Maryland Food

Food producers at the first Maryland food trade show yesterday presented a taste of their wares and were rewarded with nibbles from buyers, distributors and importers."

The Rev. Vernon Dobson, a Baptist minister and civil rights leader, died Saturday of complications of a stroke. He was 89. As a leading figure in Baltimore's civil rights movement, Mr. Dobson lived a life molded by the struggle for equality — a struggle he continued into his last years — and as a pastor who believed that the church should play an important part in the fight. Campaigning took a hold on Mr. Dobson's life early on. Talking to The Baltimore Sun in 1998, he described demonstrating against segregation as a young child with his mother in the 1930s.

Two partner organizations dedicated to ending hunger in Maryland for more than 20 years have merged. The Maryland Food Bank and Food Resources of Hagerstown have united to form the Maryland Food Bank – Western Branch, a facility that will become a central distribution point for a network of more than 120 soup kitchens, pantries, shelters and other community-based organizations in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties. The merger allows Food Resources to broaden services to the entire Western Maryland region and the more than 52,000 residents who are struggling to provide food for themselves, the groups said.

Pop tunes blasted from loudspeakers into the cavernous warehouse at the Maryland Food Bank on Thursday, energizing about 300 volunteers filling 15,000 boxes with holiday staples for the needy. "You can get exercise, help those who don't have a meal for the holiday, and then there's the whole camaraderie thing with your co-workers," said Gerri Gardner, the liveliest of the CSX railroad's packing team, which included workers from MTA and MARC trains. This time of year, the bank, which distributes food to about 600 soup kitchens, pantries and shelters across the state from its Halethorpe headquarters, gears up for its own Thanksgiving rush.

Gay Williams runs a small food business from a three-room office on Falls Road in Mount Washington, but her ambitions embrace the world. Someday she hopes to see her sweet, hot mustard sold in stores from Tokyo to Damascus.She has joined with other Maryland food producers to form the Maryland Food Exporters Association, a group that is helping its members penetrate world markets.The president of Hunt Cup Ltd., Ms. Williams is also a founding member of the association, which was created late last year.

The Maryland Food Committee provided an incorrect title for Ralph E. Moore Jr. in an article in Tuesday's editions. He is chief operating officer of the agency.The Sun regrets the errors.Ralph E. Moore Jr., a specialist in low-income housing for 11 years at St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center and a longtime anti-poverty worker, has become chief financial officer of the Maryland Food Committee (MFC).Moore's duties will include those formerly held by the Rev. Douglas I. Miles, who resigned May 2 as MFC's program director in a dispute over its pending alliance with Action for the Homeless.

CURRENT volunteers' news and needs:Maryland Food Committee's ''RSVVP'' is tomorrow evening when many local restaurants share 10 percent of your dining tab with the Food Committee to help the hungry. Call 366-0600 for details.American Cancer Society needs volunteers for its 1990 Phone-A-Thon to make phone calls between 6 and 9 p.m. from Oct. 22-25 at two locations. Dinner and free parking. 931-6850.Children's Hospital and Center for Reconstructive Surgery wants volunteers to assist and transport patients in wheelchairs to and from therapy, to greet patients and help throughout registration, provide physical assistance and encouragement and join recreational activities.

GUESTS DONNED their own versions of futuristic fashion to attend the annual Empty Bowls fund-raiser for the Maryland Food Committee. And they felt right at home when they entered the Boumi Temple and P. W. Feats' "tomorrow land," which showcased a global marketplace of tables laden with auction items and good food.Thanks to Wendy Silber and Kevin Barham, food and beverage chairs, guests feasted on food and beverages donated by 23 restaurants and caterers.Linwood's Due's tuna nicoise, the Silver Diner's mini-cheeseburgers and array of desserts, Zeffert & Gold's pancakes, Savannah's chilled peach soup and salmon, Joy America's dim sum chicken, Sfuzzi's pasta, That's Amore's charcoal calamari and Paul Saval's hot dogs were just a sample of the goodies.

The annual report card from the Maryland Food Committee may merit prominent display on Gov. William Donald Schaefer's refrigerator.Grades for fighting hunger were up and the state received its first A-minus ever. The governor gets extra credit, as the report card notes that the administration's efforts in fighting hunger were a grade above the legislature's.The statewide anti-hunger group, which was releasing the report card at a news conference today, gave the state a B-minus overall, noting in teacher-style rhetoric: "Making progress but has not reached potential."

When it comes to the state's hunger problem, Gov. William Donald Schaefer apparently is an over-achiever who had been held back by his duller classmates in the General Assembly, according to a "report card" issued today.The Maryland Food Committee said Mr. Schaefer deserved a C-plus for his efforts during this year's legislative session, down slightly from the B-minus awarded last year to the governor, senators and delegates.But the legislature fell to a D-plus, earning lower grades than the governor in three of the five "subjects" in which they were graded this year on the "Campaign to End Childhood Hunger" report card.

The Maryland Food Bank said it handed out food Wednesday to hundreds of families affected by the mass layoffs at Sparrows Point. About 2,000 workers lost their jobs after RG Steel filed for bankruptcy in late May and idled the Baltimore County steel mill. The property since has been sold to owners who are trying to find a steelmaker to restart operations but will liquidate the mill and redevelop it if they can't. The food bank, which also handed out food on Tuesday to laid-off steelworkers and others buffeted by the shutdown, said it expected to distribute more than 60,000 pounds to more than 1,700 people between the two days.

