This morning a very cool local event took place. The annual Ocean Beach Pier Pancake Breakfast was held near the end of the long OB pier!
Proceeds from the breakfast are used to fund the OB Food and Toy Drive, which benefits many families in the beach community who could use a helping hand. This tasty event is put on each year by the Ocean Beach Town Council!
Enjoy a few photos!
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Do you love to be out in the San Diego sunshine, among friendly people and fragrant fruit trees? Do you hate to see delicious, nutritious fruit just lying there on the ground, beginning to rot? Do you, perhaps, own fruit trees in your backyard and struggle to give the abundant harvest away? Would you like to help some hungry people?
If you’re looking for a fun opportunity to volunteer and make a positive change in the lives of San Diegans, read on! Some fantastic ladies whom I met at EarthFair need your help! They’re the Glean Queens!
The Glean Queens have undertaken a very important project. It’s called CropSwap. The perfectly named CropSwap (part of their organization ProduceGood) solves a huge problem. The problem of tragically wasted food–locally grown fruit, to be exact.
Sunny Southern California is thick with citrus and other fruit trees. Many residents have them on their property. Many of the established trees provide more fruit than a family can possibly use. Why should the excess become useless garbage?
According to the USDA, a whopping 40% of crops go to waste. And here’s another shocking statistic: 20% of San Diegans have difficulty getting enough food to eat.
CropSwap coordinates fruit tree owners and volunteer pickers, and arranges the collection of excess fruit that would otherwise be wasted. The fruit is then delivered to San Diego food banks. An excellent (and common sense) idea!
So all you fruit tree owners and future volunteer pickers in and around San Diego! Click here to visit the ProduceGood website and learn how you can personally help, in a very tangible and rewarding way, to fight hunger!
Spread the word!
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Chefs have taken to the streets of downtown San Diego! They can be seen almost everywhere! Cooks on every corner–but where’s my breakfast?
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A unique event took place today. It was extremely unusual, fun and enlightening.
Rob Greenfield is an activist working to persuade grocery stores to donate expired foods to local food banks and hunger relief charities like Feeding America. His effort is called Donate Don’t Dump. To raise awareness, he has created unusual, colorful works of art in various cities, using perfectly good food he’s found while dumpster diving.
As part of my walk today, I took a few pics of Rob and his friends creating a fantastic bit of artwork on the grass in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
He told me that some grocery chains are better than others at donating their expired foods. He explained food retailers have nothing to fear from lawsuits should someone sicken from food poisoning, because of the federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act. $165 billion dollars of food is wasted each year, enough to fill two Rose Bowl stadiums every single day, according to Rob!
Once the art had been admired, bystanders were invited to eat! The food was great!
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People love to congregate in Little Italy’s Amici Park, just north of downtown San Diego. There’s a big grassy area for dogs, a couple bocce ball courts, and some tables and chairs where neighbors can just sit and relax. Or eat.
Honestly, who wouldn’t be hungry in this park? There’s food all over the place! Metal sculptures in the shape of food, to be exact!
The red and white checkered tablecloths you see are actually glass mosaics. The recipes beside the plates are designed so that inquisitive gourmets can take a rubbing, and bring the recipe home. The various round plaques are sprinkled about the park, set in concrete where people might walk. The entire installation is called “A Recipe For Friendship” and was created by Nina Karavasiles in 2001. The public art was commissioned by the City of San Diego Commission For Arts and Culture.
Now, what’s for dinner?
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I recently heard on the local news that the new Tuna Harbor Dockside Market in downtown San Diego has grown quite a bit since its modest beginning. When I went to the outdoor fish market’s grand opening a month or so ago, there were two tables with freshly caught fish and tanks of crabs and sea urchins. And a really, really long line!
During my walk late this morning I decided to see how things are going. So I headed down to the Embarcadero with my trusty camera. I arrived at the pier just north of Seaport Village about eleven o’clock, and it appeared most of the shopping crowd had already departed. Some of the commercial fishermen were removing unsold seafood from their tables.
The dockside market has certainly expanded! The tents now number half a dozen or so, and stretch in a row a good distance down the pier.
Today’s catch included live sea urchin, rock crab, top snail, whelk snail, rock fish, black cod, thorny head rockfish, sheepshead, yellowfin tuna, albacore tuna, box crab, razor crab, mackerel and perch! I’m told many chefs at local restaurants have become happy customers!
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Holy macaroni! I want to eat everything in sight! Much of it is deep fried, most is super sugary, and it all appears delectably scrumptious! At the big San Diego County Fair, which takes place every year at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, all sorts of tasty food are easily found. Food stands are waiting for you in every direction! It’s a shame my blog doesn’t feature savory smells. You’d press your nose right up next to the screen!
Is your stomach growling yet?
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Every Saturday thousands of people converge on Date Street to take a stroll through Little Italy’s Mercato, an amazing Farmers Market that stretches half a dozen city blocks! Residents of downtown San Diego and the surrounding communities mingle in the sunshine, checking out an amazing variety of organic produce, freshly cut flowers, unique arts and crafts, tasty food and live music.
I took a walk through Little Italy’s Mercato this morning and was struck by the many vivid colors. There were over 150 booths to check out. I hardly knew which direction to point my camera!
I hope you enjoy these cool pics.
Cool San Diego Sights! 