Being together in the same room makes a big difference for Israeli and Palestinian teens trying to build bridges through culture.
By Nancy Fowler, Beacon arts reporter
12:05 am on Wed, 03.27.13
Winter weather has stretched this year’s chili-eating season into spring. But even after temperatures warm up, chili will continue as a good choice for philanthropists, and those struggling to find enough to eat.
Beginning today, Panera Bread offers its turkey chili in a sourdough bread bowl as a pay-what-you-will item in each of its 48 St. Louis-area stores, including those in the Metro East. The suggested price is $5.89, including tax. Those with financial difficulties can pay less, or even get a free serving — no questions asked.
Those who are able to pay more than the suggested price are encouraged to do so. Even if you order a different menu item altogether, you can donate to the program, called Panera’s Meal of Shared Responsibility. Any money exceeding Panera’s costs will go toOperation Food Search, a local organization dedicated to feeding the hungry.
In 2010, the company debuted its first nonprofit Panera Cares cafe in Clayton. All of its menu items from pastries to paninis are pay-what-you-will. For nearly three years the cafe has been self-sustaining, with any excess money funding a job-training effort for at-risk youth.
Panera subsequently opened four more nonprofits in Detroit, Portland, Chicago and Boston. If the new Shared Responsibility turkey chili program goes well in St. Louis, its expansion into other markets is also possible.
The turkey chili is a nutrient-rich new menu item, according to Panera. It provides 56 percent of the fiber and 34 percent of the protein needed to fulfill the daily minimum requirement for a 2,000-calorie diet. There’s no vegetarian alternative because that would make it difficult to chart the program’s results, according to Kate Antonacci, Panera’s director of societal impact initiatives.
“If we were to substitute it out for anything and everything on the menu, it wouldn’t give us an accurate reading,” Antonacci said.
Panera does not expect to have any issues with large numbers of people who can’t pay, overwhelming its stores in search of a free or low-cost meal.
Food insecurity, defined as a lack of certainty about consistent food sources, is not a constant state for many people, Antonacci explained. In the St. Louis area, more than 45,000 people struggle with hunger at a given time, according to Panera’s figures. This population includes the homeless but it’s also a much wider group, whose needs fluctuate. Many are homeowners with college degrees who are struggling with unemployment.
“If you lose that job, your rent doesn’t go away, your electric bill doesn’t go away,” Antonacci said. “Food is one of the first things to fall off.”
The new program is designed not only to feed the hungry but to start a conversation, perhaps a movement.
“How willing are people in St. Louis to help each other?” Antonacci asked.
By Mitchell Parker/photo courtesy: Houzz.com
Todd Bol has a background in international business development. More specifically: He used to help developing countries institute social change. He’d always been known to think big and globally. But this man of social generosity couldn’t have expected that, while messing around and building things on his deck one day, a dollhouse-size structure he turned into a free community library would have the global impact it does today.
Bol’s prototype spawned Little Free Library, a nonprofit that seeks to place small, accessible book exchange boxes in neighborhoods around the world. Users can purchase the boxes directly from LFL’s website, download plans to build their own or completely wing it.
The concept is simple: A house-shaped box in a neighborhood holds a few dozen books.
Little Free Library community members are invited to share a book, leave a book or both.
The LFL almost always uses recycled materials for the custom libraries it sells online, for an average cost of $250 to $500, but it also offers plans for making your own.
The idea has taken off, growing from 100 libraries in 2011 to 6,000 libraries in 2013, with 2 million books shared. “By that account, we’ll have 25,000 libraries by the end of the year,” says Bol.
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A homeowner or another local steward, like the one shown here, takes ownership of the library, making sure it’s in good shape and that book materials are appropriate for the neighborhood.
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Little Free Library owners may purchase a charter for $35 that puts their library in the organization’s database and affords them discounts and information about keeping, maintaining and promoting their libraries.
Bol is most proud of the way Little Free Library is bringing communities together. “It’s started a neighborhood exchange. It gets people talking and more comfortable with their neighbors,” he says. “This leads to them helping each other.”
