Stay Safe: 5 Summer Food Safety Tips

With the summer quickly approaching, the time is right to review food safety tips. During warm weather, it is especially important to practice safe food handling when preparing perishable foods such as meat, poultry, seafood and egg products. The warmer conditions may be ideal for picnics and barbecues, but they also provide an ideal environment for bacteria and other pathogens in food to multiply rapidly and cause foodborne illness. Follow these 5 summer food safety tips from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce the risk of foodborne illness this summer.

From the Store to Your Home
To guard against cross-contamination — which can happen when raw meat or poultry juices drip on other food — put packages of raw meat and poultry into plastic bags. Always refrigerate perishable food within 2 hours. Refrigerate within 1 hour when the temperature is above 90 °F.

Marinating

Marinate food in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Poultry and cubed meat or stew meat can be marinated up to 2 days. Beef, veal, pork and lamb roasts, chops, and steaks may be marinated up to 5 days. If the marinade used on raw meat or poultry is to be reused, make sure to let it come to a boil first to destroy any harmful bacteria.

Transporting
When carrying food to another location, keep it cold to minimize bacterial growth. Use an insulated cooler with sufficient ice or ice packs to keep the food at 40 °F or below. Pack food right from the refrigerator into the cooler immediately before leaving home.

Precooking
Precooking food partially in the microwave, oven, or stove is a good way of reducing grilling time. Just make sure that the food goes immediately on the preheated grill to complete cooking.

Cook Thoroughly
Cook food to a safe minimum internal temperature to destroy harmful bacteria. Meat and poultry cooked on a grill often browns very fast on the outside. Use a food thermometer to be sure the food has reached a safe minimum internal temperature.

For more information regarding food safety, check out the USDA’s website: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

A Message from Chef's Best Presenting Sponsor Walmart

Dear Food & Friends Supporters:

It is with great enthusiasm that Walmart serves as the Presenting Sponsor for Food & Friends’ 24th Annual Chef’s Best Dinner & Auction. Our partnership with Food & Friends started nearly a decade ago and continues to grow as a result of their commitment and proven impact on individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, and other life-challenging illnesses.

Since its inception, Food & Friends has delivered a staggering 17 million fresh meals to over 25,000 clients throughout the greater Washington area. Annually, they serve 3,000 individuals and their families with healthy food and nutrition counseling. We encourage you to join the community of supporters who enables Food & Friends to deliver fresh meals, groceries, and hope to our neighbors who need it most.

Every day, across the country, people are struggling to put food on their tables. Walmart is in a unique position to make a major impact. In 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation launched "Fighting Hunger Together," a $2 billion cash and in-kind commitment to fight hunger in America. This initiative leverages Walmart's reach and resources to alleviate and elevate the issues of hunger and healthy eating at a national level.

As a community partner, Walmart is proud to create and sustain partnerships with organizations that go above and beyond to meet the community’s needs. In the words of Sam Walton, “We’re all working together; that’s the secret.”

Thank you so much for coming and have a wonderful evening!

Sincerely,
Nina Albert
Director of Community Affairs, Walmart

$50 OFF your Chef's Best Ticket - Valid until 5/8 midnight

All Your Favorite Chefs in One Place!

Your Taste Buds Will Thank You

Don't miss out on one of the hottest food events this year. On May 13th, 50 of your favorite chefs will provide tastings of delicious cuisine at our 24th Annual Chef's Best Dinner & Auction presented by Walmart.

On May 13th, 50 of the area's best chefs will be providing samples
of delicious culinary creations at the Washington Hilton

Join us for Chef's Best at the Washington Hilton to celebrate all you have made possible and to ensure that thousands continue to receive the nutritional care so vital to their health and well-being. We couldn't be more excited to celebrate a phenomenal evening of food, fun and philanthropy with you.

BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY

Can't join us? Buy a Golden Ticket and you could win a 5-night stay at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort in the Cayman Islands and a $1,000 US Airways gift card! Tickets are $100. Only 150 tickets will be sold!

Modern Day Superwoman - Your Support Gives Denise Strength, Energy and Hope

Denise’s reality is one that can only compare to a modern day superhero. Her story is rare, and leaves most of us questioning, “How does she do it?”

"It was helpful at least to know
that my kids had something."

In 2010, after purchasing a home, Denise became sick. To make matters worse, she lost her job that August. By October of 2010, Denise was diagnosed with a blood disease that required her to undergo harsh chemotherapy treatments.

Eventually, her pricey doctor appointments soon replaced her budget for groceries, forcing Denise to rely on a limited amount of food stamps. With four children, graduate school courses, frequent hospital visits and a lack of income, food was a major hurdle in Denise’s life. In time, the southern-style meals that Denise loved to cook for her kids slowly stopped making their way to the dinner table. Her daughter, a teenager at the time, became her nurse and prepared meals to ensure her mother received adequate nutrition.

“At the time, I couldn’t be out around other people,” says Denise. “I had to send my kids to the grocery store and they weren’t used to getting food on their own.”

With the help of a social worker at Georgetown Medical Center, Denise was connected to Food & Friends after she began chemotherapy.

“Between 2010 and 2011, I was in the hospital for at least 10 months. But Food & Friends really helped me because I wasn’t home. It was helpful at least to know that my kids had something.”

For the past four years, Food & Friends has come to Denise’s aid during times when she needed it most. She recalls the volunteers who she says are always in good spirits – they kept her smiling and hopeful throughout her struggle.

Now that she is recovering slowly, Denise is getting back into the kitchen where she says “southern food with a kick” is her specialty. With groceries no longer being an obstacle, Denise enjoys preparing food for her kids, even if it simply involves heating up a Food & Friends dinner. 

Four years after her diagnosis, Denise is becoming reacquainted with her neighborhood. The mother of four is now searching for a new job, still attending Catholic University, and even takes cooking classes at Food & Friends’ facility. With the help of our frequent meal deliveries, Denise continues to inspire us with her phenomenal story.