Grateful for Our Urban Harvest

I've been amazed and grateful for over the last few weeks to witness the huge outpouring of support for neighbors in need following Hurricane Sandy. I have always known New Yorkers to be generous and giving, despite the tough exteriors that we may show. What I've also been reminded of again and again is our flexibility, resilience and persistence. Inspired by Red, Round and Green's call for #SecondHelpings, I wanted to share this story about how small efforts can add up to make a real difference.

On Monday, my daughter's public school held its annual Harvest Day celebration. Originally scheduled for the week Hurricane Sandy hit, it was unclear if the event, themed "Our Urban Harvest," could even be rescheduled. The band couldn't make it, nor could the worm composters from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A few of the outdoor art projects also had to be scrapped because it could only be held inside. Would it even be worth it?

A key component of Harvest Day was a food drive which seemed especially needed in our community this year, so with the backing of the administration, we went ahead with a curtailed day. There were concerns about the hasty re-scheduling. Parents were only given a couple days notice (a backpack flyer on Friday for a Monday event (!)) and there was concern of donor fatigue (this would be week 4 of near-continuous asking for local donations). All those worries were washed away as the food and donations came pouring in that morning in the school yard. There was such a mountain of food, we weren't quite sure how to handle it.

The kids stepped in. Preschoolers and Kindergarteners sorted cans and older children actually put together boxes of balanced meals for the pantry. They were all beaming and filled with pride because it was clear that this urban harvest had a purpose. Their donations were not just being left in a big pile at the schoolyard gate to go some mysterious place; they were being actively organized and sorted to go to a real family's Thanksgiving table.

Parent volunteers drove over 40 meal boxes and many other bags filled with goods to the food pantry. One parent stepped in to rent a truck to bring over the haul, once it was clear that a couple of cars wasn't going to do it!

Parent volunteers.

Once at the pantry, they were welcomed. Another volunteer reported:

We just dropped off the food at the [food pantry] in Sunset Park. The gentleman who received us was so choked up - he said he was so worried because the shelves were bare. They didn't know what they were going to do for Thanksgiving. 

The shelves had only a few boxes of cereal until our delivery showed up.

Some critical differences that made this food drive a success:

1. The school PTA worked closely with a local pantry and asked them what was needed. The pantry was able to refrigerate items and could distribute the ingredients for meals, not just canned or non-perishable goods. 
2. Each class was asked to put together a Thanksgiving meal for a family. Rather than just ask for "anything," specific sign-up sheets were established so parents could donate a main course, fresh or canned fruits and vegetables, fresh bread and pies and all the other makings of a real Thanksgiving feast. This avoided duplication and made the bounty much more diverse. Fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh bread and pies are very rare but welcome commodities at food pantries, if they can store them. 
3. The kids learned about healthy choices and balanced meals and then immediately put that knowledge into action. The food was arrayed into sections across the gym floor, and the children were encouraged to choose items to make balanced meal boxes.

Over 40 main courses (turkeys, chickens and hams) were donated.

As for the kids, I'm sure they probably missed not having a band or not having any take-home arts and crafts goodies. But they will remember being a small part of something bigger, making a difference by being part of the our urban harvest of generosity.

Happy Thanksgiving!

#Second Helpings
Red, Round and Green's Round -Up
The Lunch Tray's Round-up 

Grateful on Thanksgiving

Ahh, Thanksgiving--the most marvelous food and family holiday of the year. Of course, I am excited about the big get-together of friends and family (we usually have 25 or more at the table) and about the wonderful foods, both traditional dishes and new things to try. If you need inspiration, check out one of the many great Thanksgiving round-ups (to name a few, The Food Network, FN Blogger's #PullUpaChair, Food 52, The New York Times and One Hungry Mama). But I also find myself wistful as we approach the holiday season. Rather than wait until New Year's, Thanksgiving may be the perfect time to step back and reflect on what really matters, and how best to hold and cherish those priorities beyond the holiday season.

As I have previously argued, family dinner should not be just a once-a-year Thanksgiving event, but an everyday joy and blessing. If a fraction of the energy for the big T-Day could be somehow banked and re-invested into everyday dinners though the year, that would be a more healthy balance for everyone. Nonetheless, we might as well use the big day to inspire us and help us resolve to carry the spirit throughout the year. You might call it the "plan-ahead" method to new resolutions!

