Fight Hunger in Philadelphia

It’s difficult for most of us to imagine being hungry. But, hunger is a very large issue in Philadelphia. Almost daily at Temple University I have been asked by a homeless person if I can spare any change. In Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District more than 31% of households don’t have enough money to buy food for their family. This district ranks as the fourth highest in the nation for food hardship.

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger is an organization that works to fight hunger. There are over 700 soup kitchens and food pantries in Philadelphia and the Coalition helps to supply these kitchens with food throughout the year. This organization works in three different ways to provide education, outreach and advocacy throughout Philadelphia region. They collect donations to supply food kitchens and they help to keep these pantries open in the winter when people need a hot meal the most. They also evaluate individuals to see if they qualify for food stamps. Through their assistance, over 440,000 Philadelphia residents use food stamps.  The Coalition relies heavily on donations and on Saturday, April 9^th they are holding a 5K Walk + Run to raise money for food and kitchen equipment.

During this recession, it has become more difficult for working parents to provide food for their family. That’s where Philabundance comes in. They provide food not only to pantries in Philadelphia, but in the Delaware Valley as well. In addition, they help families and individuals who don’t qualify for Food Stamps. Philabundance works with grocery stores to collect items that would otherwise be thrown away. Last year, through their partnership they collected 1.2 million pounds of food through this program.

I am very involved with the Temple Ad Club and we are holding a food drive during the month of April to benefit Philabundance. We will be collecting canned food during our general meetings. I encourage you to donate to these organizations and if you are a Temple student you can donate to our food drive by emailing tac@temple.edu.  

Salad. What is that? The green stuff?

Ok, so your Mom always told you to eat your vegetables. But, fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive and to make a salad you need so many ingredients - and that adds up. I've found the solution. Salad Mixes.

This week finally felt like spring and I wanted a lighter meal. A salad mix is the perfect option for college students because it has everything you need in one bag and it is cheap! My roommate and I bought one bag for $3 and split it.

What you'll need.
One bag of your preferred salad mix.
(I bought the Asian mix, but they also had Ceasar, Southwest, and Garden mixes)
One chicken breast.
I also found a can of mandarin oranges in my cupboard, so I used that too.

How to cook
Grill the chicken and cut it up. (That was the only effort I put into this meal.)
Then rinse the salad mix and serve.

Mom will be so proud.

Roast Beef Sammie

Look what my roommate's mom gave us. They are like an everything bagel only on a roll. They look sooo good and we had to make sure we made something that fit the rolls. 

Roast beef was on sale this week. So we bought that along with a gravy mix. 

What you'll need: 

Roast beef

Gravy mix

Rolls 

Provolone or Mozzarella cheese

How to cook: 

Follow the directions for the gravy mix (all I had to do was add water and simmer). Then once that is heated add your roast beef to the saucepan. The gravy is ready you are just waiting for the roast beef to heat up. 

That's it. 

Add cheese or onions if you want. 

Total cooking time for a crazy easy meal. About 10min. 

Easy Easy Buffalo Chicken Sammie

Ok, this semester, like a lot of my semesters, I've had a night class. And one of the worst parts of it is that it's too early to eat before and it's too late to make something after because it takes too long. So, your stomach growls the whole time you're in class and so you usually end up picking up take-out on the way back to your apartment. I think I've found the solution. Earlier that day take a chicken breast out of the freezer. (Tip: I keep mine individually wrapped so I don't have to defrost a whole package if my roommates aren't hungry) By the time you come back from class the chicken will be defrosted.

What you'll need:
1 Chicken Breast
Hot Sauce
1 Bun

Variations:
Mozzarella cheese
Lettuce

How to cook:
I luckily have a George Forman Grill (the cheap ones are around $20-40). So put your chicken on the grill, if you want you can add a little of your favorite seasoning, then close the lid and wait about 7-8 minutes or until it's no longer pink inside.
After, cut it into strips and lay it on your bun. Smother it with hot sauce.

It's done!

It's super easy and it only takes about 12 minutes! Now you have no excuse to stop at the chinese place on your way home.