Category: Food Bank Life

Statement on Recent Attacks | 關於最近攻擊的聲明 | Declaración sobre ataques recientes

February 12, 2021

The Food Bank unequivocally denounces the surge of violent, racist attacks that are being perpetrated against Asian Americans in the Bay Area and around the country.

The pandemic has exacerbated anti-Asian racism and hate. Between March 19, 2020 and December 31, 2020 Stop AAPI Hate received over 2,800 firsthand accounts of anti-Asian hate incidents, and more than 700 of those took place in the Bay Area. We are horrified by the trauma being inflicted on our community as a result of violent racism and xenophobia.

We are in resolute solidarity with our Asian American staff, participants, partners, and supporters during this incredibly challenging time. The community continues to suffer lost wages, businesses, and lives due to COVID-19. We also echo the recent calls of many Asian American organizations in the Bay Area to demand action from our local leaders to do more to stop these attacks.

More than half of the Food Bank’s participants are Asian Americans, many of them elders, and we see firsthand the fear and trauma the community is experiencing. Our team cares deeply for our participants and is working to ensure our food distributions remain safe, so those who need food will be able to continue to come without fear of violence. Over the coming days and weeks, we will also be working with our community partners who serve Asian American communities to ensure we are supporting them in the way they need during this challenging time. No one should forgo food due to fear and racism.

Systemic racism and white supremacy are pervasive. The same issues of institutional racism that perpetuate food insecurity are threatening the lives of people of color in our community. Anti-Asian racism, like the attacks from recent weeks, is often underreported and cannot be ignored. If we are to work towards being an anti-racist organization, then we must advocate firmly against all forms of racism.

As many celebrate Lunar New Year today, we will continue to support our community in healing from this moment.

If you would like to take action and support the Bay Area’s Asian American community, please see the resources below from many of our partners and other Asian American organizations around the Bay Area.

In solidarity,

Tanis Crosby

Resources

食物庫明確地譴責在灣區及全國各地針對亞裔美國人激增的暴力事件和種族主義襲擊。

這個疫情加劇了反亞裔的種族主義和仇恨。在2020年3月19日至2020年12月31日期間，Stop AAPI Hate收到了超過2,800宗反亞裔仇恨事件的第一手資料，其中超過700宗發生在灣區。暴力種族主義和仇外心理給我們社區造成的創傷使我們感到震驚。

在這個充滿挑戰的時刻，我們堅決聲援亞裔員工、參加者、合作夥伴和支持者。由於2019年新型冠狀病毒肆虐，社區繼續遭受工資、業務和生命的損失。我們還回應灣區許多亞裔組織最近的呼籲，請求我們的當地領導人採取更多行動制止這些襲擊。

食物庫一半以上的參加者是亞裔美國人，其中許多是長者。我們親眼目睹了社區正在遭受的恐懼和創傷。我們的團隊深切關心我們的參加者，並正在努力確保我們的食物分發安全，因此那些需要食物的人將能夠繼續前來而不必擔心暴力。在接下來的幾天和幾星期內，我們還將與為亞裔社區服務的社區合作夥伴合作，以確保我們在這個充滿挑戰的時期以他們所需的方式為他們提供支持。沒有人應該因恐懼和種族主義而放棄食物。

系統性種族主義和白人至高無上主義普遍存在。制度性的種族主義問題導致糧食危機長期存在並正威脅著我們社區有色人種的生活。像最近幾星期的襲擊一樣，反亞裔種族主義經常被低估並不能忽視。如果我們要努力成為一個反種族主義的組織，那麼我們就必須堅決反對一切形式的種族主義。

正如今天有許多人慶祝農曆新年，從這一刻起我們將繼續支持我們的社區恢復正常。

如果您想採取行動並支持灣區的亞裔社區，請參閱以下來自灣區許多合作夥伴和其他亞裔組織的資訊。

團結一致，

Tanis Crosby

資訊

  • 如果您或您認識的任何人遭受反亞裔攻擊，請在stopaapihate.org上舉報。
  • 閱讀：橫跨灣區的亞裔組織合力要求採取行動打擊暴力
  • 參加2月14日（星期日）下午1點在市中心廣場愛我們的人民：恢復我們的社區集會

El Banco de Alimentos denuncia inequívocamente la oleada de ataques violentos y racistas que se están perpetrando contra los estadounidenses de origen asiático en el Área de la Bahía (en inglés: Bay Area) y alrededor del país. 

