Today, I am blogging about something I just found out about. It is backed by the United Nations and my favorite sport. So what is today’s subject? A very cool event called the European Match Day against Hunger. This last weekend soccer teams all over Europe rallied with the purpose of advocating against hunger.  According to an article from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN, the “Austrian league ambassador Herbert Prohaska said: ‘The main purpose of the Match Day against hunger is to show that all of us can fight against hunger and poverty. Because everywhere in the world people are playing football this is a perfect stage for this message’.”

A soccer coach myself; I cannot help but to agree that this is the perfect stage for a call to action. One reason is because children everywhere kick around soccer balls. In fact, a few months ago I blogged about an indestructible soccer ball that was being distributed to children in war-torn areas. Also, in many areas of Europe soccer is the most popular sport to watch, follow and play. This means there is potential to inspire an entire continent to think about hunger, take action against hunger, and care about hunger! So it is both a stage used by those who are hungry and by those who can advocate for them.

I think that Hristo Stoichkov of the Bulgarian League put it well when he said, “We must do everything in order to guarantee for all children around the world the love and food they need. That is their sacred right”.

Learn more about the European Match Day Against Hunger Here:

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/46667/ico/

View photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1billionhungry/sets/72157625078678417/

~Lana

At the edge of the vast Pacific Northwest lies the Olympic National Park, home to the largest unmanaged herd of Roosevelt Elk in the world and the Elwha River Restoration Project. Since the early 1900s the Elwha has been a residence for two dams, and the river that is home to all five species of Pacific salmon, altered. Current runs of salmon have dwindled to just about 3,000. A new life, however is about to return to this river system.

The Elwha Dam

Glines Canyon Dam

After nearly 100 years the Elwha’s two dams are up for removal. Slated to be the largest dam removal project ever in this country, it is estimated that salmon runs of 300,000 will return to over 70 miles of river and stream over the course of 30 years. Salmon, a common food in the Pacific Northwest, are an essential part of both local culture and biodiversity. For starters, salmon are an important part of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s culture and consequently, the tribe is a major contributor to dam restoration efforts. Removal will allow them to once again recognize age old traditions. For the larger forest, however, salmon provide a food source for multiple animals, including bears and eagles. Additionally, “after spawning [salmon] carcasses supply the ecosystem with nitrogen and phosphorus” (Popular Mechanics). According to the National Park Service the project is also good for other parts of the ecosystem. They offer that, “Removing the dams will reestablish the natural flow of sediment from the mountains to the coast—rebuilding wetlands, beaches and the estuary at the river’s mouth.”

Removing a dam is no small project; in fact this one is nearly 30 years in the making. In addition to the initial planning, multiple projects have been undertaken over the past couple of years including water treatment facilities, engineered log jams and the planting of native vegetation. These are each essential parts of the process, ensuring both the success of the project, and the river’s ability to continue to supply clean water to local people. After all that, the dams themselves could take up to three years to remove fully.

As a Washington native, lover of salmon, and a Christian always looking to be more involved in caring for God’s amazing creation, I cannot help but to be excited about this project. As we restore rivers, habitats and ecosystems a more bounteous creation emerges; stronger salmon runs, increased wildlife, renewed beaches and a tiny bit of return to balance. For me, personally, the bigger picture of hunger is not just about what a single person eats, but about how creation interacts such that native food exists, thrives and supplies the nutrients for our lives.

You can learn more about the Elwha River Restoration Project here (these are the sites I used to write this blog):

• http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/water/2294301
• http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=360254&bypasswarning=1
• http://www.nps.gov/olym/naturescience/elwha-ecosystem-restoration.htm

~ Lana Lile

Two weekends ago I visited a local creamery with my siblings, friends and our significant others. There were six of us in total and after tasting multiple delicious cheeses and taking pictures of the cows behind the fence, we were lucky enough to visit the milking room. We stood in a line along the wall, not seven feet from three huge cows being milked by one of the family members who runs the farm. As we asked him questions about the cows, the taste of the milk and the creamery in general, we were in for a very “natural” surprise. As three cows transitioned out of the milking room, three new ones came in, and without time to react we were all splattered with the brownish green leftovers of the cow’s lunch…if you know what I mean. (Don’t worry, everything collecting milk was completely clean and sanitary!) At first I bolted out of the room, saving myself from more splatters (it had already hit my forehead), but then I laughed and thought about the reality of the milk I drink and the cheese I eat.

