Pastiche Modern Eatery will donate 5% of your purchase to the Community Food Bank during October 2009. How it works: Customers who dine at Pastiche, order take-out, purchase anything at the Pastiche Wine Shop, or buy gift certificates can choose from among 40 charities to receive 5% of their check (before tax and gratuity). You must let your server know you would like your 5% to benefit the Community Food Bank.

The Pastiche culinary concept is a mélange of cuisine influences, from American to Mediterranean, Asian to Southwestern, and many others in between.

Every year the generous community of Winterhaven hosts a beautiful display of lights during the holiday season. Residents decorate their homes with holiday fare and invite you to visit.  Food bank representatives will be available to accept your donation of cash or non-perishable food items. Visit Winterhaven December 12–28; drive-through nights are December 13, 17 & 28. Learn more at www.winterhavenfestival.org.

The Empty Bowls Luncheon will be hosted by Kino Community Center this fall. For $10.00 guests will receive bread, soup—donated by local restaurants—and a beautifully hand-crafted ceramic bowl donated by the Southern Arizona Clay Artists.

Thursday, November 5, any time between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
Kino Community Center, 2805 East Ajo Way

Learn More…

The home gardening program has adopted a co-op model that welcomes anyone interested in growing food. While the priority of the program is to continue to encourage families with low-incomes to grow their own food so they can provide healthy meals to their families, the home gardening program has expanded to include everyone. This new structure empowers people to help others begin their own gardens.

So far the program has 150 members. Join us if you want to learn how to grow your own food!

Membership
Becoming a member of the home gardening program allows anyone to have access to free seeds, plants, compost and food production education materials. Membership is free for everyone (donations are accepted) and will help us stay in touch with participants, as well as help members get more involved in the program.

Home Gardening Cooperative
Assistance with starting a garden at home is also available  for people whose incomes qualify. Those interested in becoming part of the cooperative must attend the three basic workshops on gardening and support the installation of another person’s garden. This helps home gardeners meet each other and get extra support.

Gardening Promoters
Those who are experienced gardeners or interested in learning to garden will soon be able to conduct their own workshops. Ideally these people will train others and help install community gardens in their neighborhoods.

If you would like more information, please contact a member of the home gardening program team at 520-622-0525 or visit http://communityfoodbank.com/community-food-security-center/home-garden-program/.

The coming holiday season promises to be a difficult one for many southern Arizonans. While the economy is showing signs of recovery, unemployment is still high. It will probably be years before many families are back on their feet financially. However, our immediate concern is the next few months. The strain the holiday season puts on working families, grandparents and even individuals can be too much. The expense added from school breaks, unpaid holiday time, or simply the expense of trying to provide good holidays for the family is overwhelming for many of our clients.

We are gearing up to make sure everyone gets the food they need this holiday season, plus some extra items to help them put together a holiday meal. While the help the Community Food Bank supplies will by no means make for a luxurious holiday, our standard three-day food box does have extra holiday items during November and December. For most of our clients this means the difference between a special holiday meal and nothing at all.

Individuals & Families

The food bank has ordered five-pound hams and small turkey roasters; every supplemental food box (our three-day box) will include one or the other in November and as well as in December. A person or family is not required to qualify for this box; they simply need to provide identification that shows they are a local resident and state that they need the help. All of the hams and turkeys have been secured, but we hope to add additional holiday food items to the boxes as more funds become available.

We anticipate handing out about 15,000 of these boxes per month in Tucson and Pima County this holiday season. An additional 4,700 boxes per month will be provided in our outlying counties (Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz). Clients who receive other types of food boxes or other assistance also can get one of these special holiday food boxes.

Local Charities

About 300 local charitable agencies count on the Community Food Bank to supply food for their clients. These organizations serve a wide variety of people like children in foster care, victims of domestic violence, seniors, veterans and the homeless.

Charitable agencies simply visit the Community Food Bank and choose the items they need from what we have available at our Agency Market. Food from food drives and drop-off points (see page eight for a list) goes to Agency Market for these charities. Additionally, they receive many of our corporate food donations and donations from our local grocery stores and food distributors.

We never know what types of items we are going to receive from our corporate food donors—this is why our individual food donors are so important during the holidays. Generally we can count on the people who donate food to give us holiday items during the season. Almost 850,000 pounds of holiday food and other essentials were distributed through the Agency Market in November and December combined last year.

