Yo Chef! - Project Bread

N E W S
Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Holiday Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A Taste of Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
2010 Grant Ceremony . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Helping Out during the Holidays . . . . . 6
Yo Chef!
ooking more like a football coach
than a chef, Kirk Conrad circulates in the cafeteria cajoling, joking, and high-fiving students
while motivating them to accept
new and healthier food choices
like his homemade soup. Says
Conrad: “I just say, ‘Hey guys, just
give it try,’ and they do. After that,
it’s like, ‘Yo Chef! What’s up?
Where’s that soup?’”
“It’s said you’re only as good as
your last meal and that has even
more significance when working
with young people.”
— Chef Kirk
Photo © Joshua Touster
After completing an M.A. in
teaching, Kirk Conrad decided
the high school classroom wasn’t
for him after all. He became a
chef — never imagining his new
career would one day take him
right back to school. But after
working at Boston’s stylish Top
of the Hub, his ongoing concern
for young people and the news of
a new nutrition program in the
Boston Public Schools, funded
by Project Bread, brought him
into the Boston school system.
It’s a job fueled by a lifelong passion for food and for kids.
“I want to make sure that kids,
who may not have any other
food in their day except what
we’re providing in school, have
the absolute best we can give
them.”
For Holiday Cards, Call 617-723-5000
www.projectbread.org
Project Bread – The Walk for Hunger l 145 Border Street, East Boston, MA 02128 -1903
Tel 617-723-5000 l Fax 617-248-8877 l www.projectbread.org
“Chef Kirk,” as the students call him,
knows both anecdotally and from
studies that many of the youngsters
he feeds go home to empty refrigerators, and he says it breaks his heart.
The meals and snacks served in the
schools are sometimes the only calories they have in the day.
Chef Kirk thrives in his challenging,
fast-paced career. “It’s said you’re
only as good as your last meal and
that has even more significance when
working with young people.” He explains that
high school students who have already formed
their own tastes are the hardest to convince to try
new things. But this resourceful chef is doing
everything he can to work around their resistance. “They won’t give up pizza, so we switched
to a whole-grain crust, low-fat cheese with grilled
vegetables on top.” A little subversive, he admits,
but it works. Not all his ideas are as successful.
He laughs as he recounts his attempt to sell
homemade hummus to high school students.
“They just weren’t going to have anything to do
with chick peas!”
Through his tenure with Project Bread, Chef
Kirk Conrad has worked to change the food culture and eating habits of elementary, middle, and
high school students in the City of Boston.
As Project Bread’s Chef-in-Residence, he spearheaded the Chefs in Schools Initiative. This
began four years ago in Boston schools and its
purpose was to see what it took to make a
healthy change in the way kids eat at school.
This is particularly
important for lowincome children who
rely on school food.
Chef Kirk began in
three schools, then
expanded to eight, and
Photo Courtesy of the Boston Herald
Yo Chef ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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Photo © Joshua Touster
In this newsletter
Fa l l 2 0 1 0
feeding people, nourishing hope
continued on page 2
Chef Kirk also teaches
his girls how to pack a
healthy lunch.
Printed on Recycled Paper
with Soy-Based Inks
Yo Chef!
continued from page 1
7NEWS and the Rockettes partner
to benefit Project Bread at a special
performance of the Radio City
Christmas Spectacular! Kick up your
heels and join the holiday spirit on
Friday, December 10, at the Wang
Center in Boston! A portion of the proceeds from that evening’s show goes
directly to Project Bread’s mission to feed hungry families in Massachusetts.
For tickets and more information, visit www.projectbread.org/7NEWS.
His job now is to help train kitchen staffs to create kid-tested
healthy food, including homemade soup, fresh spaghetti sauce
with multi-grain pasta, and fresh roasted turkey roll-ups. As a
father of two young children himself, Chef Kirk is driven by a
desire, which is both professional and personal, to show children
what good food tastes like, to reduce the incidence of obesity, and
to change their lifelong eating habits.
At home with his wife and young children, Conrad is still busy
in the kitchen. “Kids don’t want gourmet food, and my kids keep
me very real about what boundaries I can push in the schools.”
As Project Bread’s Chef-in-Residence,
Kirk Conrad is now sharing his expertise
with other school districts and parents
throughout the state. Here are his
thoughts for packing a healthy lunch . . . .
Q: How would you advise parents to
improve the quality of a packed lunch?
Rodney Strong on Giving
Photo Courtesy of the Boston Herald
Building a
Better Lunchbox
Happenings!
Rockettes!
now he works in East Boston, Lawrence, and Salem to bring the
knowledge he’s gained over the past four years to others.
