The Community Food Bank will dedicate four new “Green” trucks to its fleet on Friday, July 25, 2008 at 9:00 AM.  The public is invited.

Three Hino trucks (a Toyota Group Company) are more fuel efficient, twenty foot refrigerated trucks that hold ten pallets each and are equipped with lift gates. The fourth Hino truck is a special 4-Bay produce distribution truck. 

The three new larger trucks expand the versatility, range and visibility of the Food
Bank vehicles on their regular routes each day to pick up surplus food in the Tucson area. 

The Community Food Bank used a $250,000 settlement from a national class action law suit concerning products containing MSG and a $75,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to purchase the new vehicles.

The dedication will take place at 9:00 AM on Friday, July 25, 2008 at the Community Food Bank, 3003 S. Country Clubs Road.  Representatives from the Hino Company, the Rush Truck Center, Sign-A-Rama , the United States Department of Agriculture, the Arizona Department of Economic Security and will be on hand for this event
 
 For more information, contact Jack Parris at (520) 622-0525 x 215

The Community Food Bank’s Value Foods Store (VFS) located at 3003 S. Country Club Road will be closed on Tuesday, July 1 and Wednesday, July 2, 2008 for its annual audit inventory.

The Value Foods Store will reopen on Thursday, July 3, 2008.  The store hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM and on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM.  It is closed on Sunday and Monday.

This Value Food Store offers fresh produce, meats, canned items, pasta, frozen vegetables, dairy products and personal care items.  It is open to the general public and offers prices that are 30% to 70% less than most grocery stores.

For information on the Value Foods Store, contact Joy Tucker at (520) 622-0525 x 228 or by cell phone at (520) 444-0667.

The Community Food Bank’s Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market announces the “Monsoon Harvest Event” on Thursday, June 26, 2008 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM.  Stock up on summer produce from local farmers, learn how to harvest rainwater, and cook with plants that grow in your yard.

This will be an opportunity for people to acquaint themselves with the Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market at the start of the summer produce season.  Everyone is invited to take care of their health with nutritious fruits and vegetables and learn how to take care of the environment as the monsoon season starts.

Tucson Water, Technicians for Sustainability, and Sonoran Kitchen Gardens will discuss water conservation and harvesting, gardening, and cooking with desert plants. 

The Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market is located at the northeast corner of Riverview and Speedway, between El Rio Community Center and the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind.

For more information on the ”Monsoon Harvest Event”  contact Sara Rickard, Farmers’ Market Manager at (520) 622-0525 x 242.

Crosby, Stills and Nash has partnered with WHY (World Hunger Year) to put food on the shelves of the Community Food Bank at their concert on June 23, 2008. 

Crosby, Stills and Nash and WHY ask that “If You’re a Fan, Bring a Can” of non-perishable food that will be collected by the Community Food Bank to feed the hungry in Southern Arizona.  Most needed items are canned meats, canned vegetables, canned soups, cereal, peanut butter, canned fruit and canned tomato products

The concert will be held at the Anselmo Valencia Ampitheatre 5655 West Valencia Road in Tucson, Arizona.  The doors open at 7:00 PM and the Crosby, Stills and Nash concert begins at 8:00 PM.

Concert goers are asked to drop off their food donations at the Community Food Bank’s display as they enter the concert.

The Community Food Bank wishes to thank Crosby, Stills and Nash and WHY for their support during this June 23rd concert.

For additional information about the Community Food bank food drive, contact Jack Parris at (520) 622-0525 x 215.

Dine Out for the Hungry!

Pastiche Modern Eatery will donate five percent of every purchase to the Community Food Bank any time you dine at the restaurant during the month of June—and again in October. For the past eight years, owners Pat and Julie Connors have sponsored “Philanthropy with Phlavor” twice each year. To date they have donated more than $80,000 to various charities, including the food bank.

How it works:
Throughout June, customers who dine in at Pastiche, order take-out food, make a purchase at the Pastiche Wine Shop, or buy Pastiche gift certificates are invited to choose one of 40 nonprofit organizations to receive 5% of their total check (before tax, gratuity, or discounts). Patrons must let their server know they would like their 5% to benefit the Community Food Bank. The program repeats in October.

Pastiche Modern Eatery
3025 N. Campbell

The Pastiche culinary concept is a mélange of cuisine influences, from American to Mediterranean, Asian to Southwestern, and many others in between. Options include appetizers, salads, sandwiches, small plates, pastas, large plates, fresh seafood.

The Community Food Bank’s Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market will celebrate its grand opening at a new location on Thursday, April 24, 2008 from 3:00 to 6:00 PM.  The new location is at the NE Corner of Speedway and Riverview (between the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind and El Rio Neighborhood Center).

 The Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market features locally grown fruits and vegetables, desert plants and seedlings for the garden, citrus trees, honey, Mexican baked goods and tortillas, fresh eggs, Tohono O’odham traditional crops and dried goods all direct from producers.  Produce now in season includes snow peas, fava beans, carrots, beets, greens, salad greens, salad turnips, citrus fruit, fennel and fresh herbs.