Looking past on this year, I have a lot be grateful for. First and foremost, the good health of my family and close friends, which can never be taken for granted. I am also grateful that I have met so many fantastic and like-minded people who care about good food and family dinner through EatDinner.org and Blog for Family Dinner. I am grateful to be a part of Blog for Family Dinner with my colleagues Billy and Kathleen and for all the bloggers who contributed to the effort and made it "easy" with their contributions of wonderful stories, tips and advice. I am grateful that the message of family dinner is one that keeps resonating and growing with more attention the important of good food and more impatience with the politics get in the way of important efforts to provide healthy school lunch and to establish fair and reasonable farm and food policies. Mark Bittman recently provided a great list of folks fighting the good fight.

So here's my small, grateful round-up in honor of Thanksgiving 2011: Thank you for your involvement and support of EatDinner and Blog for Family Dinner. Thank you for your friendship, enthusiasm and good work on good food and family dinner.

Grateful for:

All the #B4FD Bloggers: List of Featured Bloggers

Co-Founders of the #B4FD Project

Billy Mawhiney, Time at the Table

Kathleen Cuneo, Dinner Together

Supporters and Friends:

Laurie David and The Family Dinner Book

Food Day

Bettin Siegel, The Lunch Tray

Aviva Goldfarb, The Scramble

Stacie Billis, One Hungry Mama

Kia Robertson, Today I Ate A Rainbow

Jennifer Grant, Love You More

Thanksgiving Thoughts to Last Through the Year

The day before Thanksgiving and everyone is deep in the hustle and bustle of preparing for the big traditional meal or hitting the roads to travel far and wide to get to the family table. Special event dinners like Thanksgiving are a wonderful way to be connected to family and friends, but you can have that sense of connectedness throughout the year with regular family dinners. The act of sitting around the table itself may foster more gratitude among family members. According to new research by psychologists, being thankful can have positive influences on the lives of children and adults, mirroring many of the benefits of family dinner.

Just think of banking a fraction of the energy you spend on Thanksgiving to share toward regular family meals. I hope that warm thoughts of Thanksgiving can spur new resolutions to make family dinner a routine part of your life.

On that note, I am honored and grateful that eatdinner.org was mentioned in Jennifer's Grant recent column in The Chicago Tribune. Happy Thanksgiving from eatdinner.org!

The importance of dinner together -- not just at Thanksgiving, but everyday Chicago Tribune, Jennifer Grant, 11.23.10

Thank you. No thank you. Grateful People are Happier, Healthier Long After the Leftovers are Gobbled Up by Melinda Beck, Wall Street Journal Online, 11.23.10

Thoughts on Thanksgiving with Recipe Round-up

Everyone in the food blogger community, and in America probably, is gearing up for Thanksgiving feasts on Thursday. (I listed a recipe round-up from some favorite bloggers below). We are all collectively making elaborate menus, trading secrets to good pastry making techniques and doing extra food shopping, whether we have an eye on the budget or are thinking of splurging. If you are not cooking at home, you might bracing yourself for extensive travel and all those hassles. All the effort and expense usually seems worth it as you reconnect with family and friends and enjoy a meal together on the big day.

Thanksgiving dinner seems to be the "Hallmark" holiday for family dinner and I love the Thanksgiving holiday. Yet, Thanksgiving dinner extravaganzas are not really the "family dinners" I promote on this blog. Family dinner is a normal, day-to-day routine that can be extraordinary, but often is not. Sometimes dinners, especially those on the weekend, can be great fun with special games or favorite foods all around. More often, weeknight dinner is a "get-er-done" type situation where dinner is cooked in 20 minutes and eaten in less becuase there is homework or bedtime to be done. This kind of family dinner is still worth doing, and celebrating, becuase it provides a rock solid foundation for your family. This ordinary kind of family dinner provides a way to check-in with your kids and partner, a time to talk about problems that may arise, and a time to hear the good stuff about everyone's day. It also sends a message that family time is important enough to schedule in everyday, and that you, as my child, are important enough to check in with everyday. Powerful stuff made possible over an everyday dinner table.

Thanksgiving is important not just because of the great food and the family reunions, but because it is a holiday that allows us to step back and be grateful for whatever we have. Continue that feeling throughout the year with regular family dinners.

Best Thanksgiving Recipes and Tips from the Blogs:
Vino Lucci's Thanksgiving Favorites
Dinner: A Love Story's Thanksgiving Roll-out look for several great recipes by clicking related stories
6 Holiday Pumpkin Recipes from Babble's Family Kitchen
Epicurious Complete Thanksgiving Guide with Videos, Recipes, Menus
Centerpieces Without the Turkey and more vegetarian dishes from the NYT Well Blog
The Food Lab's Guide to Thanksgiving Day Planning via Serious Eats
Thanksgiving Sides from Food 52

Got a favorite not listed? Feel free to add in comments. (You can add your own blog too!)

