care about the well-being of poor people in Springfield, please come to Monday's Control Board meeting at 10:30 at City Hall. Let the Control Board know how important it is to maintain these services | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
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| The Food Allergy Pantry Purge | | 2008-06-03 02:00:00 | | By Sean KelleyA few days after my son, Graeme’s, food allergies (to peanuts, corn, soy, wheat, egg whites, and chicken) were confirmed, my wife mentioned his problems to a surgery colleague at the hospital where she is a nurse. “We harvested the organs of a 2-year-old this week. She got into the pantry when no one was looking,” he told her. “Peanut butter.”I’ve learned from my wife that people in the medical profession don’t often sugarcoat things and the sheer terror we felt hearing that story sent us straight to the pantry for an all out purge. Though it would have been easier to seal it off with bricks than to only remove the items that offend Graeme’s sensitive body, we opted for a surgical strike. Read More
| | By: Integrative Medicine (CAM) Blog | | |
| | Springfield's Open Pantry needs help now | | 2008-04-25 08:52:38 | | To be blunt: Open Pantry Community Services is in trouble and may not be able to avoid deep cuts in essential services. It's not hopeless but it's pretty bad, and what's bad for the Open Pantry is bad for the poor and homeless people in this city.Last year the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen prepared over a hundred thousand meals for people in need of food and friendship, lunch and supper, seven days a week. When staff and guests were discussing which of the two meals should be cut if it came to that, the answer was the lunch meal-- because a lot of children eat supper there with their parents.Last year the Open Pantry provided groceries for more than 27,000 people, half of them children. Now the pantry may have to cut back days they're open from four to two.Last year 1,200 homeless people went to caseworkers at the Open Door with help ranging from getting I.D. and applying for veteran's benefits to looking for an apartment.Last year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts cut more than 4 | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Open Pantry's crisis local; global food crisis grows | | 2008-04-10 07:26:43 | | This morning I turn on the TV and see Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich warning about a depression. I go to the NY Times and read the world is in a food crisis. I open the local paper to see that Open Pantry Community Services may have to cut back on its services in April unless the public can pitch in to help.Last year more than 27,000 people-- in a city of less than 150,000!-- came to the Open Pantry Food Pantry for help. People ate a meal at the Loaves & Fishes Soup Kitchen more than 100,000 times. More than 1,000 homeless people received assistance from Open Pantry's Open Door case managers. And three shelters put a roof over the heads of teen mothers, women in recovery and homeless families.Having an impact on the global economy is not impossible, but billions of people are affected and billions will have to be part of the solution. But if you donate money or food to the Open Pantry, you can pretty easily picture that money converted to a meal for a hungry family.Pleas | | By: Michaelann Land | | |
| | Cooking with Italian Pasta - The Well Stocked Pantry | | 2008-04-05 10:48:36 | | Pasta and a quickly whipped sauce make a nourishing and satisfying meal. Having pasta and a few choice ingredients always at hand makes one good to go. Available fresh or dried, in all sort of shapes, sizes and colors, storing pasta and the pantry items listed below leads to a dinner ready in no time [...] | | By: free blog | | |
| | Kitchen Pantry - A Cook's Secret Weapon | | 2007-10-14 13:53:00 | | Doing any job is easier when you have the right tools on hand. One of a cook's best tools -- and secret weapons -- is having a well-stocked kitchen pantry.Cooking is much simpler if you know that you've already got what you need on hand, and aren't going to have to run to the corner market every time you want to fix a meal.Having a well-stocked pantry is also the secret weapon especially when unexpected guests drop by.You'll be able to make every guest feel special and welcome because, whether it is appetizers for four or dinner for ten, you can handle it with style and panache. In fact, your reputation -- and your sanity -- will be assured, because with these things in your pantry, you can put together beautiful and tasty food that is beautifully presented in just minutes, simply and easily.Here is a list of basic ingredients that should be in any well-stocked pantry. (One great way to stock your pantry is to buy one or two things on the list each time you go shopping, rather than trying to get it all at once. If you watch the sales