Offset high food bills with natural plant recipes

MARIE WAGNER

May 23, 2008 at 8:56AM AKST

Headlines and newscasts have been announcing worldwide food shortages and skyrocketing prices. But when I heard that rice was being rationed right here in Alaska, I could hardly believe it.

Since 2002, the numbers of Americans turning to food banks and charities for help has been steadily increasing. And the supplies of surplus food and monetary donations have been dropping, according to the Society of St. Andrew, a Christian ministry dedicated to gleaning America’s fields and feeding the hungry.

America’s Second Harvest, the Nation’s Food Bank Network, surveyed 180 food banks, pantries and soup kitchens nationwide to determine the impact that the general economic downturn has made. Ninety-nine percent of the survey respondents reported a 15-20 percent increase in the number of people coming to them for temporary assistance from one year ago. Eighty-one percent said that they are unable to adequately meet the needs.

What can we do? There are a lot of good ideas found in a number of Websites of charitable organizations. The place to begin is with awareness and communication within the community, along with looking for solutions.

Last year, at the Alaska Dandelion Festival, a booth dedicated to National Hunger Awareness Day listed several ideas. For example, there are many wild plants that are available for the harvesting that make healthy additions to many meals or recipes.
One delectable delight is deep-fried dandelion blossoms. Washed, patted dry, dipped in a light batter and quickly fried, dandelion blossoms offer incredible nutrition and put fun and interest into a meager meal.

Did you know that the dandelion was actually brought to this country by European settlers as a food and medicinal plant?

There are several good books available with instructions and recipes for wild edible plants in this area. The Kenai Fjords National Park bookstore has some, and so does Safeway.

Look for “Potscrubbers, Popcorn, and Poultices: A Guide to Seward Area Plants.” Another good one is “Cooking Alaskan” put out by Alaska Northwest Books. I’ve compiled a booklet of 34 dandelion recipes available for $5 each, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the He Will Provide Food Pantry in Seward. The contact phone number is 224-6471.

What are you doing to offset the high cost of food? Share your ideas about how you are coping and how we might work together to help those less fortunate.

Marie Wagner is a concerned resident of Seward.