This holiday season, Project Bread is partnering with Rodney Strong Wine Estates
and Kappy’s Wine and Spirits to do some
good for hungry people. For every bottle of
wine sold during November and December
at Kappy’s, Rodney Strong will donate $1 to
Project Bread, anticipating that this will provide 15,000 meals during the
holiday season. Kappy’s is also offering an incentive: for every case of
Rodney Strong wine you buy, $24 will be donated to Project Bread.
NEW SNAP Application!
Chef Kirk's girls
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program SNAP/food stamps has a new shorter
application designed for people who’ve exhausted their unemployment benefits. If your family
has little or no income, you can still get help
putting food on the table. Call today for confidential counseling
through Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline at 1-800-645-8333.
A: Educate your child that it matters what he or she has for lunch.
Your caring will make a difference! Show your child what the healthy
options are and gain buy-in. The other lessons my girls have taught
me are that it’s important to urge them to try new things and to compromise when necessary.
Q: What are good sandwich ideas other than peanut butter?
A: Start with whole wheat or whole grain bread. It has increased fiber,
increased calcium, and other nutrients. Younger kids tend to want the
kind that’s soft and squishy. Then, talk about the ingredients with your
child. It is critical that you build a better lunch box together. If your kid
doesn’t like what you put in it, it will not be eaten! Go with the lowfat, low-sodium deli meats and lighter fat cheeses. Look for nitratefree items as well. When you have left-over oven roasted chicken or
turkey at home, use that. Here’s another tip: pack the lettuce and
tomato separately so that they don’t make the sandwich soggy. And
put a cold pack under the milk to keep it cold.
Monster Jam
On October 25, hip-hop and rap artists played
for a sold-out crowd at JAM’N 94.5’s Monster
Jam at the TD Banknorth Garden, raising
$15,000 for hungry children. Over the years,
JAM’N 94.5 has donated nearly $300,000 to
Project Bread.
Project Bread Strikes Out Hunger!
Q: What is a good way to get my child to eat fruit?
A: This is a good example of the give-and-take I think parents need to
enter into with their children: ask your child what kind of fruit they
like. My suggestion is to cut or section fruit into segments. This is
especially important for little kids who like the pre-peeled, pre-cut
fruit that’s easy to eat. Again, work in the concept of variety and offer
fruit as the dessert for the meal. If you cut up apples, please sprinkle
with a little lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.
Staff Photo
As this newsletter goes to press, Project Bread is
holding its second annual bowl-a-thon on
November 15th at Jillian’s/Lucky Strike on
Landsdowne Street. Teams need to raise a minimum of $600 per lane among all team members. Prizes are being awarded at the end of the
evening — and a great time will be had by
all thanks to corporate sponsor, iBasis, one of
the largest carriers of international voice traffic. For more info, go to
www.projectbread.org/strikeouthunger.
Q: My child is in kindergarten, what kind of vegetables should I
start her off with?
A: I don’t think it’s ever too early to be introducing a wide spectrum
of vegetables. Start with the classics, corn and carrots and the whole
salad spectrum: celery, cucumbers, tomatoes. Then introduce new
things.
Website Launch!
Project Bread launches a new, dynamic website in
December, with audio and video features designed to bring
you closer to the work we do throughout the state. Check
out our latest Status Report on Hunger in Massachusetts at
www.projectbread.org/statusreport.
Q: So making your child a partner in this process is a large part
of your message?
A: Yes. You have to work with your child. Help your child gain
ownership over their healthy lunch. My girls help me pick out
and pack their foods. Believe me, we don’t manage to do this
every day, but we try to.
For the latest , go to www.projectbread.org.
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ProjectfBread Holiday Cards
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New!
Wishing you
moments filled
with peace and
contentment.
Artful Tree
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By sending beautiful Project Bread holiday cards this holiday
season, you will be helping hungry children and families in
Massachusetts. Each of our beautiful new 5 x 7” holiday cards
were designed by local artists and come packaged in packs of
ten. Cards are printed in Massachusetts on high-quality recycled paper using soy-based inks and are a pleasure to give and
receive. Samples of the cards are available upon request.
Peace
New!
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BACK OF CARDS f
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Project Bread’s mission is to alleviate,
prevent, and ultimately end hunger
in Massachusetts. Proceeds from
Project Bread holiday cards help feed
hungry children and families in our
neighborhoods and hometowns.
New!
Make a joyful noise this holiday
season!
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Celebrate the season with
all you hold dear.
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Quiet Harbor
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Boston Lights
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May your holidays be filled with
quiet moments of delight.
New!
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New!
