Food

Staff from the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) Wichita Regional Office have established emergency offices in the Oaklawn area of Wichita and in Derby to provide replacement food benefits for individuals enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) who were impacted by tornadoes and violent storms over the weekend.   The Oaklawn location will be open from 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. in the Oaklawn Community Center at 2937 E. Oaklawn, Wichita, 67216.

Two local charities have teamed up to help families with food assistance over Spring Break. “Communities In Schools” of Wichita and Sedgwick County and the Kansas Food Bank have launched Break 4 Kids Food Drive in order to provide CIS families with over the school holiday.   This is the second year that CIS and the Kansas Food Bank have teamed up to provide meals to students.  The goal set by CIS and the Kansas Food Bank is to provide 100 families with a week of food.

The way we treat our pets has changed in the last few years, in part because of the food recalls of 2007. Many pet owners are looking for natural products for their pets, including toys and dishes that are BPA free.  Are you among those who worry about what's in your pet's food and don't worry about the cost? Read more here , and let me know what you think.

There's a food fight going on in North Carolina. A 4-year-old pre-school student was forced to hand over her home-made lunch and forced to eat cafeteria nuggets. The little girl's grandmother had packed her a turkey and cheese sandwich, on multi-grain bread, a banana, potato chips and apple juice.  However, school officials say the lunch didn't meet state guidelines for healthy lunches. School officials declared the lunch unhealthy because it was missing a veggie and milk.  According to The Division of Child Development and Early Education all lunches served in pre-kindergarten programs, including in-home day care centers must consist of one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain, and two servings of fruit or vegetables, even if the lunches are brought from home.

For most people, seeing an officer show up at your house is not a good sign. But that's not the case for hundreds of families in Sedgwick County this week. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office Benefit Fund began their annual food basket drive this week helping many families in need. Sheriff's Deputies are going around delivering 1800 boxes of food to 600 families. The annual event started 19 years ago during the Christmas season and is a year round effort. Volunteers package the food items at the Dillons Warehouse and once the boxes are completed they go out for delivery to families in need.

Food and toy donations for those in need are down this year in Wichita.  Tuesday morning, Operation Holiday only had a fraction of the food needed to hand out to families later this week.  Operation Holiday used reserve funds to buy food from the Kansas Food Bank, but it's still short. "Based on the number of families who have applied, and the number we are anticipating being here later this week, we are thinking we'll just have to scale back a little bit on what we were planning to provide to them," says Anne Corriston, Executive Director at Interfaith Ministries.

The Kansas Food Bank is preparing for a busy holiday season.  The charity gathers food donations, which are then given to other charities for distribution to those in need. Brian Walker with the Food Bank says demand has been up all year long, and he expects even greater need as we head into the holidays. Walker says the Food Bank is on par to distribute 10.5 million pounds of food this year. He says they always see a spike during the holidays and it's not just because organizations want to provide better meals during the holidays.  During the winter months, many run into problems with heating bills or medical bills eating away at their food budgets.

If you have a favorite food--or one you just hate--check with your mom. Researchers say fetal taste buds are mature by 13 to 15 weeks- and the flavor and odors of what mothers eat show up in fluid swallowed by the fetus..and also in breast milk. Now researchers suggest doing some pre-natal work, developing a baby's palate to like food that's good for them, in hopes of warding off obesity and diabetes later in life. Read more about the research here .

Gas, airfare and hotel rates are up but despite rising costs more people are expected to to travel this holiday season than last year. According to the AAA 42.5 million Americans are expected to travel this Thanksgiving. While that number is lower than average, it's still higher than in 2010. This despite the fact that airfare is expected to increase 20% from last year. Hotel rates are also up 6% percent from last year, now an average of $145 a night. Travel experts say more people are traveling because most stayed home last year to save money.

If you need help eating healthy food- you can get your friends involved. There's a new app that allows you to photo-document what you eat--you rate it from fit to fat..and then share with your friends for their feedback. The developer says the Fit or Fat app provides you with an overall view of your habits, it collects your data and puts it into charts and graphs, to let you see what you're really eating and when you're most likely to give in to temptation. Find more on the app from the Boston Globe .