Congratulations Cooking Class Graduates!

Nine participants graduated from our fun and interactive spring Cooking Matters Cooking Class Series! I am so proud of them for the positive and healthy changes they have started to make in each of their lives.

Below are quotes from our participants on the last day of class:

“I now drink more water and eat breakfast."

“I learned the importance of incorporating more vegetables into my diet and have started to do so."

“I learned about substitutions in recipes, like the black beans in the brownies and the Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I made the black bean brownies and took them into work, my coworkers loved them!”

“I learned how to read nutrition labels and that the ingredients are listed from most to least on the food label, which is important when looking for whole wheat products."

“I learned that Greek yogurt has twice as much protein as regular yogurt and that I should fill my plate with half vegetables.”

“I learned that you don’t have to use a lot of cooking oil to prepare a meal. I am more knowledgeable about cooking different meals and they are tasty.”

“I learned how to cut an onion, strawberries, and other fruits and vegetables without creating any waste.”

Congratulations Graduates of Cooking Matters Cooking Class!

Brittany Lawrance, RD, CNSC, LDN, Community Dietitian

Brittany is a registered dietitian and has been with Food & Friends since October 2012. Her previous experience was working as a clinical dietitian on the pediatric hematology and oncology unit at Children’s National Medical Center. Brittany completed her dietetic internship in Baltimore, Maryland through Sodexo-Mid Atlantic and is a graduate of Bluffton University in Ohio. She enjoys traveling, playing tennis and softball, making crafts, and has a new found love for leading cooking class. Learn more about Food & Friends' nutrition services.

Ready for a Vacation? Get Your Chef's Best Golden Ticket

Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction presented by the NACDS Foundation is LESS THAN ONE WEEK AWAY!

Purchase a GOLDEN RAFFLE TICKET and you could win:

3-Night Stay at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in California,

with a $1,000 gift card from US Airways! 

Tickets are $100 and we are only selling 150. Buy Now!

By purchasing a Golden Raffle Ticket or by donating online, you will be supporting the effort to provide life-sustaining, nutritious meals, friendship and strength to individuals living in the Washington, DC region who are battling life-challenging illnesses, often with a little or no support network. Don’t miss out on this chance to help our neighbors in need and be rewarded with a luxury getaway!

3 Reasons to Not Miss Chef's Best on May 13th

FOOD, FRIENDS, CAUSE!

If you haven’t bought your tickets to Chef's Best yet, here are three reasons to be at the Washington Hilton on Monday, May 13th: 

1. THE FOOD
Celebrity Chef Chair, Jeff Black of Black Restaurant Group, will join 50 of the area’s hottest chefs to serve up gourmet creations that will make your taste buds sing.

2. THE FRIENDS
1,500 Washingtonians will choose Chef’s Best as the place to celebrate on Monday, May 13th. There may be plenty of tastings in town…but no one throws a party like Food & Friends!

3. THE CAUSE
Food & Friends provides life-sustaining, nutritious meals, friendship and strength to individuals living in the area who are battling life-challenging illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer, often with little or no support network.

You will have an incredible time and make a huge impact in the lives of your neighbors in need by reserving your Sponsorship, Table or Tickets, today!

CAN'T JOIN US?
Buy a Golden Ticket and you could win a 3-night stay at The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in Orange County, California, with $1,000 from US Airways.

We hope to see you on May 13th!

From Our Kitchen to Yours: Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Going “lean” or low-fat with protein means eating more than just meat. In addition to lower-fat cuts of meat, beans, eggs, fish, nuts, and soy products help you get the 5 to 7 ounces of protein most adults need daily. 

Try this black bean brownie recipe, which swaps out the usual flour for canned, puréed black beans. The black beans add loads of healthy fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein without any extra fat. Just ¼ cup of beans counts as one ounce of your daily protein needs.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Servings: 16

Ingredients:
15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
3 Tablespoons canola oil
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
½ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil or coat an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

2. Place black beans in bowl of a food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder, and salt and process until smooth. Add ¼ cup of the chips and pulse a few times until chips are incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top with a rubber spatula and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips.

4. Bake 30-35 minutes or until the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before slicing into 2-inch squares.

Celebrating Mom with a Home-Cooked Meal

Motherhood can be an exhausting, life-changing and unpredictable job. Whether it is feeding, teaching, transporting or just playing with children, mothers spend their time tending to the needs of others.

Lyniss relies on Food & Friends'
deliveries to help her fight HIV.

Now imagine being a mom facing a life-challenging illness. In addition to the daily responsibilities of motherhood, these moms have to spend extra time and energy fighting to stay healthy. Lyniss Guildford was diagnosed with HIV around the same time that her son was born. This diagnosis, combined with a leg injury, make it difficult for her to perform everyday tasks like grocery shopping. Five years ago Lyniss received her first home-cooked meal from Food & Friends and her life hasn’t been the same since. 

For Lyniss, Food & Friends “teaches me to take care of myself, take my medications and follow doctor’s instructions.” Food & Friends also allows her to be as strong and healthy as possible so that she can provide for her family.

Food & Friends provides Lyniss the resources to be not only a great mother but an amazing grandmother as well. The groceries she receives make it possible for her to host family gatherings during holidays so her daughter and three grandchildren who live in North Carolina can visit. 