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On the Web
Send holiday cheer and help feed hungry people by
purchasing still and animated e-cards on our website
at www.projectbread.org/holidaycards.
Want more options?
For more holiday card designs, or to make a donation in someone’s
name, please visit www.projectbread.org/holidaycards.
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Holiday Card Order Form
f Happy Snowman
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
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Set Total
# of Sets Cost per
Card Style
with tax
Peace
Name
$15.00
Quiet Harbor
15.00
Address
Artful Tree
15.00
City, State, Zip
Boston Lights
15.00
E-mail
Happy Snowman
15.00
Phone
Shipping & Handling
$5.00
MasterCard/Visa
Amex/Discover
Additional tax-deductible donation, THANK YOU!
Exp.
Total Enclosed
(circle one)
Please make checks payable to:
10 CARDS PER SET
Project Bread -The Walk for Hunger
145 Border Street, East Boston, MA 02128-1903
Fax: 617-248-8877 l Phone Orders: 617-723-5000
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Don’t Delay—Call or Fax Today! Or Order Online at
www.projectbread.org/holidaycards.
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To receive holiday cards by December 24, order by December 17.
“We feel we are a family – we
think of it as a community supper
not a soup kitchen.”
A Taste of Home
— Jane Lifton, volunteer
I
t’s hard to tell what the guests at the Open Table’s
community supper appreciate more — the delicious
food or the warm, welcoming atmosphere. The
Joannie Hilton
volunteers that run the community supper and food
pantry serve fresh, healthy food in a supportive environment every Thursday
at the First Parish Church in Concord.
Harriet Kaufman, in purple, helps
guests with fuel and housing.
Even with all the support, the economic downturn has had a huge impact on
Open Table and its guests. “People have lost their jobs,” said Peter Hilton, who
volunteers with his wife, Joannie Hilton, each Thursday evening, “unemployment has run out, families have gotten in trouble. We have a couple people who
were hurt on the job. This year, for the first time, we’ve had four situations
where guests of ours became homeless.”
Peter Hilton, the president of Open Table, says “the basic
underlying philosophy of our program is that anyone can
attend the dinner. It started that way and we’ve kept it that
way. We want to give our guests a taste of home.”
During a recent visit, the dinner menu included green pepper crudités with olive cream cheese; spinach and orange
salad with celery seed dressing; pork loin or chicken with rice
and green beans, and baked apples with vanilla ice cream.
“We try to create a place
where our guests are treated
like whole people.”
“The food here is really high quality — and they treat you with dignity, as a
real guest; there is always an appetizer, a salad, an entrée, and even dessert,”
says Amanda. She works full-time at a coffee shop while her husband, who is
a diabetic with high medical bills, stays home to care for their two children.
“There is a lot of need here,” continued Amanda. “This program is very helpful
to our family, and the food pantry is very, very, very helpful.”
Susan Evans
Guests pack grocery bags of needed food for the week ahead.
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All four of those guests have been placed in homes, thanks in part to Harriet
Kaufman, who volunteers as a guest support person. She listens and makes
referrals on behalf of guests. They can also get social service assistance directly.
At a recent dinner, representatives from Metrowest Human Services, the
Council on Aging, and the Concord-Carlisle Community Services answered
one-on-one questions about housing, legal services, fuel support, and flu shots.
Staff Photo
Lisa Richards, who began eating and volunteering at the dinner 20 years ago, is
the guest liaison at Open Table. She says she has noticed an increase in multigenerational families who come to the dinner. “A lot more adults have lost their
jobs and are moving in with their parents. They have never gotten help before
and it’s hard for them.”
The success of Open Table is due to support from over 250
volunteers and many community organizations. Crosby’s
Marketplace has been giving the pantry day-old bread and
other items for over 20 years. The Fenn School and the
Willard School host food drives and students from area
schools set up, clean up, and help guests bring grocery bags
to their cars. Drumlin Farm, Gaining Ground, Inc., and
other local farms donate produce so that guests can eat and
take home fresh food. And Project Bread provides a grant
from The Walk for Hunger.
The delicious food and their “no-questions-asked” policy has
drawn people from as far away as Salem and Cambridge, says Susan Evans,
who runs the Open Table’s sister organization in Maynard on Monday
evenings. “The word has gotten out that we’ve got good things; other pantries
just have canned food. People need our help more than ever.”
she says. Both dinner programs are running at capacity.
For Salma, who moved here from
Uganda last summer, the community
supper has also been a place to meet
people. “We didn’t have friends,” she
says, “so coming here meant a lot to
us.” The groceries given out at the
pantry help her feed her four sons.