La pandemia ha exacerbado el racismo y el odio contra los asiáticos. Entre el 19 de marzo de 2020 y el 31 de diciembre de 2020, Stop AAPI Hate recibió más de 2.800 informes de primera mano de incidentes de odio contra Asia, y más de 700 de ellos tuvieron lugar en el Área de la Bahía. Nos horroriza el trauma que se inflige a nuestra comunidad como resultado del racismo violento y la xenofobia. 

Nos declaramos en solidaridad absoluta con nuestro equipo, participantes, y colaboradores asiático-americanos y quienes nos apoyan durante este período tan increíblemente difícil. La comunidad continúa sufriendo la pérdida de salarios, negocios y vidas debido al COVID-19. También, hacemos eco a los recientes llamamientos de muchas organizaciones asiático-americanos  en el Área de la Bahía para exigir acción por parte de nuestros líderes locales para hacer más para detener estos ataques. 

Más de la mitad de los participantes del Banco de Alimentos son asiático-americanos, muchos mayores de edad, y vemos de primera mano el temor y el trauma que sufre nuestra comunidad. Nuestro equipo se preocupa profundamente por nuestros participantes, y está trabajando para asegurar que nuestras distribuciones de alimentos permanezcan seguras, para que aquellos que necesitan alimentos puedan seguir viniendo sin miedo a la violencia. Durante los próximos días y semanas, también trabajaremos con nuestros socios comunitarios que sirven a las comunidades asiático-americanos para asegurarnos de que los estamos apoyando de la manera que ellos necesitan durante este período difícil. Nadie debe privarse de comida debido al miedo y racismo. 

El racismo sistémico y la supremacía blanca son omnipresentes. Los mismos temas de racismo institucional que perpetúan la inseguridad alimentaria están amenazando las vidas de las personas de color en nuestra comunidad. El racismo anti asiático, al igual que los ataques de las últimas semanas, frecuentemente no se denuncia, pero no se puede ignorar. Si vamos a trabajar para ser una organización antirracista, entonces debemos abogar firmemente contra todas las formas de racismo. 

Mientras muchos celebran el Nuevo Año Lunar hoy, seguiremos apoyando a nuestra comunidad para que sane por lo que sucede ahora. 

Si usted desea tomar medidas y apoyar a la comunidad asiática-americana del Área de la Bahía, favor de revisar los recursos a continuación de muchos de nuestros socios y otras organizaciones asiático-americanos en el Área de la Bahía. 

En solidaridad, 

Tanis Crosby 

Recursos 

The Food Bank Hires a New Executive Director

January 26, 2021

Dear Friends,

It is our pleasure to introduce Tanis Crosby as the new Executive Director of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank.

Paul Ash is retiring after more than 32 years of dedicated and transformational leadership. He led the Food Bank from distributing just three million pounds of food in 1989 to 67 million pounds now, ensuring hundreds of thousands of Bay Area families have access to food. The full extent of his impact is truly immeasurable. He leaves behind an enduring legacy.  

Tanis Crosby joins us after serving as a leader in the YWCA movement for almost 20 years, most recently the CEO of the combined YWCA Silicon Valley and YWCA San Francisco & Marin. Having dedicated her career to advancing the mission of eliminating racism and empowering women, Tanis brings a deep understanding of the root causes of food insecurity to the Food Bank’s mission to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin. Her energy, passion, and dedication will help lead this organization into a transformational next chapter.

“The mission of the Food Bank is critical now more than ever. The pandemic has left many of our neighbors out of work and struggling to feed their families, while crystalizing what we already knew to be true – hunger exacerbates inequities like racial injustice and poverty. We are here to end hunger, to do that we must not only address current demand, but also work together to end the underlying causes of hunger,” said Tanis Crosby, Executive Director, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank. “I’m honored and excited to be part of advancing that mission.” 

This is a unique and challenging time in the Food Bank’s history. The need for a strong social safety net has never been more apparent. Under Tanis’ leadership, the Food Bank will remain committed to providing food to all our neighbors who need it and advocating for stronger policies around food security. 

Tanis looks forward to meeting our community in townhalls and out in the field. Thank you for your continued dedication and support of the Food Bank. Together we will ensure that our neighbors have the food they need to thrive.

Sincerely, 
The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank Board
Scott Brubaker, Chair

About Tanis Crosby 

Tanis serves the mission of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank to end hunger with a commitment to equity, collaboration and community.  Joining the Food Bank in 2021, Tanis previously served as a leader in the YWCA movement for almost twenty years, most recently as CEO of a combined YWCA Silicon Valley, and YWCA San Francisco & Marin since immigrating to the US in 2014. During her tenure leading YWCAs, she centered on the mission of eliminating racism and empowering women to grow impact, launch innovative programs, and grow operations by 400%.   

