Posts Tagged ‘Food’

New Orleans' famous shrimp po' boy. Yum.

This morning I was reading a few articles about President Obama’s commemoration of the 5^th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The first family traveled to New Orleans where the President addressed Xavier University yesterday.

As the articles discussed the President’s official business in ‘The Big Easy,’ I found it interesting that most of them made it a point to mention the President’s lunch. His speech, visit to a local housing development and even meetings with hurricane survivors did not overshadow his sumptuous shrimp po’boy at Parkway Bakery & Tavern.

Why was the seafood sub such a big deal?

A few thoughts:

1.The strength of small businesses gives a fair read on the pulse of the economy, and a mom & pop restaurant sure looks hopeful and healthy when you have the President as a patron.  Plus, it’s exciting for locals!

2. Food = comfort, especially during hard times.

3. Identity is often linked to food. What better way to affirm a recovering community than to chow down on a traditional meal that represents what New Orleans is about?

In fact, The Times-Picayune recently ran an article about how Hurricane Katrina affected the New Orleans food culture.

Item #3 on the list: Locals’ Appreciation for Food Deepened.

The article quotes a director of a New Orleans non-profit as saying, “In a very intense, concentrated space of time, people found out what really mattered to them. Food became the most important rituals of our lives.”

Item #8 on the list: New Orleanians began cooking all over the country.

This point was most interesting to me since NPR just ran a segment that featured a displaced New Orleanian. Patrick Wooten and his family were air lifted to shelter when their neighborhood of Algiers flooded during the hurricane. They’ve permanently relocated to Plymouth, MA where Patrick now works as a chef at The Salvation Army. Though the setting is a lot different than New Orleans, Patrick keeps in touch with his Cajun roots by serving up home cooking at The Salvation Army kitchen. If he can’t be in New Orleans, what a great way serve others and bring New Orleans to them!

What's for dinner tonight? Try this dirty rice recipe from our own Salvation Army chef.

Lucky for us, Patrick shared with NPR his Dirty Rice recipe that he made on Sunday to remember the 5^th anniversary of Katrina. I’m including it below for anyone who’d like a New Orleans culinary lesson:

RECIPE: PATRICK WOOTEN’S DIRTY RICE (Serves six)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Andouille sausage
1/2 pound ham steak, cubed
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Worcestershire sauce
Uncle Ben’s white rice

Instructions:

• Brown the meat until beef is no longer pink.
• Add Worcestershire sauce.
• Remove meat from pan and saute vegetables in the leftover oil.
• Add cooked rice and more Worcestershire sauce to taste.
• While it cooks down, “sit and wait like a pit bull.”

Read how The Salvation Army has been providing relief to the Gulf Coast in our report “Hurricane Katrina: 5 Years On.”

2010 Spring/Summer graduates of The Salvation Army's Culinary Training Program. Chef Timothy Tucker is pictured in back in a black chef's coat.

Congratulations to the newest graduates of The Salvation Army’s Culinary Training Program in Louisville, Kentucky! Chef Timothy Tucker’s program marked its 5th anniversary last week with a ceremony recognizing 10 more  individuals who have successfully completed the intensive, hands-on courses. The students, all of whom are either homeless or living below the poverty line, began their classes about 10 weeks ago with little to no knowledge of the kitchen and now are equipped with the skills they need to be competitive candidates for employment in the food and hospitality industry.

And as an exciting Program first, alumni Jackson Hodges was awarded a two year scholarship valued around $40,000 to Sullivan University where has the opportunity to study either  culinary arts or baking and pastries!

Chef Tucker’s program has been gaining attention around the community and across the country for its innovative way of fighting homelessness and poverty. This formally-trained chef left a lucrative career and  joined The Salvation Army, where he’s invited the disadvantaged and destitute to join him in the kitchen. As they work over cutting boards and stove tops,  there’s more than just great food  being served. Somewhere along the way the students have cooked up hope, empowerment, and a  permanent solution towards self-sufficiency.

Read more about The Salvation Army’s Culinary Training Program on our Salvation Army national blog here and at the Culinary Program’s websites www.cheftimothytucker.com and www.cheftimothytucker.blogspot.com. You can also show them your support by following them on Facebook!

Again, congratulations grads! We can’t wait to see the many opportunities that await you.

