Pilot program helping at-risk people with food and care - KSTP

By Clover 08 Aug, 2020 Post a Comment

Pilot program helping at-risk people with food and care - KSTP

Pilot program helping at-risk people with food and care - KSTP
From Peanut Butter to Applesauce, Washington State Stockpiles Tons of Food for the Need Ahead - Centralia Chronicle
Birmingham church hosts 22nd Lebanese Food Festival, with COVID precautions - AL.com
Former Google employees step up for Second Harvest Food Bank - The Mercury News
Junk Food For The Mind: The Dangers of Media Overdose - Psychology Today

Posted: 08 Aug 2020 03:50 PM PDT

Called "Food as Medicine," this program has weekly deliveries to those with chronic health conditions. Many of the recipients are older than 50 years old and live alone, though those are not requirements to be part of the program.

North Market, a program of Pillsbury Untied Communities, is helping with the groceries.

Launched by North Memorial Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, it's currently helping at-risk people who get care at North Memorial – Camden. The delivery drivers are community paramedics and also check on the well-being of those in need.

"We all love to feel like we're doing something to help people manage those chronic diseases," said John Riley, one of the leading community paramedics in the program. "[Also] help them maintain a healthy lifestyle," he added.

On top of checking vitals, paramedics also make sure they have and are taking the proper medication.

But beyond the physical care, and fresh food, Riley says a big part of the visit is just being there to say 'hello' and talk about how they're coping through these odd days.

"It's nice to go somewhere and really feel like what you're doing is appreciated," Riley says. "And, it always is."

The storm took hold in mid-April, Sandison said during a tour of the warehouse on Friday. That's when the state's three main food bank distributors -- Food Lifeline, Northwest Harvest and Second Harvest -- told the WSDA that based on the spike in requests for food assistance, the organizations had roughly a two-week supply of food for hunger relief.

"We went into panic mode," Sandison said. "That's not an exaggeration. ... So we jumped in with both feet and started active procurement on our end."

But as the WSDA was trying to buy as much nonperishable food as it could to increase the state's emergency reserves, so was everyone else.

Not only was the WSDA competing with other states and large national food-assistance programs, it also faced competition from grocery stores as national supplies of products such as pasta and peanut butter were becoming increasingly hard to come by.

"Peanut butter was a very highly wanted and needed commodity," said Gary Newte, sourcing and product director for Northwest Harvest. "Peanut butter prices have probably tripled in the last three to four months."

These high costs are having significant effects on the big food bank distributors' bottom lines.

"Over a seven-month span during this crisis, we'll spend more on purchasing food than we have for the previous four years combined," said Thomas Reynolds, CEO of Northwest Harvest.

And six months into the pandemic and economic crisis, those costs haven't gone down, Newte said. Many food distributors are still waiting on food they ordered months ago, he said.

"I bought a couple loads of product yesterday that will arrive in October," Newte added. Most bulk food orders, he said, could take anywhere from six to 12 weeks to arrive.

That's where the state's new emergency food reserve comes in.

Since July 1, the WSDA has purchased between 1,200 to 1,300 pallets of food. The space owned and operated by the firm Golden Services can hold up to 2,000 pallets of nonperishable food.

So far, $6.1 million has been spent on 4,000-pallets of food, Rains said. Only about a quarter of the orders have arrived.

Since the crisis, WSDA has received $76.2 million in state and federal emergency funding and has a request for another $13.8 million pending.

But even if the additional funding comes in, Rains said, "this will still only support WSDA's COVID-emergency-food response through the end of the calendar year 2020."

With the food reserve in place, rather than having to wait up to three months for a new shipment of pasta to come in, Sandison said the warehouse will be able to supply distributors like Northwest Harvest with the product they need in 24 to 48 hours.

The new food reserve is a cushion against whatever supply chain upheavals or demand spikes lie ahead, Reynolds said.

Reynolds and others worry about an increase in demand with the expiration of enhanced federal unemployment benefits at the end of July. Some food banks are already reporting an increase in visitors, Rains said.

