Ask Moxie took up frugal living today, and there are lots of spectacular ideas in the comments that you should check out. She also broached a topic important to me, and closer to my heart on this day (Yom Kippur) than almost any other day of the year: hunger.

More people are going to be eating from food banks. Lots of times what they end up with are food that are not high in nutrition (boxed mac ‘n’ cheese, anyone?), and a consistent diet of that kind of stuff is going to depress mood and cause depression, sluggishness, and weight gain. Which is exactly what people struggling to hold things together financially do NOT need.

I’m wondering if we could think of some nutritionally-good, tasty, not-too-complicated recipes that could be made out of ingredients that can be kept at a food bank. That means nothing frozen, and no fresh meat or dairy (right? It’s been years since I was actually at a food bank and saw the facilities.) We’re talking mostly boxed and canned, with some fresh produce that has a longer shelf life.

If you’re willing to put your recipe-developer hats on and take up the challenge, I’m hoping we can be ready to post next Friday. Then we can figure out how to make these recipes useful. (printing out the recipe and donating the set of ingredients together? making some sort of mini-cookbook for food banks to distribute? something totally obvious I’m not thinking of?)

I used to work for our state’s largest independent food bank. I know a little too much about food insecurity and how it touches so many lives. So I responded to the post and to Moxie privately, as well, offering what knowledge I have.

My comment #1, in part:

I used to work at one of our state’s largest food banks with more than 30 pantries in the bank’s network. One of my former colleagues had a lot of healthy recipes using common donation items, like ramen noodles. Anything that encourages healthy donations is such a plus, but we also loved it when we would receive cake mixes and things like that. Even families facing hard times like to celebrate birthdays, you know?

IME, the recipes are out there, but small pantries in churches and the like wouldn’t have the budget to print a cookbook for all of their clients. One thing pantries really need? Volunteers. This is especially timely, because I always volunteer around Yom Kippur. Most pantry volunteers are seniors and they have a lot of trouble packing and lifting the heavy bags and boxes.

And after a few questions were asked, #2:

Food *pantries* distribute food in a community, while food *banks* distribute food to pantries. So… while a case of tomatoes might overwhelm a pantry, a bank would make good use of them. And a $ donation to a pantry might go to buy food, it won’t go as far as the $ to a bank because they have the real buying power.

That being said, don’t neglect your pantry! If you have the time, find the one in your neighborhood and ask them what their needs are, they’ll definitely tell you. The food bank will answer that question if you call, too. One nationwide food bank is America’s Second Harvest and they do peanut butter and jelly drives at schools. Maybe start one at your school, even if you don’t live in a A2H city?

I wanted to share this all here, because I think it’s important, and say a little more.

First, if your situation dictates, don’t be wary about asking for help. You might think that only unhealthy food comes from a pantry, and it’s true that is often what is donated, but any food bank (and their pantries) that get any federal funding *must* follow the food pyramid and you will get peanut butter, beans, and other proteins, as well as pasta or another grain and likely some fruit. If your family qualifies, utilize your community resources. Get WIC or food stamps and use your dollars (and your coupons!) for all the other stuff.

There is absolutely no stigma to asking for help to feed your family. If you visit at a food pantry, you’ll see, these aren’t homeless single men or some faceless other being served. It’s families like ours that couldn’t make ends meet this month. Consider volunteering if you have the time. It’s very rewarding work and children can help!