LONG ISLAND CARES - THE HARRY CHAPIN FOOD BANK
AGENCY NEWSLETTER - NOVEMBER 2003
Previous Issues
 

What’s On Our Website Today?

Our mailed newsletter included this notice to encourage you to log on to our web site.  Well, obviously you are here already!  Even so, please be sure to check out our what we offer on our Agency Services page.  You can view the current delivery schedule, download our current menus, keep track of important dates, read the newsletter (nice going - you're doing fine on this one) and file your Monthly Report!  Thanks for your interest.

HPNAP Capital Equipment

Agencies that have been awarded HPNAP Capital Equipment have received letters stating what equipment they are to receive.  This has been a long and arduous process.  We have been proactive about this. 

We anticipate that all equipment will be delivered by Thanksgiving.  You will be contacted in the coming weeks by our equipment vendor to discuss your equipment and building constraints with regard to delivery.  Thank you for your patience.

If you have any questions, call Frank Longo at 631/582-FOOD (3663) ext. 112.

HPNAP Agencies – We have a “Veggie Package” for Your Clients

As the holidays near, we would like for you to load up on vegetables for your clients.  We currently have three types of frozen vegetables.  The frozen vegetables are Peas, Carrots, and Mixed Vegetables.  We are offering a package of two cases of each.  We would love for this product to reach your clients by the holidays. 

If you are interested in this package please contact Frank Longo at 631/582-FOOD (3663) ext. 112.  This Veggie Package  will have no impact on your grant.

Attention HPNAP Operation Support Grant Recipients
Documentation Due December 15, 2003

Now is the time for all agencies that received a HPNAP Operation Support Grant to be assembling the necessary documentation.  The grant dates are from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004.  Please make sure that all receipts and cancelled checks fall within those dates.  HPNAP will not accept documentation for expenses that were incurred before July 1, 2003.  The documentation for the first half of the grant is due December 15, 2003. 

You have two choices for submitting your documentation:

1.      You can send in the full documentation for your expenses now.

2.      You can submit the first half of your documentation now. 

If you choose to send in the full documentation now, your second half of the grant will be mailed as soon as the checks are issued.  For those who only submit the first half of the documentation, you will be notified when you can come to Long Island Cares to pick up the second half of the grant.

If you have any questions as to what is acceptable documentation, please call Frank Longo at 631/582-FOOD (3663) ext.112.

Hand Washing vs. Alcohol Gels in Food Service Settings
 (Reprinted from Dietetics Practice – Summer 2003, Vol. 3, No.1)

Effective hand washing continues to top the list as one of the most important steps in preventing food borne illness.  With availability of hand sanitizing alcohol gels have come questions about their use in food service settings.  A new fact sheet produced by the FDA and the CDC provides some answers.

Proper hand washing, as described in the Food Code continues to serve as a vital and necessary public health practice in retail and food service.

Using alcohol gels in place of hand washing in retail and food service does not adequately reduce important food borne pathogens on food workers' hands.

Alcohols have a very poor activity against bacterial spores, protozoan oocysts, and certain non-enveloped (non-lipophilic) viruses, which are the predominant cause of food borne illnesses.

Ingredients used in alcohol-based hand gels for retail or food service must be approved food additive, and approved under FDA monograph or as a New Drug Application.  Alcohol-based hand gels have not been submitted for approval as a food additive.

Retail food and food service work involves high potential for wet hands and hands contaminated with proteinaceous material.  Scientific research questions the efficacy of alcohol on most hands and hands contaminated with proteinaceous material.

Check out the fact sheet:  “Hand Hygiene in Retail and Food Service Establishments” at:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/handhyg.html
 

ABCD’s of Keeping Food Safe in an Emergency

Did you know that a flood, fire, national disaster, or the loss of power from high winds, snow, or ice could jeopardize the safety of your food? Knowing how to determine if food is safe and how to keep food safe will help minimize the potential loss of food and reduce the risk of foodborne illness. This fact sheet will help you make the right decisions for keeping your family safe during an emergency.

Always keep meat, poultry, fish, and eggs refrigerated at or below 40 ºF and frozen food at or below 0 ºF. This may be difficult when the power is out. Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to maintain the cold temperature. The refrigerator will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours if it is unopened. A full freezer will hold the temperature for approximately 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full) if the door remains closed. Obtain dry or block ice to keep your refrigerator as cold as possible if the power is going to be out for a prolonged period of time. Fifty pounds of dry ice should hold an 18-cubic foot full freezer for 2 days. Plan ahead and know where dry ice and block ice can be purchased.

Be prepared for an emergency by having items on hand that don’t require refrigeration and can be eaten cold or heated on the outdoor grill. Shelf-stable food, boxed or canned milk, water, and canned goods should be part of a planned emergency food supply. Make sure you have ready-to-use baby formula for infants and pet food. Remember to use these items and replace them from time to time. Be sure to keep a hand-held can opener for an emergency.

Consider what you can do ahead of time to store your food safely in an emergency. If you live in a location that could be affected by a flood, plan your food storage on shelves that will be safely out of the way of contaminated water. Coolers are a great help for keeping food cold if the power will be out for more than 4 hours—have a couple on hand along with frozen gel packs. When your freezer is not full, keep items close together—this helps the food stay cold longer.

Digital, dial, or instant-read food thermometers and appliance thermometers will help you know if the food is at safe temperatures. Keep appliance thermometers in the refrigerator and freezer at all times. When the power is out, an appliance thermometer will always indicate the temperature in the refrigerator and freezer no matter how long the power has been out. The refrigerator temperature should be 40 ºF or below; the freezer, 0 ºF or lower. If you’re not sure a particular food is cold enough, take its temperature with a food thermometer.

The Health & Welfare Council of Long Island’s
Anti-Hunger Task Force invites you to
 

And Agency Fair

Keynote Speaker:

Janet Poppendieck, author:

Sweet Charity: The End of Food Entitlement

Workshops (please choose two):

q       Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) on Long Island: Ken Curtain, Federal Emergency Management Agency, NYC

q       How Can Immigrants Access Federal Nutrition Programs?:  

q       Nutrition, Food Safety, & Your Health: Dana John, Public Nutritionist, USDA/NYSDOH

q       Food Stamp Training Session: Cathy Roberts, Nutrition Consortium of NYS, Albany, NY

 

To register please complete and fax this form to: (516) 483-4794 Attention: Christina Hann.  (Click here for easier printing version - requires Word)

Name: __________________________________________________________________

 

Agency ____________________________      Email ____________________________

 

Phone _____________________________      Fax ______________________________

 

**Please Bring Non Perishable Food Items to donate to

Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Food Bank**

Sponsored by members of Health & Welfare Council of L.I., Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger, Suffolk County Community College Sports & Convention Center, Starbucks Coffee Company

 

DIRECTIONS TO THE
FOURTH ANNUAL HUNGER FORUM AT
SUFFOLK COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
SPORTS & CONVENTION CENTER:

~ LIE to exit 53

~ Take Wicks Road heading south of the LIE

~ Turn right into the first entrance onto the SCCC campus

~ The entrance road will end, turn left (there will be a sign in front of you that points left towards the convention center)

~ The convention center will be on the right and has flagpoles in front of it

~ Free parking is available in front of the center (please do not park in the spaces marked with red paint as they are for the SCCC faculty)