 In 2007, Eating Well magazine recognized Tucson’s Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market as one of “America’s Top 10 Farmers’ Markets.”  To be eligible, markets had to offer food produced locally, sold directly and cultivated in an environmentally conscious way.

 “We are really pleased with our new location that should be easier for our customers to find,” said Kelly Watters, Farmers’ Market Manager.  Plans for the Grand Opening Celebration include live music by Jennifer Freidman, preview performance of “We Are What We Eat,” a collaboration between the CFB and NEW ARTiculations Dance Theatre that celebrates the human connection to food and the systems that feed us. Also there will be a Spring Seed Exchange and “Food Fun and Reading” activities for kids.

 The Santa Cruz River Farmers’ Market is operated by the Community Food Bank and started in August of 2005.  The Market accepts Quest cards or food stamps, WIC and Senior farmers’ market vouchers, cash, MasterCard and Visa debit or credit cards.

 For more information, contact Kelly Watters at (520) 622-0525 x 242 or kwatters@communityfoodbank.org.

The 2008 UA4Food Drive continues on Sunday, April 13, 2008 with the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) “Run for Your Life” 5 K run on the U of A Mall (west end).

Registration begins at 7:30 AM and the 5 K run for your life starts at 9:00 AM.  On site registration is $20.  There will be food and beverages, DJ entertainment provided by KXCI Community Radio, a raffle and many prizes.

The UA4Food Drive brings together the efforts of the University of Arizona faculty, staff and local merchants.  Proceeds from this year’s UA4Food Drive will benefit the Community Food Bank’s Child Hunger and Nutrition Programs.  They are “Kids Club”, “Snak Paks for Kids”® and “Summer Meals.”

For more information on the SHAC “Run for Your Life” 5 K run contact David Salafsky at 621-8297 or log on to http://www.rfyl.arizona.edu/event.htm.

The Kino Sports Complex Community Center will hold an Empty Bowl Luncheon on Thursday, April 17, 2008 to benefit the Community Food Bank. Guests may drop by any time between 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM at 2805 East Ajo Way. 

Participants will receive a beautifully handcrafted ceramic bowl donated by members of the Southern Arizona Clay Artists.  Lunches are $10.00 each and include a variety of soups to sample, bread and the ceramic bowl to take home as a reminder of hunger in our community.

Net proceeds from the Empty Bowl Luncheon will go to feed hungry people in Southern Arizona.

For information on the Kino Sports Complex Community Center’s Empty Bowl Luncheon on April 17th contact Mary Avizu, Community Center Coordinator at (520) 740-4651 or marvizu@pima.gov

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Lodge 933. Golf Tournament at Santa Rita Golf Course (16461 S. Houghton Rd.) to benefit the Community Food Bank. Four person scramble with a 7:30 AM Shotgun start. $60 per person or a foursome for $200.00. Information at http://www.iam933.org..

The Community Food Bank & NEW ARTiculations Dance Theatre Present:

We Are What We Eat
Stories and dance about the food we eat and the systems that feed us
Featuring choreography and dance by NEW ARTiculations artists as well as Tucson community
members who love to eat, cook, grow food, and dance!
3 performances:

Thursday, April 24   
5:00 pm (free, excerpts only)
Santa Cruz River Farmer’s Market (new location)
1390 W. Speedway Blvd.

Saturday, April 26    
2:30 pm (free) 
Community Food Bank
3003 S. Country Club Rd.

Sunday, April 27   
6:00 pm  ($12/$15)
Tucson Botanical Gardens
2150 N. Alvernon Rd.

Come early to enjoy the gardens, learn about Tucson food organizations,  and sample tasty food. Performance begins at 7:00 pm.  Tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Available at Antigone Books,  411 N. 4th Ave. or online at www.newarticulations.org.

Information: 405-4138 or 882-6092
***
About the project:

We Are What We Eat is a collaboration between NEW ARTiculations and the Community Food Security Center of the Community Food Bank. The project uses modern dance and community stories to reveal how food connects us to each other, our environment, and our everyday lives. Through interactive workshops in dance, writing, and discussion, the project has engaged over 100 community participants in a “moving dialogue” about food issues. Participants have included City High School students, Pistor Middle School students, Pima Community College Family Literacy classes, and the public-at-large. Performance material comes directly from community contributions. A dozen community participants will perform with the company.

The project is one in a series of Community Food Bank endeavors utilizing the arts to educate people about their responsibilities as consumers and eaters dependent on a food system. Future projects will include digital storytelling, large-scale public art, literary arts, photography, and music.

We Are What We Eat is supported by the Tucson Pima Arts Council, Punch Woods Endowment Fund, Community Food Bank, NEW ARTiculations, DanceLoft, and many generous individuals.