05 Apr 2010

USDA Announces Resources to Improve Emergency Food Assistance Programs and Infrastructure

By USDA Office of Communications

Funding Will Aid Emergency Food Organizations and Americans in Need

WASHINGTON, April 1, 2010 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the availability of resources to strengthen the capacity of the Nation's emergency feeding network to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of people who are turning to food pantries and soup kitchens to feed their families. Up to $6 million in grants is available for food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens to improve and expand the infrastructure.

"The Obama Administration has proposed important measures to combat hunger in America and to assist food insecure households - especially food insecure children," said Vilsack. "These grants will help to ensure that food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens have the equipment and infrastructure necessary to provide healthy, safe food to America's families in need during challenging economic times."

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plans to award up to $6 million to emergency feeding organizations, such as food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens, participating in the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). At least $3 million is expected to be awarded for projects that improve the emergency feeding infrastructure in rural communities. Projects that benefit or serve Native American communities will receive priority consideration.

Among other activities, grantees can use funds to improve the tracking, collection, storage, distribution and transport of time-sensitive and perishable foods; develop or maintain computerized systems for tracking foods; improving the provision of recovered foods to food banks; and repairing and expanding facilities, equipment or appliances to support hunger relief. Funds can also be used to identify new donors and emergency food providers or to provide outreach to persons in need of food assistance.

TEFAP, administered by FNS, provides USDA-purchased food and administrative funds to States for further distribution to organizations such as food banks, food pantries, and soup kitchens. These organizations provide food assistance to needy families across the country in the form of prepared meals or as a bag of groceries that families take home and prepare themselves.

The solicitations can be found online at www.grants.gov or at the FNS website at http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/ tefap/TEFAP_Rural_InfraGrant.htm (TEFAP Rural Infrastructure Grant) or http://www.fns.usda.gov/fdd/programs/ tefap/TEFAP_General_InfraGrant.htm (TEFAP General Infrastructure Grant).

 

05 Apr 2010

Mound Street Landing Expands Hours

By Rick Martin

Mound Street Landing has recently expanded their hours to offer delicious sandwiches, appetizers and fresh (never frozen) burgers!

This is classic pub fare with a couple of twists - a Fried Bologna sandwich and a Chicken Parmesan sandwich made with breaded
chicken strips instead of the usual grilled breast.  This is "fun food" at its finest, brought to you by a family/locally owned business with a
terrific crew operating in the heart of the East Village of Davenport.

25 Mar 2010

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Funds Available to States to Improve Participation in Summer Food Service Programs

By USDA Office of Communications

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2010 - In an effort to address childhood hunger and its impact on child development, health and learning, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), are notifying states that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) can be used to assist families through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

Through this unprecedented collaboration, ACF and FNS are joining forces to help communities provide children with adequate, nutritious meals during the summer. The notice sent to States includes an explanation of how resources under the TANF Emergency Fund provided by the Recovery Act can be used to cover portions of costs associated with running a summer food service site that are not otherwise reimbursed. States can seek 80 percent reimbursement through the Fund for a range of expenditures including the cost of compensation for staff support to provide supervision and programming at summer feeding sites, transportation services to transport food and/or children to feeding sites, recreational activities to attract more youth to program locations and meal preparation costs that are not otherwise reimbursed under the SFSP.

"During these difficult economic times, it is more important than ever to work together across federal, state, and local offices to support children in need.  We look forward to these Recovery Act dollars supporting children this summer since the lack of nutrition for children during summer recess can lead to long term concerns such as illness and other health issues throughout the school year," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, Carmen R. Nazario. "HHS and USDA are working diligently to help ensure that TANF funds are available to states to expand participation in the SFSP and ensure that children return to school healthy and ready to learn."

"One of our priorities for reauthorization of Child Nutrition Programs is strengthening the SFSP so that children aren't left out just because school is out. Increasing access to more nutrient-rich foods for our Nation's disadvantaged children is no simple task," said USDA Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon.  "It requires government agencies, the private sector, non-profits and local communities to collaborate to ensure children get the proper nutrition that will help end childhood hunger."

