This past summer, with the help from Nicole of The Giving Table, bloggers joined together and dedicated their posts to fight for slave-free tomatoes. After posting a Gluten-Free Tomato Tart last July, we were asked to participate in the Food Bloggers Against Hunger event. Of course, we couldn’t wait to participate!
Nearly 1 in 4 children in America lives in households that struggle to put food on the table. Millions of Americans who participate in the nation’s food stamp program are limited to an average of $4 per person, per day to supplement their food budget. As a result, they struggle with hunger at some point during the year. Rates of food insecurity are substantially higher than the national average among households with incomes near or below the federal poverty line, and among households with children headed by a single parent. In Washington D.C., 30.7% of children experience limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods at some point during the year.
For a little homework, we watched A Place at the Table. It’s a documentary that examines hunger in America by focusing on 3 families which struggle to put food on the table for their children. It discusses how U.S. government subsidies favor products that require processing (e.g., soy beans, wheat, and especially corn) over fresh fruits and vegetables that can be consumed with little or no processing. As a result, the most affordable food is often calorically dense, processed food, lacking nutritional value.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s food stamp program, is at risk for severe cuts that would impact millions of families and children who rely on school meals and food stamps to survive. A number of anti-hunger organizations: Share Our Strength, Bread for the World, Feeding America, The Food and Research Action Center– are asking supporters to spread the word.
Our nations policies need to change in order for this problem to be solved. Here are a few ways you can help and participate:
1) Send a letter to Congress asking them to support anti-hunger legislation. The more letters we send, the better. Send this letter, it’ll take less than 30 seconds to fill out.
2) Go see A Place at the Table! Screenings will be held in select cities through mid-June. You can also view it on iTunes and Amazon. Spread the word on what you have learned from the documentary.
3) Volunteer with Share Your Strength‘s Cooking Matters program. The No Kid Hungry campaign educates and empowers low-income families to stretch their food budgets.
The documentary points out that many children and adults do not have access to low-cost, healthy breakfasts, and many go to school or work without eating anything. With that in mind, Sam and I decided to post our favorite breakfast- it’s easy, fast, healthy, and low-cost. Over 200 bloggers are participating in this event, check out what recipes others have posted.
I stopped by a local Safeway to pick up food for our breakfast, and to make sure we were on budget:
Old Tyme English Muffins: $1.29 for 6; $0.22/English Muffin Lucerne Grade A Eggs: $2.49 for a dozen; $0.21/egg Lucerne Extra Sharp Cheddar: $4.39 for 16 oz; $0.27/ounce Green Onions: $1.39 for a bunch (approx. 8); $0.17/onion
Total Cost for one Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich: $0.87
Total Calorie and Fat content per sandwich: Calories: 341* Fat: 17
*We used unsalted butter, but feel free to substitute with cooking spray. We are assuming that everyone has one of these two items in their kitchen.
Cheesy Egg Muffin Sandwich
A Fifth Floor Kitchen blog
Servings: 2
2 English Muffins (preferably whole wheat)
2 eggs
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1 tsp butter or cooking spray
1-2 green onions, chopped
2 oz cheddar cheese, sliced or shredded
The trick with making omelets is to use a smaller pan, so that the omelet has enough depth to allow for folding over. An 8-inch, non-stick pan is perfect for this.
While cooking the eggs, toast 2 English muffins in a toaster.
Crack two eggs into a small bowl, add a pinch of salt and pepper and beat with a fork until well incorporated. Coat the pan with butter or cooking spray, and put it over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, pour in the scrambled egg mixture. Sprinkle green onions on one half of the egg mixture, wait until it begins to firm up. When the omelet is firmed up, and only slightly liquidy on top, add the cheese slices on top of the green onions. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the omelet in half. Turn the stove top off, wait for about a minute to allow the cheese to melt. Then cut the omelet in half, and serve each half on an English Muffin.
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