"The need is so high across the state," Newte said, "that even as we have ebbs and flows, there's already a need for everything that's in [that warehouse]."

___

Visit The Seattle Times at www.seattletimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Birmingham church hosts 22nd Lebanese Food Festival, with COVID precautions - AL.com

Posted: 08 Aug 2020 02:06 PM PDT

The St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church's 22nd annual Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival on its church near the UAB campus in Birmingham this weekend, with some major changes to reduce the chances of spreading COVID-19.

The festival this year offered only drive-through and take-out food only, with marked drive-through lanes in the parking lot and a temporary parking area for to-go orders. Volunteers working the festival wore masks as they directed traffic and took orders, and taped markers on the ground to show six feet of distance for people waiting in line.

Until 7 p.m. Saturday, fans of one of Birmingham's long-running food events can order from a limited menu that includes kibbe, rice, meat and spinach pies, green beans and rice. Organizers offered dessert sampler plates, but those were sold out by 1 p.m. Saturday. The church is also holding a silent auction on Facebook, that also ends at 7 p.m.

The church said it would donate some of the proceeds from this year's festival to the victims of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon this week that killed at least 158 people and wounded thousands.

The festival normally includes music, dancing, tours of the church and other events that were not offered this year due to the coronavirus. The festival also normally takes place in April, but was delayed this year because of the virus.

The video below is from the 2018 festival.

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Former Google employees step up for Second Harvest Food Bank - The Mercury News

Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:00 AM PDT

Back in April, when some of us were thinking there's no way this lasts until August, a group of former Google employees banded together to raise money for Second Harvest Food Bank of Silicon Valley.

Obviously a forward-thinking group, the "Xooglers" sensed things were going to get worse than they were (and they were right). Their goal was to raise $500,000 for a challenge grant that could then be doubled with contributions from other donors.

In just a couple days, the group flew past its goal with $615,000, and eight days after that, the match was met and the food bank got a donation of $1.23 million to fund programs like the senior citizen grocery delivery program in Mountain View. Among the donors were venture philanthropist Laura Lauder, the Westly Foundation and the Dotson Family Fund.

Doug Edwards, one of the Xooglers and a former Mercury News employee as well, put on his marketing hat and thought the campaign could spread to other tech alumni groups from companies like Microsoft, PayPal and Adobe that could conduct their own challenges. Great idea. And he was as stunned as anyone that nobody else raised their hands.

"There's so much wealth in the valley and such an incredible need right now, that we all need to do our part," Edwards emailed me. "It seems a no-brainer that those who have profited from this community should be the first to give back."

There are some other fantastic philanthropic efforts going on in the valley, like Sobrato Philanthropies' $5.2 million grant to launch the $8.9 million San Mateo County Immigrant Resilience Fund, which will help nonprofits provide funding and support services for undocumented families during the COVID-19 pandemic. The leadership of John A. Sobrato isn't at all surprising, and probably it helped that effort receive additional support from familiar tech names like the Grove Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and others.

But you've got to hope that more of the valley tech alumni who already cashed out — not to mention current employees — are finding ways to generously support community organizations, be it Second Harvest or someone else. If there are efforts out there we haven't heard about, let me know.

ARTISTIC TAKE ON COVID-19: It doesn't take much to figure out that San Jose's creative community has been suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of our artists, musicians, performers and others were barely surviving before all this happened.

Well, the city of San Jose's Office of Cultural Affairs is now looking for the artistic perspective on the pandemic while also providing local artists with significant exposure — and a bit of a payday — through "Holding the Moment," a series of showcase displays at Mineta San Jose International Airport.

Artists can submit new or previously created 2-dimensional pieces that reflect or comment on the impact of COVID-19 through Aug. 18. Up to 90 pieces will be selected for series of six, one-month exhibits at the airport's Terminal B, with selection submissions being awarded $2,500.

The details are available at https://tinyurl.com/y7xd3yuq.

