From a press release
Those Empty Shelves are Filing Up at the Mid-Michigan Food Bank
Volunteers stock the shelves at the Mid-Michigan Food Bank. Photo Courtesy: Mid-Michigan Food Bank
(Lansing, MI) If you visited the Mid-Michigan Food Bank this Wednesday, July 24, 2008, you would be amazed at the transformation. All those empty shelves are filling up with the 23,600 pounds of food donated by concerned citizens in Lansing and the surrounding areas. Monday began the huge task of finding volunteers to sort and inspect all the donations and put them in boxes, then label those boxes for distribution this weekend. As Dave Karr, Director of the Mid-Michigan Food Bank, states, “It’s a good problem to have!”
Today a volunteer youth group from First Assembly of God, East Lansing showed up to help sort and box. What a difference they made. Only seven more bins to sort through after they left. Another group will be in tomorrow.
The MMFB always needs donations of food and money. 23,600 pounds will be distributed to hungry people within the next two weeks. In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, 4.4 million pounds of food and nearly 1.3 million pounds of fresh produce were distributed by the Mid-Michigan Food Bank. Read the rest of this entry »
Mid-Michigan Food Bank Shelves Filling Up
24 07 2008
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Categories : Michigan
Buy Fresh, Buy Local – Select Michigan Farmer’s Market
24 07 2008
Shoppers looking for deals at the farmer's market at the State Capitol
I know it’s hard to believe but I actually got my butt out of bed this morning so we could make our way to the State Capitol for the farmer’s market. We parked along Michigan near the roundabout and headed towards the Capitol. I was really surprised at just how many people had already started checking out the booths at just a little after ten o’clock.
The sidewalks on the east lawn were lined with pop-up tents full of flowers, produce, fish, herbs, cookies, and much more. One of the first place we stopped had zucchini and squash 3 for $1. I just picked up a pasta recipe that uses both of those, so my girlfriend snuck through the crowd and grabbed a few. As she was paying, she also noticed pints of Traverse City Cherries. After handing me the bag of zucchini, she went back for cherries.
The next stop was for me. The thing I love about farmer’s markets is fresh herbs. I’ve tried growing my own, but I get impatient and I usually end up killing the plants. I’d rather just spend a couple bucks and buy small bunches as I need them. I picked up a bunch of basil and oregano for a couple meals next week. I love the smell of fresh basil and it made the car smell good the rest of the day. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Farmer's Market, Lansing, Michigan, Produce, State Capitol
Categories : Downtown, Farmer's Market, Food News, Lansing
Press Release- Gov. Granholm Visits Farmer’s Market
24 07 2008I’ll have more on this later tonight. My girlfriend and I made it down there and wound up with some good stuff. For now, here’s a press release from the Governor’s office on her stop there this morning.
Granholm Visits Capitol Farmers’ Market, Underscores Benefits of Supporting Local Economy
Encourages citizens to visit SaveMoney Web site for money-saving tipsLANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today visited the “Buy Fresh, Buy Local – Select Michigan” farmers’ market on the State Capitol lawn to underscore the benefits of purchasing local agricultural products. Granholm said supporting local farmers’ markets is a great way to ensure that money stays in Michigan and, in some cases, can be a money-saver for the consumer since local products aren’t being shipped long distances, which can increase fuel costs that are passed along to shoppers. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Capitol, Farmer's Market, Governor, Jennifer Granholm, Michigan Select
Categories : Farmer's Market, Food News, Lansing
Spotted Dog Cafe
24 07 2008
The Spotted Dog Cafe on Washington Sq. in Downtown Lansing
As my girlfriend said, the Spotted Dog Cafe is more her kind of place than mine. We made our way downtown to check out the Farmer’s Market at the State Capitol and decided to stay downtown for lunch. We were parked on Michigan Ave. just past the roundabout so we left the car and went for a walk. We’ve walked by Spotted Dog before, but usually on a Saturday when they’re not open. I wasn’t in the mood for a burger or anything heavy and I figured a deli sandwich would be much better.
We walked in right about opening time so the place was pretty empty. There were a couple people behind the counter. The first asked what my girlfriend wanted. She went with the summer salad which she said reminded her of the two years she spent in Idaho. The mixed greens were topped with dried cherries, blueberries, shredded cheese, walnuts, and apples with a peppercorn dressing. She it was refreshing and tasted like it came right out of the garden. The large salad was more than enough for her. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Cafe, Downtown, Lansing, Reviews
Categories : Cafe, Downtown, Lansing, Reviews, Sandwiches
L & L Food Center – Saginaw Hwy.
24 07 2008- 3800 W. Saginaw Hwy
- Lansing, MI 48917
- (517) 321-4392
- Website
L & L Food Center on West Saginaw Highway in Lansing.
When I visited the L & L Food Center in Holt a few weeks ago, the thing I noticed is that their meats are much cheaper than the other grocery stores. After hitting the Farmer’s Market at the State Capitol, I needed to find some chicken to go with some of the things we bought. We needed to go out near the Lansing Mall. I rememered seeing an L & L on W. Saginaw, so that’s the one I hit up.
The thing I noticed about this L & L is that it’s much brighter and much more inviting than the one in Holt. The layout is pretty similar, but the aisle’s seemed much longer here. Unlike the one in Holt, the frozen foods are at the end of the store instead of in the middle. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Chicken, Grocery, L & L, Lansing, Pasta, Veggies
Categories : Grocery, Lansing, Reviews
Aldi – Saginaw Hwy.
24 07 2008- 5625 W. Saginaw Hwy.
- Lansing, MI 48906
- (636) 278-4700
- Website
Aldi's on Saginaw Highway
It has been years since I’ve been to an Aldi. We didn’t shop there much when I was growing up because there was kind of a stigma to shopping at Aldi’s. On top of that, it’s kind of a pain in the butt. They don’t have the conviences of a modern mega-mart, but that’s how they keep prices down. The stigma is gone now and more and more people are taking advantage of Aldi’s low prices.
The one thing I always use to go to Aldi’s for was their animal crackers. I know that sounds stupid, but when I was in high school, my distrcit swtiched to the Eight-Block schedule. Instead of a regular school day with eight 40 minute periods, we had four 80 minute periods each day with an every other day schedule. Because of the schedule, there was always one group that would have three morning classes before lunch which means we didn’t get to eat much before one o’clock. The teachers would let us bring snacks in and Aldi’s animal crackers were a big hit or some reason. Read the rest of this entry »
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Tags: Aldi, Chicken, discount, Grocery, Shopping
Categories : Chains, Grocery, Lansing, Reviews
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