The Bread Art Project Event in NYC

Nearly 17 million children in America and almost one in four struggle with hunger.   With the way this economy has been, more and more families are having a hard time putting healthy food on the table every day.

Thankfully, I didn’t grow up hungry. My dad had a great job with great benefits and we were never without food.  It’s sad to know that many children in our country go to bed hungry and don’t know where their next meal will come from.

The Bread Art Project was created by The Grain Foods Foundation to help increase awareness of the hunger problem in the United States and raise money to Share Our Strength organization.

I was  recently invited to The Bread Art Project event in New York City by Jennifer James from the Moms Blogger’s Club to join her and other bloggers to help launch the 2nd annual Bread Art project.  I was thrilled to be a part of this wonderful project. First of all, I was going to learn about this great organization, second of all, I was going to see “old” friends and meet new bloggers and lastly, meet Melissa d’Arabian from one of my favorite shows on the Food Network, 10 Dollar Dinners.

At the event, Melissa told us how she struggled with hunger as a child and how hard it was to see her mom (a single parent) work hard to try to give her kids the best in life by working towards a college degree and working full time to earn a living.  She also taught us some of her tips and tricks on ways she gets her children to eat more grains.

  1. My kids like sandwiches without crusts, so I am constantly cutting them off sliced bread.  Instead of throwing them away, I save them in resealable freezer bags. I use the crusts to make fresh and fluffy bread crumbs.
  2. Don’t overlook bread as a base for sweet snacks!  Just spread a baguette with a smear of butter and add a small piece of chocolate.
  3. Grill, roast or sauté the bread until golden and serve in a large basket with dips, spreads, grilled veggies, cheeses and garlic-infused olive oil.
  4. Check the bulk aisle for more unusual grains to try when they go on sale. Quinoa is uber-hip right now. It is a complete protein and the crunchy, nutty taste is crave-worthy.
  5. Keep different varieties of pasta in your pantry for weeknight meals that are as nutritious as they are quick. It is a complete protein and the crunchy, nutty taste is crave-worthy.

We can all help out by visiting breadartproject.com and create your own “Bread Art” from one of your stored pictures or create a brand new one from the site.  By doing that, you are donating $1 for each bread art project you save on the site.  In 2009, visitors who created bread art on the site helped raise over $25,000 for Feeding America.  This year’s goal is to raise even more for Share Our Strength and they are on their way.  So far, they have over $30,000.

The Grain Foods Foundation will donate $50,000 (up to $100,000) to Share Our Strength plus an additional $1 for each qualifying Bread Art submission received at breadartproject.com now through June 30, 2010.

Below are my favorite recipes that I tasted at the event.  I can’t wait to make it for my family.


Takes a look at my bread art and a collage that I made from the event:

Comments

  1. Love the group shot. Getta get me a copy 🙂

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