Cows are animals. They live and breathe and eat and, well, splatter the milking room.  I couldn’t help but smile, knowing that that day I had come a little closer with my food and drink. Everyday people all over the US and the world milk cows and goats for milk, cheese and other dairy products. Everyday they feed their animals and prepare to sell their nutritious foods at market. Everyday we play a role in consumption and conservation through our food choices.  Are we buying local, organic and/or fair trade? Are we aware of where our food comes from and how it is made?  I know that I now have a greater respect for my cheese and the farmers who see it through from grass, to cow, to cheese cave.

~Lana Lile

Tonight is a treat. It may be late for dinner, but I am certainly not complaining. I just got home from coaching a soccer game and I am sitting at the kitchen counter, blogging, while my brother and his friend are frying tortillas and my family is eating homemade chocolate. Our chef this evening is from Mexico, and so our dinner is blessed with an international flair.

Our appetizer tonight is the homemade chocolate I referred to earlier. Our guest/chef/friend is Ruth, and she is visiting us from Mexico. She made the chocolate with her mother at home and brought it to share at our table. This is an extra special experience because cacao beans are native to Mexico. In addition, she is currently hand-making and pressing tortillas from scratch for tacos tonight. I love tacos and I cannot wait!

This experience reminds me of how incredible of a cultural experience food can provide. It is a way that we are able to share our home and culture with others. Food allows us to smell, taste, see and touch a different culture such that in my Pacific Northwest kitchen, I can be transported to Mexico for an evening.

I am thankful that Ruth wants to cook for us, share her culture with us, and gather around the table with us.

~Lana Lile

This week’s TueSpot asks our fans to share a recipe from their culture, heritage or location. It stems from our vast amount of fans that come from all over the world and across the USA. So my plan tonight was to also blog about a recipe and how it connects to where I am. I am still going to do that, but I am also going to talk about food as it relates to me in two specific ways: as fuel and as comfort.

I have recently started coaching a soccer team, and tonight I am exhausted. In addition, I have a sore throat thanks to some crazy weather this week. So tonight when I got home from practice I knew exactly what I needed: fuel and comfort. The meal I made was classic, chicken noodle soup and melted cheese on a hamburger bun. (Okay, grilled cheese would be more common.) While I considered this meal to be a prime example of my culture’s food, I also thought about my relationship to what I was eating.

Relationship 1: Fuel

Dinner tonight gave me calories, protein and other nutrients to keep my body moving. My body requires fuel for my everyday functioning, not to mention exercise.

Relationship 2: Comfort

Hot soup felt so good on my sore throat and the meal in total reminded me of being taken care of as a child. In this case, food functioned to protect and heal.

What about people who have very limited access to food? Their bodies also require food to function and their lives and health also require food to protect and heal. Plus, everyone needs comfort from time to time. Tonight’s meal made me think about the different functions of food. Those functions made me consider what I would feel like if I could not refuel and if I could not receive comfort. I would be a mess. Right now, over one billion people are undernourished and they need fuel and comfort just as much, if not more, than I do.

What functions does food serve for you? How would you feel if food was not available to you?

~Lana

Blueberries ripening in my front yard.

A few days ago I was standing in my kitchen looking for a snack. Having just gotten back from vacation, there were no fruits or vegetables to be found and I was craving their nutrition. My first reaction was disappointment and my second was the need to add my favorite fruits to the grocery list. Bummed, I found another snack and moved on.