The Salvation Army Lubbock's new Rapid Response Unit fits in the back of a truck to easily take meals and drinks directly to communities.

The Salvation Army in Lubbock, TX has a brand new piece of equipment called the Rapid Response Unit that will help feed more people and boost efficiency. It’s not only the first of its kind, it’s also the only of its kind – no other Salvation Army in the nation has one yet!

According to their Facebook page, The Salvation Army Lubbock says the Rapid Response Unit is small enough to fit in a truck bed or trailer and will expand their reach  up to 150 miles beyond the service area of Salvation Army canteens, larger mobile kitchens also used to serve food and drinks during emergencies.

The Rapid Response Unit was designed for on-the-street feedings and can hold up to 12 food trays, ice chests, drink containers, has plenty of room for storage and can be operated by one person. Salvation Army personnel are excited about serving the community with this versatile new equipment!

Check out a story on the Rapid Response Unit run by local news station FOX 34 here: Local Salvation Army reveals new, innovative equipment

Find more information about this and services offered by The Salvation Army Lubbock on their Facebook page or visit their website at http://www.salvationarmytexas.org/.

***Photos courtesy of  The Salvation Army Lubbock’s Facebook page.

Watch this powerful video for a look into The Salvation Army’s incredible Culinary Training Program developed and taught by Chef Timothy Tucker.

Chef Timothy Tucker’s students are not the typical individuals you would expect to be enrolled in intensive culinary classes – they’re homeless or living below the poverty line. But through these classes Chef Tucker is not just meeting the momentary needs of the disadvantaged population, he’s empowering them to support and sustain themselves for the rest of their lives.

Timothy graduated with a degree in culinary arts and worked in high end restaurants. He later spent a few years doing research and development on an organic farm where he says he began to understand that diet affects all areas of an individual’s functionality, attitude and behavior, and that food can play a significant role in healing.

Chef Tucker, wearing black, with his culinary students.

He brought this knowledge with him to The Salvation Army’s Center of Hope in Louisville, KY in 2005, where he developed the Culinary Training Program, an intensive 10 week course that teaches basic culinary skills needed to find an entry level position in the food and hospitality industry. Here, homeless or impoverished students learn everything from safety and sanitation in the kitchen, to knife skills, to preparing a range of foods, and much more. They’re tested weekly and even cook for events and fundraisers to raise support for this self-funded program.

The Salvation Army’s Culinary Training Program even has two gardens outside – one is the half the size of a football field and the other half the size of a basketball court – where fresh vegetables and herbs are grown for use in the kitchen. According to the Program’s Facebook page, these organic gardens grow nearly 1,500 pounds of produce each year which help feed the Center’s homeless. Amazing!

Culinary students receive intensive training and hands on practice in the kitchen. (Photos: Culinary Program's Facebook page)

On average, 9 students complete the course each semester, and Chef Tucker says approximately 75% of his graduates secure work. The remaining 25%, however, don’t acquire a job not for lack of skill or help from the Program, but rather a lack of desire to rejoin the workforce. But Chef Tucker says he’s confident those individuals would be able to find a job if they pursued it. Meanwhile, he says he has visited his former students in their new work places and receives wonderful feedback about his program.

Under the guidance of Chef Tucker, The Salvation Army’s Culinary Training Program has done a great job of not just feeding the homeless but reducing homelessness through education and opportunity. He is working with other Salvation Army facilities across the country to replicate this program and reach other disadvantaged populations.

For more information about the amazing work of  The Louisville Salvation Army’s Culinary Training Program, visit their website at www.centerofhoperadio.org . Also visit them here on Facebook and help them reach their goal of 3,000 friends by the end of May!

When it comes to Ben Stein – his monotone voice, dry humor and sarcastic wit – most people either love him or hate him.

The Salvation Army Greater Houston Area Command is hoping for the former.

The Houston Business Journal reported that the Command will host Ben Stein as its keynote speaker at its annual luncheon fundraiser.

Though perhaps most famously known for his role in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and as the dry spokesvoice for Visine ads, Stein is also a noted economist, bestselling author, comic, and former New York Times columnist.

The luncheon is scheduled for Nov. 3rd at the Hilton-Americas Hotel and the proceeds will benefit the Army’s programs in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

To learn more about the event or to get tickets, refer to the Greater Houston Area Command’s website.

The Salvation Army knows that need knows no season.