Tanis has served on the Silicon Valley Council of Non-Profits Leadership Council, the National Association of YWCA Executives Board of Directors, and as Co-Chair of the Santa Clara County Blue Ribbon Task Force on Intimate Partner Violence. She has been recognized as a Silicon Valley Business Journal Woman of Influence, the YWCA of Canada’s President’s Award, the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for service, and in recognition of housing advocacy and policy change the Elizabeth Fry Society’s Housing Hero Award.   

Tanis enjoys cooking, gardening, and any opportunity to explore the outdoors of our beautiful Bay Area with her family and dogs.

Irene’s Story | We’re All In This Together

August 4, 2020

Growing up in San Francisco, my grandmother was everything to me. She had migrated from Nicaragua, re-married into a food family, and helped run a restaurant. So, she knew how to cook, and prepared meals for us regularly. Her kitchen was the epicenter of our family.

Today, I work at the Food Bank, supporting many of our Marin pantries. I see the space we created with our partners, and just like my grandmother’s kitchen, it’s at the center of our community, with food hitting the bullseye.

Pre-pandemic, it was a real family atmosphere—with music, food samples, and information about services. The pantry coordinator and volunteers knew every participant by name and often gave hugs. You’d hear them ask, “How are you feeling?” “How’s your daughter?” or “Are you coming to the event tonight?”

You’d feel the warmth and see that participants were comfortable with not only getting help but helping each other.

Since COVID-19 struck, the music and hugs have taken a pause, but the welcoming atmosphere has not. In Marin, we’ve changed many of our operations to drive-thru pantries. Folks drive up, open up their trunks, and a volunteer puts their groceries in. It’s a “no-touch” experience, but you can still see everyone smiling beneath their masks.

At a San Rafael drive-thru pantry, a woman got out of the car to open the trunk, and you could just see the appreciation in her eyes. She said, “You have no idea how much this means to me.” A group of us standing there all gave her an “air hug” from six feet away.

In Marin, there’s more space to have a line of cars, but it requires a lot more coordination. Our partner organizations, volunteers, and county worker support has turned everything upside down to make the food distribution work. For some pantries, we need anywhere from 30-50 volunteers. Folks get there early and set up assembly lines to prepare up to 600 bags of food.

Working six feet apart but alongside each other, we all feel a sense of unity: unity with volunteers and participants. We’re all in this together. When all is said and done, the new normal can be distressing. But I’m certain between the Food Bank, our partners, volunteers, and community supporters, we will get through this together.

CalFresh Responds to Unprecedented Need

April 8, 2020

Nutrition Program Reduces Barriers to Access 

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh here in California, helps people get the food they need to weather economically challenging times. With unemployment reaching staggering new heights, more people are turning to CalFresh than ever before.  

The Food Bank is deeply invested in helping eligible people access this program. Our CalFresh Outreach team provides application assistance year-round, walking first-time applicants through what can be a confusing and frustrating process. Our Policy & Advocacy team regularly works with lawmakers at the local, state, and federal levels to improve the administration of the program.  

During this pandemic, Congress has included investments in this program in all three COVID-19 economic stimulus bills. Additionally, both the State of California and the Federal government have heeded the demands of advocates to increase flexibility in the CalFresh program to help people more easily access and maintain the benefits they need to survive this crisis. 

Federal Changes

  • Pandemic EBT – families with children who receive free or reduced-price lunch whose schools are closed due to the pandemic will receive a pre-loaded EBT (credit-like) card in the mail to spend on food. No application is necessary. 
  • Emergency SNAP – states are able to provide a “boost” for all CalFresh recipients, bumping their benefit amount up to the maximum allowed for their household size.  If you live alone and were receiving $50 pre-COVID, your allotment would be increased to $194/month for the months of March and April. 

State Changes – Learn more here 

  • Waived Interview Requirement – Applicants no longer need to have an interview with a county eligibility worker to be approved for benefits. They only need to apply and submit necessary documents to receive a determination of their eligibility. 
  • Waived Periodic Reports – CalFresh recipients are temporarily exempt from having to submit documentation to re-verify their need for benefits. This will help people continue to receive money for food without interruption during this period. 
  • Allowance of Telephonic Signature – For now, applicants can complete the entire application, including their verbal signature, over the phone. 
  • Request for Online Purchasing – California requested the ability to allow CalFresh recipients to use their benefits at online retailers including Walmart and Amazon.  The USDA approved this request 4.8.2020, and CA plans to implement it in May.