Thanksgiving Tzimmes

The biggest family dinner of them all, Thanksgiving is less than one week away. The menu is so simple I often wonder what the fuss is about. The basics are easy: turkey, stuffing, a few sides, pumpkin pie. I guess, there's the stress of having extra people around the table or the fear of revisiting long-held family tensions. Sometimes, there's overnight guests too, since traveling from distant places is a common necessity. Maybe most people have higher standards than me, or at least more complicated recipes. I think the anxiety is rooted in the fact that many Americans don't cook anymore, yet feel like they have to create elaborate dishes for the signature Thanksgiving meal.

I'm getting old enough to just pine for a little extended family togetherness. Thanksgiving was the holiday that brought us all together. But this year, it's hard for many of us to travel, due to health issues or the high cost of air travel. So I'm sending my brother-in-law my tzimmes recipe via email, and we'll plan to do a video-chat with Great Grandpa and Grandma and whoever else is online. Somehow, it's not the same.

On the bright side, we will connect to our extended network of friends in lieu of family on Thanksgiving. Much good wine and food are sure to be consumed. Our relatives may also get a chance to invite a few close friends or neighbors over to share dinner, since the table won't be groaning with the 25+ of us that can take part in family gatherings. And Thanksgiving is the only day of the year that my mother can get my father to her church, where the majority of the congregation comes together for a community pot-luck. "It's a good thing," as she would say.

So if you are lucky enough to be with family this year, relax about the menu and count your blessings. If you are apart from them, connect in the best way you can and aspire to do better next year.

Carrot Tzimmes
Tzimmes means "with a lot of fuss" but this recipe is actually very easy. Organic carrots are optional of course, but worth the "fuss." You can also use sweet potatoes or a mixture.

1-2 lbs of sliced organic carrots (depending on how many people you are serving)
approx. 2 Tbs of each Butter and Olive Oil
1/2-1 cup Orange Juice, enough to fill pan by 1/3.
2 Tbsps. Honey or brown sugar
1/2 cup Raisins or currants, more or less to taste
1 tsp Cinnamon, more or less to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Parboil carrots. Melt butter in microwave, add equal amount of olive oil. Then mix in orange juice, honey, and cinnamon. Drain carrots and arrange in 9X12 baking dish. Pour in orange juice mixture, adding more liquid if needed. Toss in raisins and cover with foil. Whenever the oven is free, place pan in oven for about 30 minutes or until hot. If you like the carrots to be more golden brown, remove foil and heat for another 15 minutes or more, until desired color.

(Oven Temperature can vary, though 350 degrees is ideal. If oven is hotter than 350, decrease time and check more regularly so that it does not burn.)

Happy Thanksgiving 2007

Odds are, you are eating dinner with your family together tonight. Gathering together with your family and friends on Thanksgiving, be it a small get-together or a large extended brood, is a time-honored American tradition that is often wrapped in warm expectations. Yet, our expectations can produce widely varied actual results. The food might be terrible. The wine may fuel warm feelings or heated arguments. The whole event might feel wonderful, merely awkward, or downright oppressive at different times and with different people during the day. Yet, we still come together year after year as family for this most-celebrated holiday.

There is a reason for that. Taking the good with the bad and just sharing a meal together is an important element in family cohesiveness. It is, in fact, what it means to be connected and to be a family. It is (mostly) worth the time, effort, and hassle to do it again and again every year.

But what happens after Thanksgiving? What about next week? When do you next sit down with your family for dinner? The good news is there's a lot more bang for your buck in sitting together every night for regular family meals, than just having once in a while blow-outs. There are all the same good reasons as there are for getting together at major holidays and then some. While it may be harder to switch into a regular mealtime routine, the benefits are immediate and pretty astounding. It's important to gather around the table, for both you and your kids, everyday. It is (mostly) worth the time, effort, and hassle to do it again and again every day of the year.

In this blog, I will promote families eating dinner together. I will post practical ideas on making family dinner a reality as well as information and resources about why it’s important. I also hope to explore interesting topics on the intersection of family, food, politics, and science, while inviting comments and constructive discussion.

Set it as a Goal!
Create Enjoyable Family Time Together, Every Day around the Table.