Miss Shirley's was awarded the prize for Maryland's favorite food truck and The Brewer's Art was awarded Craft Beer Program of the Year on Monday night at the Restaurant Association of Maryland's 58th Annual McCormick Stars of the Industry Awards Gala. The food truck and craft beer categories were new this year. Award winners in other categories were: Maryland's Favorite Restaurant 2012- Baldwin's Station , Sykesville Maryland's Favorite New Restaurant 2012- de Lazy Lizard, Ocean City Restaurateur of the Year- Matthew Milani - The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar and Restaurant , Ellicott City 2012 Chef of the Year- Jeff Smith - The Chameleon Cafe 2012 Favorite Bar or Tavern - Shenanigan's Irish Pub & Grille , Ocean City Wine & Beverage Program of the Year- Mr. Rain's Fun House Honorees included: Allied Member of the Year- MICROS - Represented by, Henry Pertman The Brice & Shirley Phillips Lifetime Industry Achievement Award- William & Julianne Gibbs - Dough Roller The Otto Schellhase Award- Randy Marriner - Victoria Gastro Pub The McCormick Cornerstone Award Recipients- Glory Days Grill, Silver Diner, Ryleigh's Oyster, Brew River Restaurant & Bar, CarterQue Barbeque & Grilling Co. Maryland Hospitality Hall of Honor - Fitzgerald's Shamrock Restaurant, Dean's Restaurant, Olney Grille, Holly's Restaurant, Rip's Country Inn Maryland...

Two partner organizations dedicated to ending hunger in Maryland for more than 20 years have merged. The Maryland Food Bank and Food Resources of Hagerstown have united to form the Maryland Food Bank – Western Branch, a facility that will become a central distribution point for a network of more than 120 soup kitchens, pantries, shelters and other community-based organizations in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties. The merger allows Food Resources to broaden services to the entire Western Maryland region and the more than 52,000 residents who are struggling to provide food for themselves, the groups said.

The Maryland SPCA Food Truck Rally in Hampden on March 23 was a huge success, raising over $5,000 for the SPCA. Aileen Gabbey, Executive Director of the Maryland SPCA, said the good weather helped the popularity of the event. Additionally, the food trucks' loyal followers spread the word on social networking sites such as Facebook, resulting in a crowd of more tha 1,000 people. "The biggest hit of the night was the dogs on parade in their little blue 'adopt me' capes," Gabbey said in an e-mail.

When the staff and contributors at the Jewish Museum of Maryland were putting together the new exhibit "Chosen Food: Cuisine, Culture, and American Jewish Identity," they knew better than to try and tell people what is Jewish food and what is not. If a matzo ball is pretty clearly Jewish food, does a low-fat version with chives still count? Is falafel Jewish? Is hummus? Can sushi be Jewish if it's served at Jewish weddings? Where does lo mein fit in? According to curator Karen Falk, questions like those, and the way they are linked to larger conversations about religious, ethical and cultural values, are at the heart of the exhibit, which opens Oct. 23 and runs through September 2012.

Wine, woods, and weather that sounds like it should be just wonderful. With all that to offer, organizers of this weekend's Wine in the Woods festival wonder why anyone would opt to hang out with a bunch of horses and a centaur named Kegasus when they're offering such a refined alternative — and with alcohol as well. Not that there's all that much overlap between the tipsy revelers in the Preakness infield and the wine connoisseurs who will be making their way to Columbia this weekend.

Bags of Plenty, the annual drive to stock soup kitchens around the state, is on track to reach its goal for food donations. But as of last weekend, the close of the campaign, it had fallen far short of its cash goal of $70,000.Donations will continue to trickle in for several days, and Bill Ewing, executive director of the Maryland Food Bank, says the Franklintown Road center expects to surpass last year's total of 280,000 pounds of nonperishable food and might reach this year's goal of 300,000 pounds.

Most likely Bill Gates, worth $18 billion and change, doesn't wonder where his next meal is coming from.But the rest of us, for whom the Fortune 500 might be as well be a stock car race, usually have to stre-e-etch those food dollars to make them last all month.What we need is someone to guide us through the grocery store, helping us shop wisely, someone to show us what to cook when we don't feel like cooking -- someone, in fact, like Maryan Gresham, Bobbi Hucek, Pat Blake or Norma Maiden, who all help run the SuperPantry program at Dorguth Methodist Church in Southwest Baltimore.

As demand for its services continues to increase around the state, the Maryland Food Bank launched its annual Harvest for the Hungry food drive Friday, an initiative that has collected more than 30 million pounds of food for Marylanders in need since 1987. Organizers hope the campaign, which starts Saturday and runs through Feb. 19, will net more than the 300,000 pounds it collected for the state's hungriest residents in 2010. "With more than 448,000 Marylanders needing food assistance, help is needed now more than ever," said Deborah Flateman, CEO of the Maryland Food Bank.

It was no surprise when Health Magazine rated the Smith Island cake as one of the 50 fattiest foods in the United States. After all, the cake is mostly just a frosting delivery system. In traditional versions, the layers of yellow cake are about as thin as John Waters' mustache. Between these eight to 10 layers is a smear of fudgy frosting; a slice of cake made using the official recipe from the Smith Island Cultural Alliance weighs in at 708 calories and 30 grams of fat. (With some alterations, our made-over recipe yields a slice with 415 calories and 12 grams of fat.)