by Laurel Harrison
Happy Lunar New Year, foodies! The Year of the Pig is upon us and we’re celebrating in style with a new recipe and tradition from our friends at Food Literacy Center.
Food Literacy Center celebrates Lunar New Year with Yu Sheng, a Singaporean salad dish meant to bring good luck for the new year. A salad of fruit, vegetables and fish, the dish is made and shared to ensure a lucky, prosperous and healthy year.
Each ingredient in Yu Sheng symbolizes a specific hope or wish.
Now that we’ve settled into September (raise your hand if you’ve already had a pumpkin spice latte . . .), we want to shine a spotlight on one of our favorite Sacramento institutions – Food Literacy Center. This month is Food Literacy Month, and we’re so excited to lend our support to our favorite foodie nonprofit.
Six years ago, Food Literacy Center worked with the California legislature to officially declare September as Food Literacy Month to raise awareness about the need for cooking and nutrition education for kids. Food Literacy Center brings essential food and nutrition programming to low-income elementary schools, teaching kids about how (any why) to love your veggies.
This September, help us support Food Literacy Center and their foodie mission by donating to our fundraising team, Team Carrot! The work Food Literacy Center does directly benefits our community and helps America’s Farm-to-Fork Capitol walk the walk and talk the talk. After all, what’s a foodie city without food literacy?
To donate, visit the fundraising page or text VEGGIES to 71777!
Now that we’ve eaten our weight in turkey (and stuffing, sweet potatoes and pie) and slept for three days, we’re back and ready to talk about more food! Well, actually, we’re back and ready to talk about food literacy!
If you’re familiar with #GivingTuesday, you’ll know that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is a day where people come together to donate to organizations that mean the most to them. In honor of this week’s upcoming #GivingTuesday on November 28, we are spotlighting one of our favorite local organizations and pro bono client – Sacramento’s own Food Literacy Center. As SacFoodies, we believe that food literacy is central to the farm-to-fork world, and we believe that all future foodies deserve the chance to learn about where their food comes from.
Food Literacy Center works to teach kids about how food gets onto your plate, where it comes from, and what types of food should end up on your plate at every meal. They inspire kids all over Sacramento to learn more, cook more, and eat more fruits and veggies, ultimately helping them be more healthy and in touch with their roots (wink).
A #GivingTuesday donation to Food Literacy Center will help teach children how to identify healthy veggies, make healthy snacks, read a recipe, and more. With more than 50% of Sacramento kids taking part in free and reduced lunch program and 40% struggling with childhood obesity, it’s more important than ever to give them skills to identify foods that are easy and healthy alternatives.
This Giving Tuesday, donate to Food Literacy Center and help kids all over Sacramento grow into bonafide foodies!
Today, non-profit organizations in the Sacramento community are encouraging people to participate in the Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s annual Big Day of Giving, a 24-hour online giving challenge to help raise funds for worthy causes in our area.
Food Literacy Center is partnering with Big Day of Giving once again and is encouraging everyone to #PassThePepper and help inspire kids to eat their vegetables. Just $25 will give one kid food literacy education for one week!
It is really easy to help Food Literacy Center meet their goal. Schedule your gift here: https://www.bigdayofgiving.org/foodliteracycenter. Every dollar donated today will be matched by The California Rice Commission.
So how can you #PassThePepper? Head over to the FLC Facebook page, share a post, tag a few friends encouraging them to give and #PassThePepper too!
It is that easy. Make a difference in the lives of kids with one click of a button. We’ll be passing the pepper and we hope you’ll join in!
It’s that time of year! The best of Sacramento’s bounty is on the big stage for Sacramento’s Farm-to-Fork Restaurant Weeks. Get ready to enjoy all that delicious, seasonal ingredients Sacramento has to offer, served up by some of our city’s premiere restaurants and chefs.
Last night, the Sacfoodies had the opportunity to get a “first taste” at Il Fornaio’s Farm-to-Fork menu and all we have to say is—wow! Here’s what you can enjoy now through September 25th at Il Fornaio:
Insalata di Bietole:
Primi Cappaelacci di Zucca:
Trota alla Carciofi e Limone:
And the fun doesn’t stop there! Try the Farm-to-Fork menu at any of these participating restaurants to take full advantage. Not only do you get to enjoy the best of the best in local, seasonal dishes, but a portion of all proceeds made during the 18-day event will be donated to the Food Literacy Center. We like to call that win-win! For more information about Farm-to-Fork Restaurant Weeks events, check here.