A drawing by San Jose student Pearl Nunag was one of 193 designs chosen to be part of the Rockefeller Center Flag Project, which is on display at the famed New York City landmark through Aug. 16, 2020.

S.J. STUDENT'S FLAG FLYING IN NYC: Twelve-year-old Pearl Nunag may have been to New York City only twice, but the Big Apple left quite an impression on her — and now her artwork is flying high in Manhattan.

Pearl submitted a drawing celebrating Broadway that was one of 193 designs selected — out of 1,200 submissions — for the Flag Project at Rockefeller Center. Her design, which also incorporates the New York City skyline, a microphone and the Big Apple logo, was made into an 8-foot by 5-foot flag that will fly with all the others through Aug. 16.

In her submission statement, Pearl explained that seeing a play on Broadway was an amazing experience. "The set, singing, and acting brought me to a whole different place and time," she wrote. "I wanted to show the magic of Broadway on my flag."

Mission accomplished. And like the song says, if she can make it there, she can make it anywhere.

AT THE MOVIES: As you've probably heard already, drive-in movie theaters are popular all over again as they provide movie lovers with a happy medium: You don't have to be stuck at home watching Netflix but you also don't have to be anywhere near other people. And San Jose is lucky to have one of the state's few remaining venues in the venerable Capitol Drive-In.

Next Wednesday, the Capitol is hosting a screening of "Boys State," which won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for Documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival this year before it heads to Apple TV+. Directed by Palo Alto native Jesse Moss and his wife, Amanda McBaine, the movie tells the story of a Texas program that brings together 1,000 high school students every year for a mock exercise on building their own state government.

The 8:30 p.m. free showing is one of just five taking place at drive-ins nationwide, and the directors are expected to be in attendance to introduce the film. My gripe: The marketing materials list the screening as taking place at the Capitol Drive-In in San Francisco. (Somebody send them a map.) You can get more details about the movie and register for the limited-space screening at https://boysstate.movie.

And if you're in the mood for a different kind of movie, West Wind Drive-Ins — which owns the Capitol, the Solano Drive-In in Concord and others in California, Arizona and Nevada — is putting on a Shark Fest through Aug. 16. As an homage to Discovery Channel's Shark Week, the drive-in festival will feature fin-tastic flicks including "Jaws," "Jaws 2," and "The Meg," as well as the animated "Shark Tale" and the Bethany Hamilton documentary "Soul Surfer." Check it out at www.westwinddi.com/locations/capitol.

Junk Food For The Mind: The Dangers of Media Overdose - Psychology Today

Posted: 08 Aug 2020 02:33 PM PDT

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting our lives across the board. In my clinical practice, I see the many ways clients are dealing with pandemic-related stress, uncertainty, anxiety, and loss. The stories vary, but a commonly reoccurring theme has to do with consuming the news. Many people are spending much time searching for and absorbing virus-related media stories. Their motivation is usually self-protective. They wish to be well informed in order to be well prepared. Yet quite consistently, my clients report that the effects of their intense news consumption are paradoxical: The more they consume, the more anxious they become.

Why would that be? Part of the answer relates to what is known in medicine as a dose-response effect. Consider your medicine cabinet. Most of the substances in there are helpful, but only if dosed correctly. Too little will provide no relief. Too much will cause harm. The news is to the mind what medicine is to the body. Too little leaves us vulnerable due to ignorance. Too much may overwhelm us into paralysis, anxiety, and confusion.

Source: Pixabay

But, you may ask, how can too much news harm us? After all, if news is knowledge, and if knowledge is power, then how can too much news be disempowering? To understand why over-dosing on the news is harmful, we must first understand signal detection theory, which concerns our ability to detect signals in a less-than-perfect "noisy" (that is, real-world) environment. The attempt to discern signal from noise (i.e., truth from untruth) in such an environment is vulnerable to two types of errors: a false alarm (we detect something that isn't there) or a miss (something is there that we fail to detect).