These temporary changes will help the hundreds of thousands of Californians who have found themselves in need in the past few weeks get access to the food they need to survive this crisis and the Food Bank applauds them. However, there is still more to be done. 

Action Needed: Contact your Members of Congress (House and Senate) and urge them to support Speaker Pelosi and Democratic Leader Schumer in putting SNAP among the priority programs for any COVID-19 package. Ask for:

  •  15% increase in food stamps benefits 
  • An increase in the minimum benefit from $16 to $30

Need help finding your Members of Congress? Use this tool, which provides the phone numbers and social media accounts for Senators and Representatives by state and zip code.

A First of Its Kind: Drive-through Pantry

April 1, 2020

“It was a logistics miracle,” said Barbara Abbott, Vice President of Supply Chain at the Food Bank, beaming as she walked out of the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s San Rafael warehouse on Saturday afternoon.

Abbott and her team had just finished the Food Bank’s first-ever drive-through food pantry. And somehow, besides the rainy weather, the event went off without a hitch.

From the moment the pantry opened at 9:45 a.m. until it closed a little after 2 p.m., staff and volunteers loaded 30-pound boxes into cars. The length of the line waxed and waned – at some points even wrapping around the building – but the flow of cars remained steady throughout the day. By the end, we had served more than 600 households – 100 more than expected.

Necessity: The Mother of Invention

The setup was designed to promote social distancing – something none of us considered before COVID-19. Participants drove up and opened and closed their trunks, so the Food Bank could continue the essential service of distributing food while minimizing person-to-person contact.

Despite how seamless the operation appeared, it wasn’t as simple as it looked. A lot of thought went into the day.

For example, how do you efficiently pack 500-600 boxes while maintaining social distancing? “It’s not easy to keep 20 people away from each other at six feet distancing,” said warehouse manager Steve Coover. “The way we set up was pretty difficult at first. But we finally figured it out and it went smoothly.”

After a trial run on Friday, Saturday looked like a well-oiled machine. A carefully organized assembly line of volunteers slid boxes across a conveyor belt as they loaded in fresh produce, meat, and healthy non-perishables. The process was streamlined and efficient and even the social distancing was a success.

A Team Effort

Katy McKnight, Director of Community Engagement, provided a practical explanation for the team’s success:  “We applied best practices we’ve learned over our 30 years delivering food and have been able to bring that here to our San Rafael facility.”

Everyone agreed the logistical success of the drive-through was only possible because of the community support.

“The community is really rallying around us now,” said McKnight. “People have turned up to volunteer, allowing us to run a project like this, and allowing us to pre-box all of these groceries to make it as safe for our volunteers and participants as possible and as efficient for our participants as possible.”

Coover, who spent much of Saturday managing the line of cars and directing traffic heard many participants saying, “thank you, we appreciate you guys being here.”

He was also out there reminding them we’ll be back again next Saturday from 10-2. The San Rafael drive-through, at 2550 Kerner Blvd, will be a weekly operation for the foreseeable future.

For those who want to volunteer, please sign up here. We especially need the support of those who are bilingual.

 

Pop-Up Food Pantries Keep Food Flowing

March 25, 2020

On a chilly Thursday morning, a San Francisco-Marin Food Bank truck pulled off the unusually quiet Dolores Street into the parking lot at Mission High School. Sergio Salguera, Sr. Lead Driver at the Food Bank parked and started to unload pallets of fresh produce, rice, milk and eggs.  

Salguera, who has delivered to several pop–ups, said this delivery gives him a whole new appreciation of our mission, “I experienced a newfound strength to be able to set-up and deliver to face the crisis and help our community.”  

Soon after he arrived, volunteers trickled in with coffee in hand and ready to hear their marching orders.  

Tina Gonzales, director of community partnerships at the Food Bank called everyone’s attention and gave a firm reminder of social distancing. Then she asked line managers to greet participants, and volunteers to pack grocery bags with specific amounts of each item – six carrots, four potatoes, three apples, one bunch of celery, etc. Anyone without a task was to make sure boxes of food were open and accessible.  

Food is Essential 

COVID-19 precautions have caused around 100 food pantries in San Francisco and Marin to close. To fill the gap and ensure our neighbors can still have access to healthy food, the Food Bank team is working around the clock to open interim pop-up pantries.  