Almost every library is unique. This one in Northern California was built out of a used
wine crate.
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The libraries work best in neighborhoods where stewards can better maintain the box. “In parks you’ll get a box full of discounts for haircuts and hamburgers,” Bol notes.
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Little Free Libraries does custom paint and build some of the boxes, even creating memorial libraries for loved ones, like this one in Houston honoring Donald F. Markgraf.
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And there’s no limit to the possibilities. For this library, also in Houston, the owner added tiny stairs, a drawer handle and colorful Mardi Gras beads.
In Pasadena, California, a brightly colored library has major curb appeal.
From Kate Merker:
Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m| Total Time: 30m
Directions
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and add 2 teaspoons salt.
- Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 14 to 16 minutes. Drain, run under cold water to cool, and using a fork or your fingers, break the potatoes in half.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steaks with 1 teaspoon salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper.
- Cook steaks to the desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the blue cheese, vinegar, remaining ¼ cup oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Add the potatoes and lettuce and toss to coat. Serve with the steaks.
By Kate Merker , March, 2010
Sandhya Somashekhar has an interesting article in the New York Times that talks about the impact being raised by two parents of the same gender can have on kids.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who is widely considered the swing vote, called the topic “uncharted waters.” Conservative Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wryly asked, “You want us to step in and render a decision based on an assessment of the effects of this institution which is newer than cellphones or the Internet?”
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on Proposition 8, the law voters passed in 2008 banning same-sex marriage in California. Listen to the complete arguments in the case known as Hollingsworth v. Perry.
Indeed, gay marriage is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States. It has been legal only since 2004, when Massachusetts began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Eight more states and the District have legalized same-sex nuptials since, but it has been banned in 35 states.
Researchers have been delving into the effects of same-sex parenting only since the 1980s and 1990s. Most of the studies involve relatively small samples because of the rarity of such families.
Still, there is a growing consensus among experts that the sexual orientation of parents is not a major determinant in how well children fare in school, on cognitive tests and in terms of their emotional development. What matters more, researchers found, is the quality of parenting and the family’s economic well-being.
“I can tell you we’re never going to get the perfect science, but what you have right now is good-enough science,” said Benjamin Siegel, a professor of pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. “The data we have right now are good enough to know what’s good for kids.”
Siegel co-wrote a report issued by theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics last week when it came out in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. The group looked at more than 80 studies, books and articles conducted over 30 years and concluded that legalizing same-sex marriage would strengthen families and benefit children.
The best study, Siegel said, is the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study, which began in 1986 with 154 lesbian mothers who conceived children through artificial insemination. A recent look at 78 offspring found that the children did fine — better, even, than children in a similar study involving more diverse families.
Many opponents of same-sex marriage argue that the academy’s conclusions are premature. They point to some recent studies, including one from Mark Regnerus, a sociology professor from the University of Texas at Austin. Regnerus, who could not be reached for this article, found that adults who reported being raised by a person who had a homosexual experience were more likely to be on welfare or experience sexual abuse.
Regnerus has been the subject of intense criticism from mainstream researchers and pro-gay-marriage activists. But opponents of same-sex marriage say his work should provide a note of caution on an issue that has yet to be studied in adequate depth.
“What the social science makes clear, and it has for several decades, is that children tend to do best when they’re raised by their married biological parents,” said Jennifer Marshall, director of domestic policy studies for the conservative Heritage Foundation. “In the case of same-sex households, there is not yet evidence that [children] are going to be the same. There’s every reason to believe that different family structures will have different outcomes.”
Susan Brown, a professor of sociology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio who studies family structures, said it is true that decades of research show that children turn out slightly better when they are raised by their biological parents, compared with those reared by single parents, or in “step” households.
But children raised in committed, same-sex couple-led households do not appear to do statistically worse, she said.
“One thing we’re finding that’s very important for children is stability in their family life,” Brown said. “To the extent that marriage is a vehicle through which children can achieve stability, it only follows that marriage is something that would be beneficial to children.”