Unfortunately, in a troubled economy with more people than ever before seeking help from social service agencies, the Army – and many similar organizations – has found itself in need of help.

Food kitchens and pantries across the country have seen exponential increase in the community’s need for their services.  However, as need continues to rise, donations are becoming few and far between.

However, for one Salvation Army Food Pantry in Austin, Minnesota, the calvary has arrived.

The Austin Daily Herald reports that the United Way’s board of directors in that locale will make a $15,000 donation from their Emergency Fund to assist the Salvation Army in paying its bills.

According to the article, the Army had sent out a plea for help to the community and all of its major donors for help.  The United Way, recognizing the Austin Salvation Army as a sponsored partner, awarded the grant from its Emergency Fund.

Sadly, the story of the Austin Salvation Army is commonplace the nation over.  While are generous during the Army’s Red Kettle Campaign at Christmas, donations of time, talent and money are less plentiful throughout the year when the funds are still needed to support daily social services to the community.

You can help the Army in your area, too, by making a donation.  Online donations can be made here or you can call 1-800-SAL-Army.  You can even mail donations to your local Salvation Army using the National Website’s zip code locator, located in the upper right-hand corner of the site’s homepage.

Be a hero…do some good!

(photo by Eric Johnson) Lori Blanton, case manager for the Salvation Army, stands in the a store room at the Salvation Army that sits low on food items. The Salvation Army, a source for those in need, has now found itself in need, partly because of the struggling economy.

The Bremerton Salvation Army in Washington state brought together the area’s homeless with elected officials for its “Lunch with Electeds.”

The Kitsap Sun writes that, over a lunch of  turkey and potatoes, “society’s downtrodden” got some face time with city council members, mayoral candidates and state representatives.

“The homeless told lawmakers about a number of daily challenges, like finding a ride when Kitsap Transit is reducing service because of budget issues. Others spoke of the difficulty in making themselves presentable for a job or job interview, with limited opportunities for showers and haircuts.”

“The things you just take for granted,” said Fred Chang, Port Orchard city councilman.

The Salvation Army is doing its part.  The article reports that the Bremerton Salvation Army is planning to open a hygiene center adjacent to its downtown location to help the homeless overcome cleanliness obstacles on their way to gaining employment.  They’ve also asked lawmakers for help on creating a winter shelter that homeless people could use during the cold-weather months and for continued communication between agencies that work with the homeless and lawmakers and police agencies.

One meal at a time, one story at a time, lives are being changed.

It can be easy to separate ourselves from the marginalized of our society; to explain away or justify reasons why our lives are so different.  But events like this remind us that no matter our station in life, we are all the same with the same fundamental needs: food, shelter, and access to opportunities.

Indeed, the Bremerton Salvation Army’s lunch is a great example of the Army’s goal to meet human needs wherever and however.  Although we’ve evolved from the years where “soap, soup and salvation” was our slogan, we are always mindful of our beginnings and how offering people the very basics can often open doors in their futures that were never options before.

Chef Cecil Morris Jr. serving. (Photo courtesy of The Salvation Army)

USA Today‘s story, “Homeless People Learn to Feed Others as Chefs,” talks about Cecil Morris, Jr., a once homeless, drug- and alcohol-addict who spent a year in The Salvation Army’s adult rehabilitation center and now works as the culinary arts director at The Salvation Army in his community.

Now a chef himself, Morris teaches the skills he learned from the chef in his rehab program to the unemployed he interacts with everyday.

There’s an old saying:  “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime” (author unknown).  Indeed Chef Morris, and the estimated 500 other trained chefs working full-time to feed the needy, are both giving men fish and teaching them to fish.

Many of the services The Salvation Army offers are created to fulfill the immediate, urgent needs of people, but to also give them the knowledge, training and connections to secure a better future for themselves.  From Sunday Corps services to disaster response and back-to-school supply drives, we believe in teaching a man to fish.

Chef Morris believes that he’s found his calling.   “I believe I was placed here for a reason,” he said.  “I’m a light to guys who knew me from the street. They see me now, and they see how far I’ve come.”

What skills do you have?  Could they help someone else make it to the next level in their lives? Use your talents to help others, show them how to help themselves, and you’ll be Doing The Most Good.

Check out photos of some more of The Salvation Army’s Top Chefs.