The Summer Food Service Program was created to ensure that children in lower-income areas can continue to receive nutritious meals during long school vacations when they do not have access to school lunch or breakfast.  SFSP encourages communities to provide complete, wholesome meals for children that are served in safe, supervised locations where children can enjoy activities and playing with other children.

For more information and guidance on the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund please visit http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/.

For more information about the SFSP please visit http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/summer/.


22 Mar 2010

Churches United to receive over 25,000 food items from Genesis

By Jo Cohrs

On Friday, March 19th, Genesis Hospital delivered a semi full of food collected by their employees to Churches United of the Quad City Area to benefit their 26 food pantries throughout the QCA's.

All Saints Lutheran Church, 5002 Jersey Ridge Road, Davenport is one of the 26 food pantries in Churches United food pantry neighborhood network and they have kindly offered their fellowship hall to receive this food.  Volunteers will then be working the first two days of the next week to sort and distribute this food back into the community where it is needed most.

Genesis employees are in the process of collecting 25,000 - 35,000 food items!    With the present economy and the increased need for food in the area, this food couldn't come at a better time!    Last year, over 4300 MORE people walked through Churches United's neighborhood food pantries providing food for almost 13,000 more people than the year before.

09 Mar 2010

FDA Criminal Division

By Sen. Charles Grassley

Senator Chuck Grassley issued the comment below about a newly released report of the Government Accountability Office regarding the criminal division of the Food and Drug Administration.  Grassley requested the review, in 2009, in response to allegations about lax standards and poor accountability in the criminal division.  The senator has conducted extensive oversight of the FDA's performance and he has worked to hold federal officials accountable for mismanagement.

The report is linked below and also posted with this memo at http://finance.senate.gov and http://grassley.senate.gov.  Also linked below and posted with the report is a letter from the FDA Commissioner to Grassley regarding agency plans to respond to the shortcomings identified by the GAO.

Senator Grassley's comment:

"This report has made a difference already by securing a much needed commitment from the Commissioner to make the FDA's investigative unit live up to its significant responsibilities.  There's no excuse for the fact that this division's failures have gone unchecked for years, and having the FDA leadership focused on fixing what's broken is the first, very important step needed."

GAO Report

FDA Commissioner's letter to Grassley

08 Mar 2010

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack Addresses the School Nutrition Association, Issues Call to Action for Child Nutrition Stakeholders

By Tom Vilsack
WASHINGTON, March 3, 2010 - Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to the School Nutrition Association and highlighted the Obama Administration's priorities for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and issued a call to stakeholders to improve the health and nutrition of our nation's children. To highlight the nexus between nutrition and physical activity and USDA's collaboration with First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative, Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a call to action to parents, community leaders, schools and elected officials to improve the nutrition and physical activity habits of our children by working together to double the number of HealthierUS Schools across the country.

"The reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act is an important opportunity to improve the health of our children and reduce hunger in this country but the federal government cannot do it alone because it's people who work in our schools that are on the front line of providing healthier meals, nutrition education and enabling more physical activity," said Vilsack. "I am challenging parents, educators, nutrition experts, and community leaders to join us in doubling the number of HealthierUS Schools across the country in the next year because we all have a stake in improving the health and nutrition of our children."

The Obama Administration has proposed a historic investment of an additional $10 billion over ten years starting in 2011 that will allow for the improvement of the quality of the School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs, increase the number of kids participating, and ensure schools have the resources they need to make program changes, including training for school food service workers, upgraded kitchen equipment, and additional funding for meal reimbursements for schools that are enhancing nutrition and quality. Additionally, this investment will allow additional fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products to be served in our school cafeterias and an additional one million students to be served the healthy diets in school.

Already, the administration has announced its plans to improve school meals, a financing initiative to reduce food deserts, new research tools that detail local food environments and health outcomes, including grocery store access and disease and obesity prevalence, and a broad range of public/private partnerships to solve America's childhood obesity epidemic.

