Looking back through the data of the past few years it is pretty apparent that the need for St. Anthony Foundation’s services has dramatically increased.  Not only that, but the cost to provide these services has also gone up as the price for food and other commodities has increased and availability has decreased.

In the Dining Room there has been a 20% across the board increase in food cost, with some foods as much as 40% more expensive, as staple foods become more expensive.

As more and more entry-level jobs require computer skills we are seeing an influx of new clients in the Employment Program and Technology Lab.  Our multi-lab program at 150 Golden Gate and partnership with San Francisco Network Ministries has allowed us to absorb this high demand in a brand new facility.

The Social Work Center has responded to a dramatically increased need for basic services, such as food, accessing benefits, and navigating social services for those who are for the first time needing the extra help.

I can’t believe it’s almost April, seems like just yesterday we were inaugurating a new president, with hopes of a new beginning for this incredible country. With only three days left in March St. Anthony Dining Room celebrates the end of Winter with Vietnamese cuisine. The chefs at St. Anthony strive to satisfy the many tastes of the diverse Dining Room demographics. Also On the Menu delicious chicken and turkey dishes.

Mar 29 Chicken Cacciatore: served with vegetables and polenta

Mar 30 Arroz Con Pavo: turkey and rice, with tomatoes and vegetables

Mar 31 Lien’s Vietnamese Chicken: served with rice and vietnamese salad

Check back later this week for April’s first installment of On the Menu.

On the poor, of course. President Obama told governors that the federal stimulus was meant to “help ensure that you don’t need to make cuts to essential services Americans rely on now more than ever.” So “How to spend it?” would seem like an easy question to answer. But homeless advocates in San Francisco are afraid it won’t play out that simply. Many fear that the proposed cuts in the budget will still go through despite the emergency funding.

“The mayor’s office is still going to make the cuts and send the money out the back door … to other areas of the budget.” Supervisor John Avalos told the San Francisco Chronicle.

At St. Anthony’s we’re already begining to see the effects of the closing of publicly funded food programs in San Franicso. People are still hungry — but now they’re traveling from across town to stand in line at St. Anthony Dining Room. More families, having recently lost their insurance, are visiting St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic. We’ve bailed out banks and car manufacturers already, why not try a human bailout this time?

OK, I can’t say this strongly enough- if you haven’t had a chance to eat at Mission Street Food on Thursday or Saturdays, do it. Yes, there are lots of other folks who are charmed by love of the delicious food that supports non profits, so you may have to wait a bit, but trust me, its worth it. And I’m not just saying that because MSF just donated $564 to St. Anthony’s from their Thursday night meal. Its that I love the epicurian mojo that Chefepreneur Anthony Myint brings to the table, along with guest chefs like Chris Kronner, who created delicious and amazing appetizers for St. Anthony’s green building dedication last October (and also made an all night cameo at MSF on Thursday).

The St. Anthony Dining Room could not serve thousands of hungry San Franciscans 365 days a year, without the combined force of everyone working there on a given day. With only 13 paid staff, the Dining Room, relies on 25 men from the job training program, and thousands of volunteers every year, to function as smoothly as they do. The volunteers at St. Anthony come from every walk of life, including high school students and groups from local corporations/businesses.  A world of preparation goes into every meal served at St. Anthony, this process begins with the staff’s food prep and cooking and ends with a volunteer handing a very hungry guest a nutritious and delicious meal.  For some of our guests, the only meal they eat a day is in the Dining Room.

Mar 22 Lemon Rosemary Turkey: mashed potatoes and vegetables

Mar 23 Curried Beef Stew w/Lentils

Mar 24 BBQ Pork w/German Potato Salad

Mar 25 Simmered Beef: served with fresh vegetables and rice

Mar 26 Pomegranate Chicken: seasoned with rosemary and served with couscous

Mar 27 Pasta Puttanesca: a sauce made of tomatoes, olives, anchovies, capers, chili, and olive oil

Mar 28 Coconut Curried Pork: with rice and vegetables

Last month I went on a rather lengthy vacation, in two different countries. My hotels became home base between my sightseeing expeditions. When I returned home I was always greeted with a freshly restocked supply of toiletries, whether I needed them or not. After my quick San Franciscan scoff at how wasteful a practice this was, I remembered this was not uncommon for hotels. I left the bottles of unused products in the bathroom and tucked away the unopened containers in my luggage to donate later to St. Anthony’s Clothing & Housewares Program.

There are only a few places left in San Francisco where homeless or marginally housed people can shower. These facilities often don’t provide hygiene products for their guests. Lugging around full sized containers with the rest of one’s worldly possessions is hardly practical, and so is paying the same price for a travel sized one. That’s why so many of our volunteers, staff and donors bring these travel sized products to St. Anthony’s.

You can donate these items at our Clothing & Housewares program at 101 8th Street, at the corner of Mission Street, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Please pull into the parking lot, come to the door and ring the bell for assistance.

In case you didn’t know, March is National Women’s History Month.

“Women are capable of forging lasting change, starting with their families, then transforming entire communities and beyond,” states an op-ed piece co-authored by President/CEOs of three leading women’s funds, ”We know that when women are economically secure, families are economically secure and, ultimately, so are communities and nations.”

A few facts for thought:

Since 1956 St. Anthony Foundation’s Madonna Residence has provided low-income and homeless senior women the stability and support to restore their health and build community.

