Day 37: Odds and Ends

Day 37 Vitals:

Weight:  270 lbs.
Mood:  Exhausted
Water Consumed:  2 Nalgenes
Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
Lunch: Tomato Soup and Toast
Dinner: Tomato and Sweet Potatoes
Hangry Thought of the Day: Do not EVER nominate me for your Facebook Challenges!

We are now rapidly approaching the half-way point of Project Table for One.  So far so good.  I went looking through my pantry the other day and I actually have quite a bit of odds and ends that I should find some use for.  Here are some of the items I have in abundance:

• 1/2 bag of Flour (Week 1 Cub Foods)
• Possible Uses:  I would like to take another stab at baking bread.  But right now I tortillas, bread, and am making scones this week.  So I will take this venture on in the near future
• 1 full bag of black eyed beans (Week 0 Pantry Stocking)
• I have a recipe for these, but the last bunch of stores I have been at did not have ham hocks.  I will keep trying!
• Soy Sauce (Week 3 Wal-Mart)
• I picked this up as a flavoring agent based on the advice of the book Good and Cheap.  but I am trying to be mindful of my salt intake, so I have been avoiding it's use.  It's not that this is a BAD thing to pick up, I just don't need it.
• 1 LARGE pack of Hot Dogs (Week 4 COSTCO)
• I picked these up for cabin weekends.  So I will get to these shortly.  I think I just burned myself out on hot dogs the first few weeks.
• Baking Powder (Week 1 Cub Foods), Vanilla (Week 3 Wal-Mart), Brown Sugar (Week 0 Pantry)
• And lastly I have some odds and ends from Week 0 Pantry Stocking like a jar of Vindaloo sauce, some canned beans, a can of spicy corned beer.  Lots of fun stuff still out there.  

So what would you cook with these odds and ends?  Leave a comment below!

Don't forget, if you like this blog please help us in trying to end Childhood Hunger here in the Twin Cities.  Click the link the FINNEGANS logo in the right hand panel, and donate what you can.  Every dollar helps to reach our goal of $2,500 for this GREAT cause where 98% of your dollar will go back to the community!  Thanks for you help!

You can find us on the web at the following places:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tableforoneMN/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TableForOneMN?lang=en

Day 30: Childhood Poverty Statistics

Day 30 Vitals:

Weight:  269 lbs.
Mood:  Awesome it's game night
Water Consumed:  2 Nalgenes
Breakfast:Peanut Butter/Jelly Granola Bar
Lunch: Orange, Pasta with Broccoli
Dinner: Taco Salad
Hangry Thought of the Day: My YouTube queue is getting to big...

Part of Table for One's mission is to raise awareness about Childhood Poverty in Minnesota.  Childhood Poverty is one of those issues we should all be uniting together on.  Whether you are a liberal or a conservative, an atheist, agnostic, or theist.  The fact that there are Children that have to worry about food, instead of playing and being happy, is something we can work on together to end.  We might disagree on how to get there, but we should all WANT to come to the table to talk about it!

Before we get into the statistics, there is something you can do about it today!  Join the fight and donate to the FINNEGANS Community Fund, and help support our project.  It's a 501(c)(3) organization, and your donation is a tax write off!

My statistics today come from the website of the Minnesota Department of Health.  The most up to date statistics is 2011.  Over the last decade these metrics have been trending up, so there is a good likelihood they are even worse today.

First off let's talk a little bit about why you should care.  Even if you are the most self centered person, you should still care about children in poverty, because you are paying for them, and more then just SNAP benefits.  Children in poverty are more likely to need hospitalization for asthma, lead poisoning, and heart disease.  YOU end up paying for those visits by increased health premiums and bills from when you need to visit the doctor.  

Poverty has been increasing in Minnesota.  As of 2011 it was up to 12% for all ages, which is up five percentage points from 2000.  In comparison, we are still well below the national average which sits at 15.5% for 2011.

Poverty is highest among children.  18% of children under the age of five live in poverty, children under the age of 18 are at about 15%.

Childhood poverty is centered around Central Minnesota, north of the cities.

Thanks for supporting our blog, we hope that these numbers help shed some light on children living right here in our home state.  Please help out, and let's put an end to childhood poverty!

Don't forget, if you like this blog please help us in trying to end Childhood Hunger here in the Twin Cities.  Click the link the FINNEGANS logo in the right hand panel, and donate what you can.  Every dollar helps to reach our goal of $2,500 for this GREAT cause where 98% of your dollar will go back to the community!  Thanks for you help!

You can find us on the web at the following places:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tableforoneMN/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TableForOneMN?lang=en

Please help spread the word of this project!