“We had a lot of pantries close in the community and a lot of people in need of food without access. So, we decided that we needed to reach out to community partners and set up pop-up pantries with the help of volunteers,” said Gonzales.  

The pop-up pantries have been a huge success. The pantry at Mission High School was just one of six pop-up food pantries the Food Bank set up that served over 1,800 people last week. And we will continue to bring more online to serve different neighborhoods.  

These pantries are here to serve anyone whose regular pantry has closed or who is struggling to afford food because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Practicing Social Distancing 

The Food Bank is an essential service, and still allowed to operate, but we are adapting to new realities. “We are trying to do the best we can,” said Gonzales. “We are finding new ways to spread out but still get the work done.” 

Instead of having participants walk through the pantry in the typical “farmer’s market style,” they were handed a bag of pre-packed groceries to minimize waiting in line and food handling. Line managers reminded participants to keep six feet between one another, and staff reminded volunteers that spacing out was more important than efficiency.  

Volunteers and participants alike understood the need for these new measures.  

Neighbors Helping Neighbors 

“It warms my heart being able to hear how much the community appreciates our mission and the sense of relief they receive from us,” said Salguera. 

The outpouring of support and eagerness to volunteer has come from everywhere in the community – participants, local churches, staff, and individuals. It has deeply inspired both Salguera and Gonzales.  

“One of the greatest things is our website is blowing up with volunteers. We have seen a lot of people who want to come help” said Gonzales.  

And it’s not just volunteers who are pitching in. Friends, family, and neighbors are pitching in to pick up free groceries for vulnerable family and neighbors who could not leave their homes.  

“People see it and tell us they have a neighbor, or they are taking care of their mom and need to take another bag. So not only are we helping the people in line,” said Gonzales. We are helping people who should not come out and cannot come out, so it’s been really great to be able to do that.” 

Each pop-up pantry is led by a Food Bank staffer or volunteer, and we currently recruiting more volunteers to help us expand. Sign up to learn about opportunities as the arise here. 

A Letter From Paul | Solutions in Place to Continue to Serve the Community

March 10, 2020

The Food Bank continues to do the day-in and day-out job of making sure vulnerable neighbors get the food they need. Now, we are putting solutions in place, one by one, to be able to continue providing food and helping our community prepare for whatever challenges the Coronavirus (COVID-19) presents.

Sending out extra food

We know there may be disruptions that keep us from delivering food or keep clients from getting to pantries. So we’ve begun purchasing and sending out a few additional pounds of shelf-stable food each week. We are asking clients to set that food aside so they will build up a small surplus in their kitchens to get them through in case they can’t attend a pantry for any reason. Unfortunately, we can’t wait for donations of shelf-stable food, we have to make sure that seniors, families, and homebound neighbors will have what they need now.

Nutritious food is critical to maintaining good health, so in many ways, it is more important than ever to reach people in need. We rely on our 275 pantries to distribute the food, and we know at some point they might have to close. Therefore, we are working on a plan with city officials to identify backup distribution sites. As long as there is no threat to the safety of our staff, we’ll continue to carry out our mission.

Buying cased and prepacked food

We have had a lot of volunteer cancellations lately. It’s understandable. Almost 50% of our volunteers for March have canceled — that is a huge impact on our ability to sort and pack food. To counter that we are spending more to buy our produce cased instead of in bulk and looking to buy some prepackaged rice. The cost is higher, but we need to make sure our distribution is uninterrupted. We need help! To protect the health of our volunteers we are very mindful about spacing between volunteers, we have increased cleaning, and made hand sanitizer available throughout the facility. If you are able, please sign up for a volunteer shift here.

If you or someone you know needs food assistance, we are here to help. Please visit our Food Locator or call 211 for access to our pantry network. If you want to support our mission, please donate here.

With gratitude,
Paul Ash
Executive Director

New Pantries Open to Serve Even More Neighborhoods

February 5, 2020

In the last couple of months, we’ve opened two pantries expanding our San Francisco Neighborhood Grocery Network.

Finding a new pantry partner is not always an easy task. Ask Ashley Wong, one of our Pantry coordinators, “A potential pantry partner needs to have a lead volunteer coordinator and a consistent volunteer team that can dedicate hours of their schedule every week to support the pantry–and that’s a lot to ask.” It’s not only a time investment and physical commitment (those bags of potatoes are heavy!), but also an emotional one because creating a supportive pantry with excellent welcoming service, although rewarding, can also be heartbreaking. Ashley added, “We also need a pantry that is inclusive to people of all abilities. To meet that critical need, we require locations that have sizable storage space and, importantly, easy, safe access for all the pantry participants and volunteers.”

