Food Items

Sam's Creek Church of the Brethren will hold its 20th annual holiday bazaar from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in Baile Hall next to the sanctuary. Handcrafted gifts, decorations, tree ornaments and everyday household items will be featured. Baskets, metalware, baby accessories and country-theme items will be available. Baked goods and produce, plants and a light lunch also will be featured. The church is at 2736 Marston Road (Route 407). Information: 410-848-0687; 410-635-2772 (day of the event)

IT IS TIME for the Linthicum Community Fair, when people come together to enjoy the outdoors while watching a parade, entertainment and demonstrations. Children can play games and adults enjoy crafts, and of course lots of food is offered. The fair is Saturday and begins with a parade at 9:30 a.m. Marching bands, cheerleaders, Scout troops, about 15 floats and a few surprise entrants will assemble at Linthicum Middle School on Andover Road and proceed down Hammonds Ferry Road to the fairgrounds at Maple Road.

U.S. Foodservice officials said yesterday they will buy Lady Baltimore Foods Inc. of Kansas City, Kan. - a move that will expand the food distributor's reach in the Midwest. "It's a transaction which we've been eyeing for sometime," said Robert Gillison, vice president and treasurer of Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice. "It really only made sense for us after the acquisition of Alliant, because Alliant has operations in Kansas and Missouri. That gave us the capability to serve Lady Baltimore customers."

IN OUR BOOMING economy, it is difficult for many of us to imagine not having a pantry stocked with food. For our families, having "nothing to eat" translates into "nothing appealing to eat." But that is not the meaning for some Pasadena neighbors looking at empty pantry shelves, especially during the holiday season. Several years ago, members of the Pasadena Business Association came up with an idea to help fill pantry shelves and kick off the holiday season - with a parade. From that humble beginning, the annual PBA Caring and Sharing Thanksgiving Parade was born.

ORGANIZERS OF THE Linthicum Community Fair on Sept. 30 are planning something extra to boost contributions of items for those in need: a major food drive beforehand. Businesses have agreed to help by serving as drop-off locations for nonperishable food items. In past years, the public was asked to bring food items to the fair to help fill a pickup truck for the North County Emergency Outreach Network pantry. But the goal of collecting 2,000 food items was never met. At best, the total was about 400, not nearly enough to fill the truck.

The U.S. Postal Service's "Harvest for the Hungry 2000" project, in which letter carriers pick up nonperishable food donations left at mailboxes for the Maryland Food Bank, will end tomorrow. Originally, the drive was to end March 18. "The extra week will allow us to collect twice as much food and help twice as many people," said Jim Nemec, Baltimore postmaster. "It's easy to donate. Just take your food items and leave them by your mailbox." As of yesterday, an estimated quarter-million pounds of food had been collected, about 200,000 pounds short of what is necessary to feed one meal to every impoverished family in the state, according to food bank officials.

HAPPY Thanksgiving!This is the day that we reflect on all that we have and give thanks. Caring neighbors, the natural beauty of our landscape, terrific schools and a healthy local economy are a few of the things we are fortunate to enjoy in our area.The children of Glenelg Country School Lower School got into the spirit of Thanksgiving on Tuesday and yesterday when they presented their annual Thanksgiving program. The show was directed by music teacher Eline Reis, who was assisted by Erika Cincotta.

The circus comes to Fort Meade tomorrow.The Carson and Barnes 5-Ring Wild Animal Circus is one of the biggest under a tent, with more than 100 exotic animals and performers from Italy, Russia, Argentina, China and Peru.The circus will begin setting up 8 a.m. at Smallwood Hall on Williams Road, using elephants to do the heavy lifting.The circus midway will open at 4 p.m. with games, a snake show and elephant and camel rides. Saturday's midway show will begin at 1 p.m.Performances are at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. tomorrow, and Saturday's shows are at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.Midway activities cost 25 cents to $3.Tickets to the show are $8 in advance or $10.50 at the door for adults and $4 in advance and $6 at the door for children ages 2 to 11. Children under 2 are admitted free.

The thought of children going to bed hungry troubled Jamie Ridgely.So the 10-year-old Manchester Elementary student decided to tackle the problem.Over the past two weeks -- with the help of neighbors and schoolmates -- Jamie has collected more than 640 food items for Carroll County Food Sunday."

Q: How can one be sure that food items and products claiming to be organic actually are?A: Items claiming to be organic should be substantiated by certification. The best proof for the consumer is to ask your store manager if the store requires documents of certification for organic-labeled items.Fresh Fields spokesperson, Cathy Ordan, says that this certification process is approved by an authorized third party and the requirements may vary from state to state. The paper of certification must pledge that the item has not been made synthetically or used any ingredients that have been farmed with pesticides for a period of at least three years.