The HealthierUS School Challenge recognizes schools that do an exceptional job promoting meal participation, meal quality, nutrition education, and physical activity. To highlight this program as the gold standard that we should expect of all our schools, last fall USDA expanded the HealthierUS School Challenge to middle and high schools. And in announcing the Let's Move! initiative, the First Lady called on stakeholders to double the number of participating schools in the next year and to reach 3,000 within the next three years. USDA is working with administering state agencies and a range of other partners, from professional sports leagues and youth associations to promote the program and meet this goal.

"USDA is committed to promoting nutrition standards and providing our children well-balanced, healthy meals during their school day," said Vilsack. "Lunches provided by the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are a vital resource that help children develop healthy eating and lifestyle choices that will be with them for a lifetime. Only by working together can we improve school meals and work to eliminate childhood obesity in a generation."

The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) was established to recognize schools that are creating healthier school environments through their promotion of good nutrition and physical activity. Four levels of superior performance are awarded: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Gold of Distinction. Schools can participate in this model program by going to the HealthierUS School Challenge web page to learn about the range of educational and technical assistance materials that promote key aspects of the Dietary Guidelines. The website includes a menu planner for healthy school meals, and provides tips on serving more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and lower amounts of sugar, sodium, and saturated and trans fats in school menus.

Operating in more than 101,000 public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions nationwide, the NSLP works in concert with FNS's other nutrition assistance programs to form a national safety net against hunger. It provides school children of all economic backgrounds with a well-balanced, healthy meal that is designed to meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In some cases, the school lunch is the main daily meal for a needy child.

More information about USDA's efforts to improve child nutrition can be found at www.usda.gov. Additional information on First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign is at www.LetsMove.gov.
02 Mar 2010

USDA'S FOOD FOR PROGRESS PROGRAM EXPECTED TO BENEFIT MORE THAN 3.4 MILLION PEOPLE IN EMERGING DEMOCRACIES THIS YEAR

By Rick Martin

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2010-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA will donate more than $145 million in international assistance under the Food for Progress Program in fiscal year 2010.

"This unique food assistance program furthers the Obama Administration's efforts to introduce and expand free enterprise in the agricultural sector of developing countries and emerging democracies around the world," said Vilsack. "The allocations announced today will benefit more than 3.4 million people in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East by providing access to new opportunities for farmers and rural communities."

Allocations announced today include more than 204,000 metric tons of U.S. rice, soybean oil, soybeans, soy flour, tallow, vegetable oil, wheat and yellow corn that will be purchased on the U.S. market and donated by USDA to foreign governments, cooperatives and private-voluntary, non-profit or intergovernmental organizations. The program targets developing countries and emerging democracies like Uganda, where the program has helped a Ugandan dairy quadruple its sales in one year, and Honduras, where palm oil farmers were able to launch their own refinement plant.

Projects proposed by these entities are chosen based on their agricultural focus, the country's needs, the proposal's quality and the organization's management, experience and financial and technical capabilities. The entities sell the donated U.S. commodities in recipient countries and use the funds raised to implement approved agricultural and rural development projects, while helping to address food shortages.

USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service administers the program, authorized by the Food for Progress Act of 1985. More information is at: http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/FFP/foodforprogress.asp

Here is the list of program allocations for FY 2010:

Food for Progress Program

Fiscal Year 2010 Allocations

Country Program Participant (Commodities*) Number Benefited Estimated Value ($Millions)
Afghanistan American Soybean Association (Soy Flour, Soybeans, Soybean Oil) 223,150 $26.9
East Timor ACDI/VOCA (Rice) 21,870 $11.7
El Salvador Government of El Salvador (Wheat) 30,000 $12.0
Guatemala Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (Yellow Corn) 62,050 $3.9
Honduras FINCA International, Inc. (Wheat) 91,462 $7.8
Liberia ACDI/VOCA (Wheat, Rice) 53,000 $9.7
Mozambique TechnoServe (Wheat) 57,000 $26.3
Nicaragua Government of Nicaragua (Tallow, Vegetable Oil) 200,000 $7.9
Pakistan Winrock International (Soybean Oil) 1,037,000 $30.3
Tanzania Land O'Lakes, Inc. (Wheat) 1,655,679 $8.9
TOTAL 3,431,211 $145.4