Local Soup Kitchens
We have 20 soup kitchens that rely on us to provide food for their clients. Through our special program for them we provide about 67,000 meals per month to their clients. Turkeys will be available to these agencies for the holidays, as well as any other items they need through our Agency Market.

Is now available online to download: Click here for the PDF

Antigone Books presents Barbara Kingsolver reading from her new novel The Lacuna on Friday, November 13, 2009 to benefit the Community Food Bank.

The event will be held at the Berger Performing Arts Center on the campus of the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind, 1200 West Speedway and will begin at 7:30 PM.

Tickets are available at Antigone Books, 411 N. 4th Ave.  Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.  Buy a copy of The Lacuna and get one ticket for $15.

100% of the ticket sales will benefit the Community Food Bank and help feed hungry people in Southern Arizona.

Following the reading, Barbara will be available to autograph her new book.

For more information and to purchase tickets for the November 13th Barbara Kingsolver event, contact Antigone Books at (520) 792-3715.

For the 6th consecutive year Tucson area Veterinary Professionals will band together to collect donations for the Community Food Bank from Monday October 12th through Monday October 26th.

Via the Valley Animal Hospital, local veterinary professionals will collect non-perishable food donations and monetary gifts to help feed the hungry in our community.  This is not a pet food drive.

Donations may be dropped off at the following veterinary hospitals:

• Valley Animal Hospital
• Adobe Veterinary Clinic
• VCA
• Southern Arizona Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Center
• Pima Pet Clinic
• Madera Veterinary Hospital
• P.A.W.S.
• Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson

Veterinary professionals in the Tucson area want to bring awareness to the issue of hunger in the community.  By opening their food drive to the general public they hope to increase donations and give individuals a chance to participate directly in efforts to feed the hungry.

For more information, contact Brendan DeSmet (520) 358-2539 or Cell at (520) 358-2539.

Join the “Tucson 2009 Crop Walk” on Sunday, November 8th to benefit Worldwide Anti-Hunger Programs, the Community Food Bank and Casa Maria Hospitality House.

The Crop Walk will kick off at Ramada #5 in Reid Park at 2:00 PM. The Community Food Bank and Casa Maria Hospitality House will share 25% of the net proceeds from this year’s walk.

What is a Crop Walk?  It is neighbors walking together to take a stand against hunger in our world.  Together members of the community raise awareness and funds for international relief and development as well as locally for the Community Food Bank and Casa Maria.  The “Tucson 2009 Crop Walk” is part of a local, national and international effort sponsored by Church World Service to raise money for anti-hunger and sustainable self-help development world-wide.  More than 2,000 communities across the nation will walk to raise money in 2009-2010.

The need is now greater than ever with the present downturn in the economy.  Recent figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the almost 21% of Tucsonans are living below the federal poverty level.

How can you help?  Join the “Tucson 2009 Crop Walk” on November 8th at 2:00 PM at Reid Park. You may sign up through your local church, online at www.churchworldservice.org or call Betty Lu Holland at (520) 579-2895.

Help Worldwide Anti-Hunger Programs, the Community Food Bank and Casa Maria Hospitality House by joining the “Tucson 2009 Crop Walk.”

Families enrolled in the WIC nutrition program for women, infants and children are now able to use their monthly food vouchers to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at certified farmers’ markets.

Since October 1, changes to WIC nutrition program make it possible for families to purchase a wider variety of healthy foods, including whole wheat bread, canned salmon and fresh produce, in addition to traditional foods such as milk and cheese.  The new WIC vouchers for fruits and vegetables can be redeemed at certified farmers’ markets and also in regular grocery stores.

The change in the WIC nutrition program provides families with more choice, making it possible for people to enjoy locally grown produce that’s the freshest and most flavorful, support local farmers, and enjoy family events at markets such as the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market.

The Community Food Bank runs three certified farmers’ markets: the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market (open Thursdays, 3-6 p.m., on the corner of Speedway and Riverview, west of I-10); the Community Food Bank Farmers’ Market (open Tuesdays, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., at 3003 S. Country Club Road) and the Marana Farm Stand (open Mondays, 3-6 p.m. at 12375 N. Heritage Park Drive, off Tangerine Road).

For more information, contact Sara Rickard at (520) 622-0525 x 242.