Thank you Iskahitaa! ~Letter from Hanna

Here is a letter from our Sunday Farmer's Market coordinator, Hanna Kingsley. Thank you Hanna!

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Iskashitaa,

              Wow. I must say that I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to volunteer with this organization. I learned so much about so many things and met so many incredible people, it amazes me how much more colorful my life has become since i started at the farmer's market almost a full year ago now! The Iskashitaa staff has made Tucson feel that much more like home for me, and I am really quite sad to be saying goodbye.
              This organization is certainly one of a kind and I so so SO hope to continue working with it in one way or another, even though I will be in Phoenix. There is much to learn from what you all do, and there especially is much to learn from the people you help.

Thank you for an amazing year and experience!

Sincerly,
♥ Hanna

Recipe of the Week (06/29/15)

Limequat is a hybrid of lime and kumquat. Meet these incredible recipes using limequats!

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Candied Limequats

Ingredients

1 pint limquats (washed), 1 cup water, 1 1/2 cup sugar, pinch salt

1. Slice limequats as thin as possible, discarding the seeds.  
2. Bring sugar, salt and water to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. 
3. Add limequat slices. 
4. Remove from heat. 
5. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating.

Candied Limequat Mojitos

Time: 30 min

Amount: enough for 2 cups

Ingredients

4 oz white rum, 12 mint leaves, 10 candied limequat slices, 2 Tablespoon candied limequat syrup, 1 oz fresh lime juice, 4 oz soda water, turbinado sugar for rim of glass

1. Wet the rim of two glasses with a lime and dip in the turbinado sugar. 
2. Add crushed ice to each glass. 
3. In a cocktail shaker, add the mint leaves, limequat slices and syrup and lime juice. 
4. Muddle until leaves are broken. 
5. Add the rum and shake to mix. 
6. Divide between two glasses, top with soda water.

Recipe from: http://rachelgoing.com/2010/01/18/georges-limequats/

Bottled Water vs. Tap Water

On 23rd of June, 2015, Niagara bottled water company issued a recall of their bottled water at two of their plants in Pennsylvania. The reason behind their recall was that in their water source the evidence of E. coli bacteria has been detected. Along with Niagara, 13 different companies of bottled water products also issued recall on their projects as well. This turnout of event has spurred the conversation of bottled water vs. tap water, bringing more attention on the benefits of drinking tap water.

It is common misperception that the bottled water is cleaner and arguably tastes better than the tap water. As it turned out, tap water has more advantages than people thought. For instance, tap water has more transparency on its source; managing the quality of tap water involves providing the source of the water, regularly going through E. coli tests, and making quality reports. Bottled water, on the other hand, does none of the above.

So, maybe it is time to drink more from local tap water, instead of buying tons and tons of bottled water. Plus, tap water is eco-friendly, as it doesn't need plastic bottles!

To learn more about Tucson's tap water, check out this video below:

To learn more about Bottled Water Recall, check out this article:

http://blackdoctor.org/460541/niagara-bottled-water-recall/

What is Food Stamp?

The Food Stamp Program is a government-owned program that helps provide healthy, nutritious food for low-income families. On 2008, the US government updated the name of the program as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), partly because the previous name was “outdated,” as the program no longer uses paper coupons and stamps (https://www.azdes.gov/main.aspx?menu=355&id=5206). Instead, the new version of Food Stamp Program makes use of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card that can be used as ATM/debit card in most of the grocery stores of the country. In case you were wondering, here is how SNAP card looks like:

Arizona State government is also utilizing this program, with the abbreviated name Nutrition Assistance (NA). Although Nutrition Assistance sounds like a welfare program that is only for unemployed people, but first, it is not a welfare program, and second, as of May 2015, 35% of the families who are in the program were employed in low-wage jobs. That is, SNAP or NA is more like a governmental subsidy for anyone who qualifies for the USDA eligibility. 