*Commodities and tonnages are subject to change, pending negotiation of food aid agreements with program participants.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

###
16 Feb 2010

Machine Shed Adds the Other Other White Meat to Pheasant Fest Weekend

By Pheasants Forever
Make your reservation today, National Pheasant Fest is February 26-28

Des Moines, Iowa - February 16, 2010 - In conjunction with Pheasants Forever's National Pheasant Fest, the Iowa Machine Shed restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa, has added pheasant to its menu for the weekend of the event. National Pheasant Fest 2010 is February 26-28 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.

After taking in all that National Pheasant Fest has to offer and working up an appetite, attendees can enjoy a home-cooked quarter pheasant pan roasted and served in country gravy at the Iowa Machine Shed, located at Living History Farms in Urbandale, just minutes from downtown Des Moines.

"Our five word constitution is 'Dedicated to the American Farmer,'" said Cat Penton, Executive Staff for the Machine Shed chain of restaurants. "We want everyone who comes to our restaurant to receive the Machine Shed experience of made from scratch, home-cooked meals served in the traditions of the farming community. For many in town that weekend, those traditions center on days afield pheasant hunting followed by fantastic pheasant dishes."

The Iowa Machine Shed will serve pheasant on February 25-27 from 3PM to 10PM and on Sunday, February 28 from 11AM to 9AM. Additionally, if you'd like to know how to make this fantastic dish, Machine Shed Chef Roger Johnson will show Pheasant Fest attendees how he prepares the Machine Shed's special pheasant recipe. The demonstration will be at 2PM on Friday, February 26 in seminar room 5 at the Iowa Events Center.

MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc is the supplier of the pheasant to be served at the Machine Shed. MacFarlane Pheasants, Inc. was also supplier of the pheasant served at the Presidential Inaugural luncheon in 2009. The Machine Shed was started 31 years ago in Iowa by Mike Whalen, founder and CEO.

Attend National Pheasant Fest 2010
The Country's Largest Event for Upland Hunters, Sport Dog Owners and Wildlife Habitat Conservationists,
combining a national outdoor tradeshow, wildlife habitat seminar series, and family event complete with puppies, tractors, shotguns, and art.
Adults - $10 Daily * Ages 6-16 - $5 Daily * Ages 5 and Under - FREE
Weekend Special - $30 (Includes annual Pheasants Forever membership & hat, over $80 value)

08 Feb 2010

Chef Brandon Zawada's Cooking Class

By Amy Hubuer

Thursday's, February 11th - Cooking class - Chef Brandon Zawada will be in the Club Room cooking Grilled Asparagus with Citrus Yogurt, Cilantro and Red Curry Chicken Breast and Yogurt Crème Brulee.

Thad Miller, Wine & Spirits manager, will pair some mouth-watering beverages with Brandon's selections. You don't want to miss out on this delicious menu! Register at the Customer Service counter at the Rock Island Hy-Vee, 2930 18th Avenue or call (309)793-0684 to reserve your seat today.

 

04 Feb 2010

Johnny's Italian Steakhouse Hosts Culinary Class

By Rick Martin

Culinary Class February 10th at 6:30

Johnny's Italian Steakhouse will host a culinary class on February 10th at  6:30pm.  Participants will learn expert tips from top notch chefs and will be given an opportunity to sample Johnny's Signature Bruschetta with whipped goat  cheese.  In addition, a door prize, such as meal certificates, will be drawn at the conclusion of the class.  The cooking class is $10 to the public and includes bruschetta samples and a glass of wine or non-alcoholic beverage.

For more information or to sign up, please call Johnny's Italian Steakhouse at 309.736.0100.

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