JANUARY 13, 2023 AGENCY SPOTLIGHT Down Maynard Street, a welcoming stand points towards the back entrance of Betsy Barbour Residence Hall: “Maize and Blue Cupboard — Walk This Way!” Walking in, I am greeted with smiles and pleasantries by volunteers who are students just like me. I am given a brown bag to hold whichever shelved food items I would like, along with a sample of pre-made overnight oats. I am even given a recipe for the oats on a small slip of paper, with a list of all the ingredients I can also get from the pantry. The Maize and Blue Cupboard is a student-organized food pantry that provides food, household supplies and resource support for the University of Michigan community. Their mission is to ensure that all members of the University can receive equitable access to healthy, nutritious and nourishing food and can prepare it for themselves or others. To learn more about the Cupboard, I spoke with Keith Soster, Director of Food Sustainability and Student Community Engagement. The Maize and Blue Cupboard was initiated in 2011 by university SOPHIA LUPTON U-M student contributor shoppers per week. Who does the pantry serve, and who are the shoppers? The Cupboard is targeted to anyone with an MCard, but Soster also points out, “We will not turn anyone away. If somebody in the Ann Arbor community were to come in, we are going to allow them to shop and we are also going to give them a list of resources in Ann Arbor.” These resources range from students Wesley Zhu and Forrest Burczak. Soster explained their foundational goal is to alleviate food insecurity on campus by offering food to those students, faculty and staff in need. In order to reduce the stigma often associated with food insecurity, the name Maize and Blue Cupboard was chosen specifically to be inviting to all. “Sometimes [the name of] food banks and pantries can prevent people from utilizing its services,” noted Soster. Over the last couple of years, the number of shoppers has continually increased to about seven hundred Maize & Blue Cupboard creamy carrot soup MIRA SIMONTON-CHAO Groundcover contributor Ingredients: 1 yellow onion 1 or 2 fresh carrots ¼ bag frozen carrots ¼ bag of a different frozen vegetable, ideally root or squash 2 tsp vegetable or chicken boullion 1 tsp salt 1 can coconut milk Pepper to taste Any other vegetables Directions: Coarsely chop vegetables. Heat a large pot on medium-high heat with butter or oil. Add yellow onion and saute for 3-5 mins. Add the cut carrots, frozen carrots, and other frozen vegetable of your choosing to the pot with 1 cup of water. Add chicken boullion, salt, some cracked pepper to taste and 1 tsp cumin (optional). Add can of coconut milk— if you don’t have coconut milk you can use about 1 cup of heavy cream or milk. Simmer until large carrots are soft. Ladle 1-2 cups into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the blended mixture into a different pot or bowl. Repeat until you have a full pot of yummy creamy carrot squash soup. Other veggies you could add to the mix: celery, a small amount of potato, any kind of fresh squash (I would recommend baking this before blending), and ginger! churches that serve hot meals to housing insecurity programs. So if you are a non-University of Michigan community member, you are still welcome at the Maize and Blue Cupboard. Moreover, you will be provided with additional resources that are provided in Ann Arbor if you are in need of additional help or social services. Although Soster’s work is to connect the Cupboard to other departmental resources across campus, he is quick to note that it is a team effort. “Students play a big part in the operations of it all,” explains Soster. “It's amazing how many people come in to volunteer. We usually see more donations or volunteers [during the GROUNDCOVER NEWS Tackling food insecurity with Maize and Blue holiday season], just because people get in the spirit of giving, and I think that's awesome. I'm really excited about that.” The Maize and Blue Cupboard is open from 3-7 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for Wednesday when it opens at noon. It not only runs during the fall and winter semesters, but the Cupboard continues to operate in the summer as well. They also offer mobile deliveries if people are unable to come to the central campus location. Whether you are struggling with food security, just need a little assistance getting back on your feet, or would like to lend your own helping hand and volunteer, reach out to the University of Michigan’s Maize and Blue Cupboard! As for me, I returned to my dorm with a brown bag of groceries, proud to be at a university with a food pantry that provides to any and all a full stomach, a smile and a warmed heart. mbc.studentlife.umich.edu/ 420 S State St., Ann Arbor 734-936-2794 Easy tomato beef pasta EMMA LAPP U-M student contributor Ingredients: Neutral oil 16 oz can of canned spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce 1 lb. package of ground beef Whatever type of pasta you want — I prefer to make this dish with garganelli Cheese (mozzarella or parmesan is great) 2 tsp Italian seasoning Salt and pepper to taste Directions: The first thing that you are going to want to do is start to boil the water for the pasta. While the water is boiling, heat up a pan on the stove and add a little bit of oil. Add beef and heat up to a point where it is broken down. While doing this, add seasonings. Hopefully around this time, the water should be boiling so add your choice of pasta to it! Try these recipes from shoppers at Maize and Blue Cupboard that utilize common pantry ingredients! Once the ground beef is looking cooked (brown), open the can of diced tomatoes and add that to the pan with the ground beef. Combine these two together completely, but turn the pan temperature down so that it keeps it just warm and isn’t overcooking the dish. Strain the pasta and add it to the pan with the beef and tomatoes and mix them all together. Add finishing touches (more seasonings, cheese) and serve! 5
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