and take advantage of seasonal buys, you'll be able to save money as well!).Remember to rotate everything in your pantry on a regular basis, and adjust the items on this list to suit your family's likes and dislikes.Herbs, Spices, Extracts and Sauces: - Salt (Sea and Iodized)- Pepper (Whole Peppercorns, Black, White and Red)- Nutmeg (Ground and Fresh)- Cinnamon (Ground and Sticks)- Pumpkin Pie Spice (Ground)- Allspice (Ground)- Cardamom (Whole and Ground)- Ginger (Whole and Ground)- Curry (Ground)- Garlic (Fresh and Ground for Emergencies)- Mustard (Ground)- Bay Leaves (Dried)- Rosemary (Fresh and Bottled)- Thyme (Fresh and Bottled)- Sage (Fresh and Dried)- Sweet Basil (Fresh and Dried)- Parsley (Fresh and Dried for Emergencies)- Cumin (Ground)- Oregano (Dried)- Onions (Flakes for Emergencies)- Vanilla Extract- Maple Extract- Almond Extract- Lemon Extract- Orange Extract- Soy Sauce- Cooking Wine or Cooking Sherry- Rice Wine Vinegar- Sesame Oil- Balsamic Vinegar- Red Wine Vinegar- Citrus Vinegar- Teriyaki Sauce- Barbecue Sauce- Sweet and Sour Sauce- Tabasco or Other Hot Sauce- Chili Sauce- Steak Sauce- Packages of Salad Dressing Mix- Packages of Dried Onion Soup Mix (Or Other Flavors)- Soup for Sauces (Cream of Chicken, Mushroom, Celery and Cheese)For Baking: - All Purpose Flour- Self-Rising Flour- Whole Wheat Flour- Pancake Mix- Yeast- Sugar- Confectioner's Sugar- Brown Sugar- Sugar Cubes- Molasses- Baking Powder- Baking Soda- Yeast- Cornstarch- Honey- Cocoa Powder- Unsweetened or Semi-Sweet Chocolate- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips- Butterscotch, Caramel and other flavored "chips"- Nuts (Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds, Hazelnuts and Cashews)- Marshmallow Cream- Vegetable Shortening (Regular and Butter-Flavored)- Sunflower Oil- Maraschino CherriesFor Appetizers or Adding "Something Special" to Meals: - Peanuts in the Shell- Salted Peanuts- Mixed Nuts- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- A Variety of Crackers- Black and Green Olives- Canned Mushrooms- Palm Tree Hearts- Bottled Asparagus- Sun-dried Tomatoes- Bottled Salsa- A Variety of Chips and Dips- Cheeses (Traditionally, 3 to 5 are served, from hard to soft, mild to strong. Find flavors that mix well together, and serve cheeses from different animals and different countries)For Everyday Meals: - Bullion Cubes and Powders (Chicken, Beef and Vegetable)- White Rice- Long Grain and Wild Rice- Brown Rice- A Variety of Pastas- Barley- Bread Crumbs- Croutons- Tomato Sauce- Tomato Paste- A Variety of Canned Tomatoes- A Variety of Canned Beans (Black, Red, Kidney and Garbanzo)- Dried Beans (Pinto, Chili and Kidney)- Canned Tuna, Chicken, Crab and ClamsFor Desserts: - Canned Pineapple (Chunks and Slices)- A Variety of Canned Fruits- A Variety of Jams or Jellies- A Variety of Cake Mixes, Brownies and Frostings- A Variety of Packaged Puddings- All the fixings for Ice Cream Sundaes or Banana Splits- ApplesauceIn the Refrigerator: - Milk- Eggs (Or Egg Substitutes)- Cream (A staple for many Mediterranean Dishes)- Butter or Margarine- Yellow Mustard- Brown Mustard- Dijon Mustard- Ketchup- Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing- Cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss, Feta, Parmesan and Jack)- Cottage Cheese- Sour Cream- Green Onions- Tomatoes- Cilantro- Salad FixingsIn the Freezer: - Whole Chicken- Steaks- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts- Beef or Pork Roast- Stew Meat- Hamburger- Pork Chops- Pieces of yellow, red and green peppers (Chop up any leftovers each time you use them and throw them into a bag in the freezer. They will add color and flavor to bland dishes)- Frozen Bread Dough (Make your own or store bought)- Frozen Rolls (Make your own or store bought)- Frozen Pizza Dough (Make your own or store bought)- Frozen Baguette- Broccoli- SpinachWith these ingredients in your kitchen, the only thing you'll have to worry about when it's time to cook is which recipe you want to try! | | By: Cooking is Easy | | |
| | | Pantry Beef Casserole | | 2007-08-12 21:48:46 | | I took a trip today to Whole Foods to restock my gluten-free items. I have a bad habit of looking in other people’s carts in Whole Foods to see if they are also buying gluten-free. I always feel compelled to start a conversation about going gluten-free. I never do, but [...] | | By: Gluten Free Mommy | | |
| | I'm a bookworm in the pantry! | | 2007-04-16 16:56:00 | | I interrupt the regular scheduled posting of my misadventures in Bangkok with an exciting announcement: I'm a bookworm in the pantry!
"Bookworms are everywhere! Christine, this week's Bookworm in the Pantry, creates her lovely blog, Ramblings from a Gypsy Soul, in Manila, The Philippines (see her list of recommended food-related non-cookbooks, over there on the right). Whenever I read her posts, | | By: ramblings from a gypsy soul | | |
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