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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – It is that time of year. Charity is in the air and in the spirit of giving most willingly contribute to annual holiday food drives. These contributions are needed to keep many nonprofit groups afloat. Today with stagnant wages and increasing food costs people who could normally manage to make ends meet are finding they need to rely on food banks and food pantries.
When you imagine people standing in line to receive groceries you may picture homeless people or people ravaged by drugs and alcohol who could use a good bath along with the food. Nothing could be further from the truth. One in seven average Americans (46 million) people regularly rely on food pantries or meal service programs to ensure they have enough to eat.
Many of these people work every day. In Wisconsin, for example, 59% of households that depend on food assistance have at least one person in the household who has a job. They could be your school bus driver, the school crossing guard, or the janitor that cleans your office. They are hardworking people who have either faced some recent crisis or who simply can no longer make their paycheck stretch far enough to feed their families. Thirty-three percent of those who need food assistance have diabetes, 65% have a child or elderly person living at home, and 25% of military families need help (http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/08/18/study-finds-25-of-troops-use-food-banks.html). When you donate to a local food drive, you may be helping a neighbor.
We all give with good intentions, but often the foods donated are not the best options. Don’t use the annual food drive to clean out your pantry of things you’ll never use. Kendra Motsay, MS, RD, LDN, notes that people sometimes donate canned goods that are dented, have expired, or items in glass jars that may break.
What would you feed your family? Consider your food donation as a gift of a meal to another family. Trish Farano, DTR, suggests thinking in combos
- pancake mix that just needs water + light pancake syrup
- a box of whole wheat pasta + canned pasta sauce
- whole wheat noodles + canned tuna + canned peas + low fat cream soup for a casserole
- loaf of whole grain bread, peanut or other nut butter, and all-fruit spread
- box of low sugar, high fiber cereal with shelf-stable milk
Fluid milk is one of the most requested items by food banks, but least donated. Feeding America food banks serve over 37 million people each year but their clients receive less than one gallon of fresh milk in a year. There are many barriers to donating refrigerated milk. But, The Great American Milk Drive (http://milklife.com/give) is trying to solve the problem by allowing people to donate as little as $5. You donate, enter your zip code and the milk is delivered to the closest Feeding America food bank in your area.
When you donate, here are some healthy foods to consider.
Fruits and Vegetables: Donate fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors to ensure variety in taste and nutrients.
- canned diced tomatoes or tomato puree
- spaghetti sauce
- low sodium canned vegetables
- canned fruit packed in fruit juice or light syrup
- shelf-stable fruit cups or applesauce
- 100% fruit or vegetable juice
- raisins or other dried fruit
- freeze-dried fruit snacks
Bread, Grains, Crackers and Cereal: Donate whole grain foods whenever possible.
- whole wheat bread, English muffins, tortillas, wraps and rolls
- whole wheat or vegetable pasta
- gluten free pasta
- brown, white or basmati rice
- barley
- low sugar-high/fiber ready-to-eat cereal (check to see if the serving of cereal has 6 or less grams of sugar and at least 2 grams of fiber)
- oatmeal both regular and instant
- any hot cereal
- quinoa
- cereal bars
- whole grain crackers
- graham crackers
- whole wheat flour
Protein choices: Most food banks need shelf-stable choices rather than fresh meat, fish and poultry.
- canned tuna, salmon, mackerel or crab
- canned chicken or turkey
- canned beans
- dried beans and lentils
- any type of nuts, unsalted or lightly salted when possible
- soynuts
- peanut butter or other nut butters
- canned bean or lentil soup, look for lower sodium if possible
- canned baked beans, look for lower sodium if possible
Milk: Donate shelf-stable (boxed or canned) milk drinks fortified with vitamin D.
- nonfat instant dry milk
- evaporated milk
- boxed milk drinks (look for lowfat and unflavored choices, but lowfat chocolate milk could add a smile to a child’s face at dinner, too)
- soy, almond or rice milk (check that they are calcium-fortified)
Miscellaneous items:
- case of bottled water
- herbs and spices (packed in plastic bottles)
- seasoned pepper
- baking powder and baking soda
- oil
- coffee, tea, and no calorie sweeteners
- can opener
- paper towels, sponges, dish detergent
When in doubt, Karen Ehrens, RD, LRD, recommends calling your local food pantry to ask them which foods they need. Judy Barbe, RD reminds us that a donation of money is always welcome. In fact, money can stretch farther than food donations because the food bank can use it to buy perishable items such as milk, yogurt, and fresh meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables.
Be generous, it is the holidays.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with sales of more than 8.5 million books.
Look for:
The Diabetes Counter, 5th Ed., 2014
The Fat and Cholesterol Counter, 2014
The Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2013
The Calorie Counter, 6th Ed., 2013
The Complete Food Counter, 4th ed., 2012
The Protein Counter, 3rd Ed., 2011
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.
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