Food News: A birthday, a time to march, a time to sow

Happy birthday Maya Angelou! Did you know that in addition to her books of poetry, fiction and autobiography she has also written cookbooks? I have 2 in my collection: “Great Food All Day Long” and “Hallelujah! The Welcome Table.”

Ms. Angelou, like great cooks everywhere, has been cooking all her life and has always loved to “feed other people.” The “Hallelujah!” book is full of wonderful recipes accompanied by delightful stories. “Great Food” is based on her ideas for weight control that can be summed up as “cook splendidly, eat smart.” Delightful!

On April 4, fast food workers from across New York City are marking the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by standing up for what’s right and going on strike to demand better wages and the right to form a union without intimidation. Click here to sign the petition from Fast Food Forward, and here to visit their Facebook page.

Food workers and the food movement are uniting. On April 3, Real Food. Real Jobs picketed together with Baltimore-Washington International Airport concessions workers, community and faith leaders, and a number of union members from Unite Here Local 23, including American University workers who recently won a new contract! It was a great display of solidarity in Baltimore.

The Farmer Veteran Coalition wants everyone to know about the tremendous support for beginning farmers in the state of Massachusetts through the Matching Enterprise Grants for Agriculture Program (MEGA) that seeks to assist new and beginning farm businesses with start up or expansion costs. And there is a “Troops to Tractors” program providing vets with opportunities for farm jobs and internships near Greensburg PA: one year of working on an agricultural training program like this can help qualify a new farmer for a micro-loan from the USDA.

Who says kids won’t eat their veggies? The Center for Science in the Public Interest is a great source of information for anyone who cooks, eats, and wants their children and themselves to be healthy. Recently on their Facebook page they posted some hopeful news: A recent report from USDA found that when children are given healthy fruits and vegetables as snacks in school they’re willing to try and eat them!

Did you know that every minute, we lose one acre of farmland to development? Or that since 1982, we’ve lost over 23 million acres of farmland? That’s an area the size of Indiana! In the month of April, Farm Aid is looking at farmland in America, why the skyrocketing cost and the terrible loss of this precious resource.

Photo: Children eat up to half their daily calories at school. CSPI.