Nutrition Month: Beyond the table

March is Nutrition Month, which recognizes the important role that nutrition plays in our overall health and well-being.  

As Toronto’s food insecurity crisis continues to rise, with no signs of slowing down, it’s important to acknowledge the impact it has on the health, nutrition, and well-being of food bank clients. According to Daily Bread’s Who’s Hungry 2023 report, surveys showed a clear connection between health and food insecurity. Among food bank clients who reported their health was poor, 70% had missed a meal to pay for something else, compared to 41% for clients who reported that their health was excellent. 

Until poverty and food insecurity are addressed, the overall welfare of our communities will continue to suffer. 

This year’s theme for Nutrition Month is “Beyond the Table”. It focuses on the food journey, and the steps from farm food production, to distribution, to your plate. As an organization dedicated to ensuring everyone’s right to food, we collaborate with all to eliminate food insecurity. In fact, as part of Daily Bread’s Farm to Food Bank Program, we work directly with 15 farm partners who donate over 50 types of fresh fruit and vegetables like carrots, onions, squash, apples and more. This helps us ensure that 70% of the food provided to our network of member agencies is fresh. 

Dominion Farms is one of our Farm to Food Bank partners. For the past ten years, Dominion has donated close to 3 million pounds of fresh produce for our food programs.  

These donations include beets, turnips, carrots and onions, all of which are staples for a variety of cultural diets. Thanks to Dominion’s year-round donations, we are able to ensure a steady offering of these nutritious, seasonal veggies to families accessing our food programs.  

Mike Greenberg, Food Services Manager at Daily Bread, along with our amazing kitchen team, make use of all these wonderful ingredients to create hearty recipes, right at our on-site kitchen. Today, he shares a recipe for a tasty, caramelized onion and apple grilled cheese!  

Make this dish for yourself or a loved one to enjoy!

Grilled cheese with apple and caramelized onion

Ingredients:

• A few slices of a cheese of your choice (cheddar, havarti, mozzarella or whatever cheese you have on hand)  
• 3 small onions (sliced) 
• 1 tablespoon of oil 
• 1 large apple (thinly sliced) 
• 4 slices of bread of your choice 

Directions:

1. In a skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion slices and cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally for about 5-10 minutes. If the pan is too dry, deglaze with some water. Once onions are caramelized, set aside.  
2. Butter the outside of each slice of bread. Layer the cheese, apple slices and caramelized onions. Optional: drizzle with honey if you like. Top with the other slice of bread.  
3. Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle pan over medium-high heat. Place the sandwiches, butter side down in the hot pan. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side, or until the bread is browned and the cheese melts.  
4. Serve immediately or wrap in aluminum foil to eat later or enjoy on-the-go.  

If you would like to support Daily Bread in providing access to fresh, nutrient dense food, click here to learn more.