Full Table

“I first got the idea for this book while volunteering at a food pantry. I noticed many families took the same items every time while constantly leaving others on the shelves. My original thought was to create little recipe cards to encourage the use of these commonly disregarded food items. However, as I continued volunteer work and eventually began as a research assistant, I noticed many issues in food insecurity and food policy that left families without resources they needed to create the full, healthy meals they want for their families. I also explored the impact of food deserts more and considered the lack of proper nutritious food for many communities throughout the city of Pittsburgh. These food deserts and policies affect many individuals around the country. According to the USDA, 35 million Americans experienced hunger in 2019, with 10 million children living in food-insecure households. Food insecurity can affect anybody from rural families to seniors to children and college students.. Until these root problems impacting are properly addressed, there exists a gap in food families can access. 

The ingredients used in recipes in this book were chosen through research of benefits guidelines for SNAP and WIC, as well as food items commonly found at food pantries in the Pittsburgh area. Each section of this book is written to provide options for specific problems that families facing food insecurity might face. When faced with food insecurity, families seek relief in a number of ways including using SNAP or WIC benefits or receiving food from food pantries. For families in food deserts, it may be more difficult for them to find groceries outside of the three most common grocers in these areas (Family Dollar, Dollar General, Dollar Tree) which lack nutritious foods like fresh produce. Additionally, many families may have limited kitchen utensils to prepare typical meals found in cookbooks and online. 

The aim of this cookbook is to help address some of the issues these families often face. Whether they run out of benefits to buy meats at the end of the month and need new protein sources for their family, or they aren’t sure how to use certain items they found at a food pantry or dollar store, this book can be used as a guide to make new, exciting, and nutritious meals and adapt them for certain diets (halal, kosher, plant-based etc). This book does not aim to tell anyone how to eat but to address food deserts by providing options for a cook at any level to feed their family and friends.”