The support does not stop with food, Lyniss has also learned a lot about the community by being a part of Food & Friends. 

Food & Friends helps Lyniss care
for herself so she can  care for her son.

“Food & Friends provides me with knowledge and confidence. I don’t have to feel bad or like a non-entity to society,” says Lyniss. “When the volunteers come with the food they are also bringing information, recognition and acceptance.” 

As someone who once felt stigmatized by her positive diagnosis, Food & Friends provides Lyniss with a community of volunteers to which she feels connected.

“You have taught me certain behaviors towards humanity no matter what form or shape.” 

Lyniss wants to pay forward the kindness she has received from volunteers to people she doesn’t know. She wants to pass these values on to her son, who really appreciates what Food & Friends does for his mother. 

“Great servants to the weak - no matter the weather. Anyway you need help, they try and meet it,” says Lyniss. “Food & Friends has been a blessing to me. And I see them helping other people - neighbors, friends and family. Helping the nation. A great blessing to the world.”

Chef Jeff Black Is Dishing Up Generosity At Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction

Chef Jeff Black will chair this year's
Chef's Best Dinner & Auction.

Jeff Black has established himself as a force in the Washington, DC, community through a lifetime of commitment to the restaurant industry. Chef Black and his wife Barbara opened their first restaurant, Addie’s, in Rockville, in 1992, and the two determined chefs have successfully expanded with four more establishments. Barbara and Jeff Black, with partner, Jon Linck, own and operate Addie's, Black Market Bistro, Black's Bar and Kitchen, Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, Black Jack and BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant, which captured the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s “Best New Restaurant of the Year” in 2006.

While each restaurant has its own distinct style, all share a common commitment to great food and quality service. Black Restaurant Group supports the sustainability of farms and waters, humane and healthful raising of animals and fish, and environmentally sound practices regarding energy, recycling and conservation. In addition to their sustainable practices, Black's Restaurant Group seeks to make a difference in the community by partnering with and supporting local charities through the Black's Family Foundation.

Each of the restaurants is routinely recognized by critics and guests alike as some of the top restaurants in the area ranking in Washingtonian magazine’s “100 Best.” And in 2012 Jeff and Barbara Black were recognized for their success as Restaurateurs of the Year from Washingtonian and from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

We are incredibly grateful to have Chef Jeff Black serve as Celebrity Chef Chair for the 23rd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction presented by the NACDS Foundation. Chef Jeff Black and his restaurants having been delighting guests at Chef’s Best for years with tasty bites and extraordinary auction lots. In addition, through participating in Dining Out for Life® and hosting a number of special events in our honor, Jeff Black has donated more than $70,000 to support our mission.

Chef Black has said of Food & Friends: "I am confident that you will never find a more committed, passionate and loving group of people than Food & Friends. The efforts of their volunteers and staff are immeasurable, and they give more to our local community in a day than most do in a year." We are proud and honored, in Food & Friends' 25th year, to have Chef Jeff Black serving as our Chef's Best Dinner & Auction Celebrity Chef Chair.

(Courtesy of Black Restaurant Group: http://www.blackrestaurantgroup.com)

Innovative Strategies "Spring" Up to Support Our Work

Spring is here, and while that means more beautiful weather and blooms around the Washington area, it also means fewer donations for our area’s hungry. While the need is year-round, unfortunately the donations are not. Unlike the cherry blossoms, charitable donations bloom best in December. That’s why we rely on innovative fundraising campaigns and partnerships with generous foundations and corporate neighbors more than ever during the spring months.

One of our campaigns this spring was the 17th Annual Dining Out for Life® on Thursday, April 25th. Dining Out for Life® asks people to simply go out to lunch and/or dinner at more than 100 local restaurants which have committed to donate 25-110% of their proceeds to Food & Friends. With just a meal out, people across the D.C. region help us ensure that thousands of children and adults facing HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses receive the daily nutritious meals so vital to their care.

We are also working with many generous corporate partners around the region. Partners like Walmart, whose foundation recently awarded Food & Friends a $50,000 grant from their State Giving Program. Walmart is joining us again in May when we host our 23rd Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction presented by the NACDS Foundation to celebrate Food & Friends’ 25th anniversary. The event will bring together many of our partners to help home-deliver more than one million nutritious meals to our critically ill neighbors.

We depend on the support of partners like Walmart to keep our programs vibrant throughout the year. The partnership between Walmart and Food & Friends stretches back to 2004, and we are looking forward to continuing it for years to come.

This partnership is a good example of an often overlooked effect of business on the community as a whole. Corporate giving is a major part of the donations that many local non-profits, including Food & Friends, need to serve the community year-round. When you consider the effect of major companies coming to our region, I would ask that we all consider the positive impact that these businesses have on local nonprofits. We thrive on the generous donations and fruitful partnerships that these businesses are able to provide.

At a time of the year when donations from our wonderful individual donors is less robust than the cherry blossoms, creative programs and partnerships with corporate neighbors enables Food & Friends to keep providing meals to those in need. These are the kinds of partnerships that our community needs.



Craig Shniderman has led Food & Friends as the Executive Director since April 1995. He is a native of the Washington area and has lived and worked in Greater Washington for almost his entire career.