In California, women make up 68 percent of minimum- wage workers, making them especially vulnerable.

Annually 1,400 uninsured women rely on St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic for their health needs.

St. Anthony Dining Room has seen a 10% increase in families coming for lunch service.

In the United States, the subprime mortgage crisis is taking a higher toll on women: 32 percent of women borrowers hold sub-prime mortgages, compared with 24 percent of men.

5,500 women and 16,000 families recieved free like-new clothing from St. Anthony’s Clothing and Housewares Program.

As we observe this month learning about the amazing women who have helped build our rich city, state and national history, let’s also remember the many women who everyday are struggling to create a new legacy and history for themselves and their families.

Mar 15 Sausage and Vegetable Ragu: Served over polenta. A staple of northern Italy’s Bologna, Ragu usually contains ground beef, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots, white wine and seasoning. The Ragu is served over piping hot polenta, another dish common in Northern Italy, and is a hearty cornmeal mush, mixed with delicious parmesan cheese and fried.

Mar 16 Vegetable Tagine: North African stew served with couscous. This Moraccan stew is gently simmered with vegetables, olives, preserved lemons, garlic and spices like cumin, ginger, pepper, saffron and turmeric. The stew is served in a traditional style with couscous underneath. Couscous is made from coarsly ground flour or cracked wheat, which is the result of sifting out the finer flour.

Mar 17 Corned Beef and Cabbage: With potatoes and carrots. Believe it or not but corned beef and cabbage is an American tradition applied to the Irish holidy St. Patrick’s Day. Ireland however, exported more corned beef than the rest of the world until 1825. When Irish immigrants came to the states in the 1800’s and couldn’t find bacon they settled for the traditionally Jewish corned beef, which was similar in texture. Despite the history lesson, this wholesome meal is a favorite on March 17th for a reason, because it’s delicious. Love the orange carrots and green cabbage, they really celebrate the Irish colors.

Mar 18 Hot Turkey Sandwiches: With gravy and vegetables

Mar 19 Chicken Creole: simmered in tomato sauce with peppers and onions, served with rice. Creole is a cooking style orginally from Lousiana, a melting pot cuisine that includes the flavors of France, Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Mediterranean, America, and Africa. This combination of flavors and traditions mirrors the diversity of the St. Anthony guests. Peppers are a major component of this spicy dish, however, the mixture of tomatoes and onions, smoothes out the flavor.

Mar 20 Pasta Primavera: Fettucini and vegetables in a light cream sauce. I’m Sam the intern, by the way, I’ve been the force behind On The Menu for the past few months. Today’s choice, Pasta Primavera is so representative of the first day of spring. With ripe tomatoes and fresh local veggies, this refreshingly great pasta dish is a perfect Friday meal.

Mar 21 Feijoada: Brazilian spiced black beans with ham, served with rice. This national dish of Brazil was brought to South America by the Poruguese. Feijoada is traditionally prepared over a slow fire in a thick clay pot, but St. Anthony’s more contemporary preparation of black beans, salty ham, and rice is equally satisfying.

Mar 22 Lemon Rosemary Turkey: Mashed potatoes and vegetables. Not sure if you love to cook as much as I do, but I found this quick and easy recipe for Lemon Rosemary Chicken; or you can substitute turkey, like the recipe used for Saturday’s dish in the dining room.

Easy Recipe:1/3 c. lemon juice, 1/4 c. cooking oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, 1 1/2 tsp. fresh or dried rosemary crushed, 2 whole med. chicken breast

For marinade, combine lemon juice, oil, fresh or dried rosemary, salt and pepper. Skin and bone chicken breasts. Cut in half lengthwise. Place chicken in a plastic bag. Pour the marinade over chicken. Close bag and marinate in refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Place chicken on a broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for 6 minutes. Turn chicken. Brush with marinade. Broil 6 to 8 minutes more brushing once or twice with marinade.

Please check back for weekly installments of On The Menu!

Also, I changed up the format of my post quite a bit this week and was wondering how ya’ll like it? Any suggestions of things you would like to see or learn more about, would be greatly appreciated.

Our longtime volunteer and dear friend, Jewel Ramsey, died a couple of  weeks ago. Ramsey, as he preferred to be known, was a stroke victim who simply refused to be put on the shelf. For many years, in spite of his paralysis, he was the energetic, enthusiastic, cheerful semi-official paper shredder and recycler for most of the work units at 121 Golden Gate. His obsession with the Oakland Raiders and his annual, repeated reminders that his birthday was approaching were part of the charm that endeared him to all of us.

Two years ago, when Ramsey didn’t show up to volunteer, two St. Anthony’s employees went to check on him, around the corner at Civic Center Residence (44 McAllister). They found him leveled by a new and devastating stroke. It erased most of his memory, including that of his favorite black & silver-clad football team across the Bay. After some weeks at SF General, Ramsey was transferred to a great residential care facility (Victorian Manor at 1444 McAllister). When we would visit him there, it was a challenge for him to remember who we were. But we were all relieved to observe what great care he was receiving, and that no stroke could squelch his sunny disposition.

So . one final reminder. RAMSEY’S BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP, two weeks from today on Friday, March 27th. We’ll remember him and celebrate the way we used to, with a Ramsey Birthday Breakfast. (Details to follow.) As Ramsey would have said: “You know it! You know it!”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” And, “Fitz, that’s cold!”