Thanksgiving dinner may be behind us, but we continue to face increased food prices this holiday season. Some of us can still manage, although it may take some adjustments in eating and shopping habits. But for many, it means “food insecurity” (which is more than just being hungry, it’s a consistent lack of food), with more and more people turning to food banks.
So, if you can, and in the spirit of holiday gift-giving, consider donating to your local food bank. It may end up being the best gift of all because helping others is good for you.(Red knows it makes her feel good and puts her in the holiday spirit, while Black “ignores” the emotional aspects and touts the science behind it.)
Food prices. What goes up must come down. Or not.
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red, like most of us, has been impacted by rising food prices and shortages, while Black knows that understanding “why” that’s happening doesn’t help you put food on the table.
Red doesn’t need the media to tell her about increasing food prices as she sees it every time she looks at the weekly food fliers or goes into a grocery store, but admits she’s been very fortunate as it hasn’t had much impact on what she buys. However, that’s because ever since her financial crisis many years ago, she’s become a much more savvy shopper, relying on grocery store weekly specials and stocking up when things are on sale. (Black explained the business concept of “loss leaders” that get you in the door.) Not to mention, now that her daughters no longer live at home, her grocery shopping has decreased significantly, so her grocery budget has more “breathing room”.
Black will fight the temptation to explain what’s driving up food prices (in stores and restaurants) and is well aware she’s very fortunate that it’s barely changed her shopping habits. Still, she can’t help but be concerned with how rising food prices affect people’s ability to afford nutritious food and basic supplies. Things many of us take for granted. But what she finds the most alarming (and disheartening),
Food banks, who are often the only thing standing between people having food and going hungry, are facing higher than usual demand at the same time they are pressured by food shortages and escalating costs. I could quote you numbers indicating the increase of people being served (many who are first-time food bank recipients) or the percentage increase in costs, but it is not about numbers – it is about people in our communities.
And while Red hadn’t thought about this ripple effect, now that she has, in the spirit of the holidays, we ask everyone,
If you’re able, consider making a donation tomorrow, Giving Tuesday, to your local food bank. Because while you may be able to manage the rising cost of food, millions can’t.
When the news is challenging or life’s stressful, there’s something comforting about Girl Scout cookies. Always has been, which is why we’re rerunning this post from several years ago.
Girl Scouts, though, are about so much more than cookies, as year-round girls learn important life skills, gain confidence, and discover leadership skills. But buying cookies is such a sweet way (sorry, we couldn’t resist) to support the organization. Red’s favorite is the classic shortbread (now known as Trefoils), and Black buys a large assortment and gives them all away.
But hurry! Cookie season ends on March 23.
P.S. - If S’mores and Toast-Yay! are your favorites … make sure you stock up as this is the last year they’ll be available.
Let's play word association. If we say, "Girl Scouts," what's the first word that comes to mind? Ok, what's the second word?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: When Juliette "Daisy" Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout meeting – hoping to create an organization that redefined what was possible for girls everywhere – there was no way for her to know the difference it would make in the lives of millions of girls and their communities.
Many people's first (and sometimes only) image of Girl Scouts is as cookie salespeople – either selling door-to-door or at a make-shift table at a grocery or other store (or having their parents hand you an order form). But if you've been a Girl Scout (both of us have) or know someone who has, you know that Girl Scouts are about so much more.
So, as we celebrate the Girls Scouts being around for over 100 years, we should celebrate the years of fun and friendships, and for helping girls learn important qualities such as responsibility, courage, strength, and independence. Qualities that are as important in 2021 as they were in 1912.
And what better way to celebrate than to buy some Girl Scout cookies? Guilt-free as you're helping a good cause.
Today’s turbulent times for Jews may overshadow the celebration of the Jewish New Year, one of the holiest of the Jewish holidays. Yet, ironically, we feel it should strengthen its significance, as the holiday is a time for reflection on the past and hope for the future.
If you think today’s politics are ugly … let’s talk about a man who named himself “dictator for life” of the Roman empire, and is then assassinated by a group of senators, including his best friend. (However, there’s a “pretty” part – Cleopatra was his mistress.) Food trivia and leadership lessons aside, the fact July is named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …
Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?
BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.
Which is what got Red to realize, much to her surprise (shock, if truth be told), that even as a straight-A student with a love of history, that when it came to Julius Caesar, a famous historical figure and possibly one of the greatest generals and statesmen of all time, she couldn't tell you dates or battles or anything "historical" associated with him.
Even as a theater major in college, she never read Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," although she knew just enough about the play to know that it was where the fortune teller warned Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March." Instead, her knowledge of Caesar came from her love of movies.
My first, and probably my most enduring, memory is of a brilliant general who not only commanded armies as he conquered lands far from home but was a great statesman who was also involved with one of the world's most beautiful women. And while he was Julius Caesar and the woman was Cleopatra, to me, they'll always be Rex Harrison and Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra, a movie almost as controversial as the general himself.
And Black? Besides knowing that Caesar Salad was invented by a different Caesar, she appreciates Julius Caesar's leadership skills and way with words,
There is much we can learn about leadership from Julius Caesar, whether on the battlefield, in politics, or in business (start small, take risks, communicate well), including what ultimately led to his death (always consider worst-case scenarios, never get complacent or arrogant). Many of his quotes speak (pun intended) to his powerful way with words, and the ability to not only deliver a message but to inspire (and story tell), with my favorite being, "I came, I saw, I conquered."