There are three ways to apply for Nutrition Assistance. First, there is an online application available on www.healthearizonaplus.gov. Second, you can download the application form at https://www.azdes.gov/nutrition_assistance/ and fax it to Family Assistance Administration office. Third, you can ask for a paper application in your local Family Assistance Administration office. After the application is processed, the applicants go through eligibility interview, and about 30 days from the application date at the latest, you can attain the Nutrition Assistance card!

Information source: https://www.azdes.gov/nutrition_assistance/

Recipe of the Week (06/22/15)

Treat yourself with these non-chocolate chocolate drinks!

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Cool Chocolate Milk (No cocoa)

Time: 10 min

Amount: 1 qt.

Ingredients

1 qt. milk (soy, cashew, almond, etc.), 3 Tbs. carob powder, ¼ tsp. vanilla

Honey and salt to taste (depending on milk)

1. Blend above ingredients till very smooth.

2. Add 1 Tbs. oil for richer milk.

3. Chill.

Picture from: veganandbeyondcoaching.com

Carob Banana Milk Shake

Time: 10 minutes

Amount: 1 qt

Ingredients

4 cups milk, soy seed or nut, 1-2 tbsp honey or molasses, 1 ripe banana

½ tsp smooth peanut or cashew butter, 3 tbsp carob powder

1 tbsp coconut or soy milk powder (optional), ice (optional)

1. Add ingredients to blender.

2. Blend.

3. Add ice (optional).

4. Serve hot or cold.

‪Picture from: www.vanilleverte.com

Walls and Bridges

Walls and Bridges—Two Sides of America

(Reflection from World Refugee Day Celebration and Operation Streamline)

            On this Tuesday, I went to World Refugee Day Celebration in Catalina High School. On this Thursday, I went to attend Operation Streamline in Evo A. DeConcini U.S. Courthouse. I saw people accepted as US citizens in the former event and I saw people kicked out of the US in the latter event. Participating in both events, I witnessed the two very different sides of America.

            On one side, US build bridges to accept outsiders who suffer from wars and violence. The Naturalization Ceremony in World Refugee Day Celebration was an act of building bridges and reaching out to the refugees from all over the world. It was a beautiful moment; after a long journey of searching for a home, the refugees finally have found one. By accepting them as US citizens, the US was embracing the true meaning of diversity.

            One the other side, US build walls to expel outsiders and put up a barricade to keep them away. Operation Streamline was a process of building walls against the “illegal aliens” (an actual term people use to describe undocumented immigrants) to prevent them from entering the US. By sentencing them of months in prison and deporting them, the US was solidifying the division between insiders and outsiders.

            Walls divide. Walls discriminate. Whether it is an actual wall like the humongous border wall between US-Mexico, or an imaginative wall like glass ceilings against minorities, the more walls we build, the deeper the segregation gets. Our tendency to ostracize outsiders has laid numerous problems such as racial profiling, discrimination against immigrants and refugees, and social alienation of the colored. And I blame the walls we set for discrimination against the underdogs that perpetuates our society.

            “It is time to build the bridges,” said Dr. H. T. Sanchez in the opening remarks of World Refugee Day Celebration. And I can’t agree more—if diversity is what keeps the United States strong, it needs to accept people with different wisdom and cultures with open arms, as opposed to building walls and militarizing borders.

The discourse of insider vs. outsider never gets old; it is a problem that is too pervasive that most people overlook and grow desensitized. Yet if we keep strive to bring up the absurdity of discrimination against outsiders and build more bridges instead of setting walls up, I believe that that the day when everybody can appreciate the value of diversity will come. With more bridge-building, people from all over the world can make this country richer and more prosperous.

~Da Eun, summer PR intern

Recipe of the Week (06/15/15)

A great and simple recipe for afternoon tea break!

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Garlic, Lemon, Ginger Tea

Time: 15 min

Amount: 1-1.5 cups

Ingredients

1-1.5 cups of water, 8-12 cloves of garlic, honey

1. Put 8-12 cloves of garlic in boiling water for 10 minutes.

2. Strain out garlic.

3. Add honey, lemon, and ginger to the garlic tea.