By definition, a detection system that favors avoiding misses will incur many false alarms, and vice versa. In the dangerous environs of our ancestors, missing a threat was much costlier than a false alarm. Natural selection, therefore, shaped our sensory system toward avoiding misses. Thus, our brain is attracted to trouble—the so-called negativity bias.

Second, we must recognize that the news in America is by and large a for-profit business. It generates profits by getting eyeballs on the news product. In other words, it needs to attract consumers' attention. And you already know what attracts our attention: that's right—mayhem. The news, therefore, will prioritize mayhem, exploiting our brain's innate tendencies. If it bleeds, it leads. Airplane crashes will always make the news. Airplanes landing safely will not. Consuming the news, hence, is not merely acquiring knowledge. It is acquiring a certain type of knowledge, heavily tilted towards brokenness.

Consuming this type of knowledge further skews our worldview by triggering a fundamental cognitive bias called the availability heuristic—our tendency to assume that things we hear a lot about are common. Hearing a lot about negative events leads us to believe that negative events are common, even when they are not. This means that when we overdose on coronavirus news, what we're getting is not further education on coronavirus, but rather a sort of coronavirus propaganda, according to which the virus is poised to destroy us all, inevitably, imminently, thoroughly, and permanently. That terrifying picture compels our attention further, and the vicious cycle is created. Thus over-consumed, the news, which is supposed to help our understanding and our coping, in effect undermines both.

In this way, our current news environment resembles greatly (and unfortunately) our current food environment. To clarify why, let's look at food first. Food is supposed to nourish us, yet currently in the U.S., we are in effect harming ourselves with our food. This is because a) we eat too much and b) much of what we eat is junk.

Why are we eating too much? Well, in a nutshell, for most of our species' history, we had to work hard for food; in fact, we often had to chase it. Our digestive system has evolved under conditions of food scarcity and unpredictability. Overeating and storing fat were therefore the winning, adaptive strategies, and henceforth coded in our genes.

Recently, however, we have become sedentary; our food now comes to us, and our food supply is reliable, abundant, and accessible. Our ancient system is therefore misaligned with our current environment. We continue to overeat and store fat. Only now we're doing it all the time, which leads to our excessive weight gain and its attendant adverse health consequences.

Why do we eat mostly junk? Well, in a nutshell, our system has evolved to seek and crave certain flavors (for example, sweet) because they signaled foods with high nutritional value (for example, ripe fruit and vegetables). Things tasted good that were good for us. Recently, however, our food scientists have figured out how to take those good flavors, separate them from their original nutritional sources, and attach them to cheap non-nutritive food products, thus hacking our evolved system by making things that are bad for us taste good.

The American news environment has undergone similar processes, to a similar effect. Just as with food, we consume too much news, and too much of the news we consume is junk.

Why do we consume too much news? Well, in a nutshell, our attentional system has evolved in a time when threats were real, local, and often unpredictable. In such a system, tending to any potential threat is adaptive. Yet our current media technology brings threatening events into our lives from everywhere, nonstop. Our ancient system is misaligned with this new environment. Just as the omnipresence of food compels us into overeating, so the ubiquity of news compels us toward over-consumption. And just as with food, the overconsumption has adverse effects, Consuming too much news has the same effects on the mind as consuming too much food has on the body—immediate gratification followed by discomfort, deterioration, and dis-ease.

Why is much of the news we consume junk? Well, in a nutshell, this is because our technology has allowed us to take the natural danger cues that our brain has evolved to address, separate them from their original source, and attach them to benign or insignificant events or situations. For example, loud noises in nature usually signal a dangerous, meaningful event or object. Thus we are wired to attend to loud noises. But technology allows us to attach loud noises to anything, however meaningless, thus hacking our evolved system and compelling our attentions constantly. Asinine drivel oozes continuously from our TV screens, but so long as it is shouted, we are bound to watch.

In sum, given the current media environment, protecting our mental health during the pandemic entails managing our news intake carefully and intentionally. As with food, good habits are essential: Be mindful about what you put in your system. Check your sources. Check the facts. Take your time. And take a break.

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