Susan Evans, who also volunteers at Concord on Thursdays, says that there
used to be leftovers from the suppers for guests to take home with them, but
extra food is rare now. “Every week we’ve been seeing a big increase. This week
we saw five new families.”
Three of those new faces are young Sophie, her brother, and her mom Michelle,
who just became a single mother with very limited support. Her refrigerator
stopped working weeks ago and the oven just broke. “We lived with a cooler
and ice for two weeks,” says Michelle about how she coped before
a friend brought her to Open Table. “I am determined to get the
oven working by Thanksgiving.”
Project Bread's
FoodSource Hotline1-800-645-8333
Peter is hopeful that Michelle and her children will be able to
enjoy a turkey at home but, if not, there will be a full
Thanksgiving dinner ready for them at the Open Table.
Open Table, which began in
1989, provides more than food
to its 150 guests in Concord
and 100 guests in Maynard —
they give high-quality backpacks and school supplies to
children before they start
school, hand out plants in the
spring, provide wrapped
Christmas gifts for kids, and
host festive holiday meals.
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Special awards were presented to Autopart International, the number one team for
online fundraising who raised more than $36,000 for the Walk; State Street
Corporation and Foundation, a special corporate partner which has contributed over
$1 million to Project Bread in the past ten years; Monica Matthews, a top Heart & Sole
fundraiser who has raised a total of $41,521 since her first Walk in 1988; and Kelly
Erwin, founder for Massachusetts Farm to School Project, an important partner in
Project Bread’s work to feed low-income children fresh produce. See pictures and learn
more at www.projectbread.org/grantceremony.
O'Neil Gray, program director at the Lynn
Shelter Association, holds up his grant
check at the 2010 Grant Ceremony.
Heart & Sole Walker Monica Matthews
with Matt Lorch of 7NEWS
Photo © Michael Fein
part of its annual Appreciation and Grant Award Ceremony at the Colonnade Hotel
Boston. These were the funds raised by the successful Walk for Hunger in May. Hosted
by 7NEWS anchor Matt Lorch, this event honored those who work on the frontline as
well as those who walk and donate. Ellen Parker, the executive director of Project Bread,
spoke of the effort it took to raise money in a down economy: “Approximately 100,000
people are behind the money raised through the Walk for Hunger,” Parker said. “We applaud
the corporate and individual sponsors, the 50,000 donors, the 2,000 volunteers, and the
42,000 walkers all of whom did more this year to help these Massachusetts programs.”
Sheila Peterson of State Street
Foundation with Matt Lorch of 7NEWS
Non-profit
Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Boston, MA
Permit No. 53374
145 Border Street, East Boston, MA 02128-1903
Te l 617 723 5000 l info@projectbread.org
Helping out during the holidays f
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7NEWS Holiday Recipe Campaign
Whole Foods Helps
Want to know what your favorite 7NEWS
celebrities cook for their own holiday
gatherings?
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During December, shoppers at participating
Whole Foods Markets across the state can support Project Bread
through the “Give Bread” program. Just add donation coupons in
the amount of $2 and $5 to your grocery bill and you’ll help feed
the hungry. Check out our display of holiday cards as well!
7NEWS kicks off its Holiday Recipe
Campaign in time for Thanksgiving.
Donate at www.projectbread.org/7NEWS
and you’ll receive the favorite recipes of
7NEWS anchors, reporters, meteorologists, and sports personalities as a special
thank you!
Good food
for a good
cause!
Frances Rivera of 7NEWS cooking at home
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Holiday Spoons Project
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Get your school, family, youth or religious
group involved in our annual Holiday Spoons
Project. Your group can decorate wooden
spoons, enter a contest, and learn about
hunger and how your efforts help those in need.
Jordan’s Furniture will match every dollar you raise
up to $10,000 — doubling your efforts to help hungry
children and families in Massachusetts. For more
information, visit www.projectbread.org/spoons.
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During this season of giving,
making a donation in honor of
a friend, family member, colleague, or client is a thoughtful
and easy way to show you care.
Your gift will help feed hungry
children and families across
Massachusetts, and we'll send a
personalized greeting on your
behalf to let your friend know
about your gift. Visit www.
projectbread.org/tributes to
choose a card design, send date,
and write your custom message.
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Project
Bread
Tribute
Gifts
Photo © Joshua Touster
Photo © Michael Fein
Funds from The Walk for Hunger are
Distributed at the Annual Grant and
Award Appreciation Ceremony
Photo © Michael Fein
In September, Project Bread distributed grants to 400 emergency
2010 Grant Ceremony food
programs in 130 communities throughout the state as
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