The Father’s House Pantry

We typically find pantry partners through outreach to community organizations, some of which are introduced to us by one of our existing partners. That’s how Ashley connected with one of our latest partner, The Father’s House in the Outer Sunset/Lake Merced area. The organization’s team was looking for ways to further serve their community and was reaching out to its partners. We connected and three months later, last December, they opened the doors to a new pantry.

“This pantry has steadily grown due to the continuing outreach in the community and the Father’s House team’s commitment to providing great customer service to everyone who comes by. Their endless dedication and energy continue to awe me. I look forward to the many years of partnership ahead of us,” said Ashley.

The Father’s House pantry is open Thursdays from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm and is located at 269 Herbst Road at the Pomeroy Recreation & Rehabilitation Center. All San Francisco residents in need of food assistance are welcome to enroll in this pantry. We ask only that they bring a photo ID with a current residential address, or photo ID and a piece of mail with a current residential address.

Serving the Richmond Neighborhood

In early January, we also opened a pantry in San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood. With more than 19,500 Richmond District residents at high risk of food insecurity—nearly 25% of the entire population of the neighborhood—we’re trying hard to close this hunger gap by looking for potential pantry partners. This time a long-time ally stepped up and is now in charge of three pantries in the neighborhood. “With the help of our dedicated community partners, Richmond Neighborhood Center, and our host, George Peabody Elementary School, we’re excited that we can expand our services in the Richmond neighborhood,” said Gary Lau, Program coordinator.

 

 

All Hands On Deck Needed to Fight Hunger

October 12, 2019

Early October is always a thrilling time in the Bay Area, with the Blue Angels flying in perfect formation in clear skies and balmy winds. For us, it’s an exciting time because of the Fleet Week Sailors and Marines taking civic action at our San Francisco warehouse. We greatly appreciate the military members who helped us deploy thousands of lbs. of rice as part of our weekly service to 32,000 San Francisco and Marin households, including many military families.

One of our Fleet Week helpers, Marine Corps Chaplain Andrea Gilkey said her family depended on food assistance when she was a child.

“What inspires me, and what’s exciting to me about this food bank, is that they’re set up like a farmers market. To give people health choices, which we didn’t have. So, I’m thrilled about that,” she said.

KTVU came to visit us, this is their report.

Thank you to all the military member volunteers for joining our squad during Fleet Week.

Food Bank ‘Mini’ Team Favorites: Tomato Recipes for Your Enjoyment

August 27, 2019

The Food Bank ‘Mini’ team lives to figure out-of-the-box ways of delivering fresh, nutritious food to our neighbors in need.  To help celebrate the wonderful fruit offerings as we head into summer, we asked members of our Nutrition Education team to help us out with a few refreshing tomato recipes. They pulled up a few delicious ideas from our friends at EatFresh.org.  Enjoy!

Baby Tomato Bites

INGREDIENTS

12 (4-inch) slices of French bread
¼ cup low-fat mozzarella cheese shredded
5 Tomatoes diced
½ teaspoon Black pepper
8 Basil leaves chopped

PREPARATION

*Preheat oven to 300°F.
*Place thin layer of mozzarella cheese on each slice of bread.
*Toast French bread slices in oven until cheese melts, about 5-8 minutes.
*Mix diced tomatoes with black pepper.
*Place diced tomatoes on top of cheese and garnish with chopped basil leaves. Serve immediately.

Tomato and Garlic Omlette

INGREDIENTS

½ slice Whole wheat bread
½ teaspoon Olive oil
1 Clove of garlic finely chopped
Non-stick cooking spray
¾ cup Egg substitute
2 tablespoons Part-skim Mozzarella cheese grated
1 Large tomato chopped
1 teaspoon Dried basil

PREPARATION

*Preheat oven to 300°F.
*Cut the bread into cubes; toss with oil and garlic in a small bowl. Spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 15 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown, tossing once or twice. Transfer to a plate to cool.
*Spray a medium pan with nonstick cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Pour in egg substitute.
*When the egg begins to set, spread evenly across the bottom of the pan and reduce the heat to low.
*Once the top layer of egg is almost cooked, sprinkle the cheese and basil on top and scatter the tomatoes and bread over half of the omelet; fold the unfilled omelet half over the filling. Slide the omelet on a plate and serve.