About a half hour later I was reminded to check on the blueberry bushes outside to see whether or not the birds had gotten underneath the netting. Blueberry bushes!!! Just 20 feet from where I stood, craving fresh fruits, are two blueberry bushes full of wonderful, colorful, scrumptious fresh fruit. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. It gets better…

While I was outside checking on the blueberries I noticed that an apple had fallen from one of our apple trees. Although it is a bit early in their season I picked another low slung, reddening apple to check its tartness and enjoy a burst of homegrown fruit. As I picked the apple I realized that it had been awhile since I had pulled nutrition from the earth myself, and realized just how far I had gotten from my food. I had one of those “aha!” moments that happen from time to time as I ate the juicy apple and contemplated not having to go to the grocery store to buy fruit, but instead eating from the earth in my own front yard. Apple trees take time to prune, initial purchase money to buy, other necessary care depending on the year and often much of the low fruit is lost to the neighborhood deer, but I also had a sense of God providing as I picked that apple.

Never have I felt further away from my food than in that moment. The act of picking fruit, however, reminded me of how Creation works to nourish us if we respect and care for its processes.

~Lana Lile

I am in a place that the Lord has made. Sitting in a chair on my balcony, waiting patiently for a meteorite shower to commence, I spy the single light on top of the mountain in front of me. I am in Whistler, Canada, known in the summertime for its world class mountain biking and in the winter for its sought-after ski slopes. Having visited over 10 countries, this mountain town less than a day’s drive from home remains one of my very favorite places in the world. Life here seems idyllic, especially for the many mountain sport enthusiasts who inhabit this place. For me, Whistler is also special as I come here to enjoy nature, relax and recharge. The vibe in town is friendly, adventurous and open, plus God’s creation is always in full song. Just being here puts me at ease.

Over the years I have paddled the rivers, walked amongst the tree tops and dangled in the gondolas, but this is the first year that as I have walked out of the grocery store I have noticed collection bins for the local food bank (which is not to say they were not there before.) Earlier in the week my mom told me about a sign she saw at the library, so, my ELCA World Hunger brain intrigued, I Googled the local food bank as well as the local library to learn about the community’s social service programs. A local non-profit society provides over 20 programs from the food bank to a thrift center…pretty cool! As far as the collection bins I saw, while the local groceries are collecting donations, the library is also creatively involved. A periodic program called Food for Fines allows library fines to be paid in non-perishable food donations which go to the local food bank. (One food item equals up to $2.00 in fine repayment.) In a town masked by adventure, fun and extraordinary mountain homes, hunger still exists. For me, it makes this place that much more real, and serves as a reminder that hunger and poverty are all around.

~Lana Lile

I have recently taken up barefoot running. I realize that this may sound silly, but I actually do run on the road in my bare feet…and it is amazing! Throughout my youth and into college I played multiple sports, the majority of which required lots of running. The truth is, however, I do not really like to run. I like to dribble, attack, shoot, fake out, ace, volley and get dizzy from cartwheels, running is simply a by-product. There is just one problem with that, now that I am out of school sports running is the simplest and cheapest way to get my cardio exercise while also enjoying the outdoors. So between pilates classes I have done my best to gut out a few miles. Recently, I began to hear more and more about the barefoot running movement, and after an informative YouTube video and an encouraging brother prodding me on, I gave it a shot. Glorious! While I am only about a month in and I do not go every day, I have easily worked myself up to over 2 miles. When I am done my knees do not hurt, my breath is not heavy and I often barely break a sweat. In fact, I want to go again. So I ask myself, “Why? What’s different?” Here’s my personal opinion for my personal situation: it feels natural. Essentially, that is the simplest answer ever, and it makes me feel somewhat silly to think I would be doing something that did not feel natural in the first place. When I think more about natural things, I skip easily to food.

I was watching a TED talk a couple of days ago about the relationship that cities and their citizens have to the food that they consume. Also to how suburban living impacts food and where it comes from. The woman giving the talk mentioned how people rarely smell their fruit at the market anymore to see if it would be good to eat. I know that I certainly do not, but I think I should start. Why? Well, because it feels natural. Much like running barefoot changes my posture and foot strike in such a way that my body reacts to running as a more natural movement, smelling my fruit and being aware of its origins feels more natural as well. I know that I need to improve my relationship to my food. I want to be sure that what I put into my body feels like it belongs there, just like my feet belong on the ground.

~ Lana Lile

Today my friends are coming to visit. They’re from Europe and I’m excited to show them where I’m from. So this afternoon we’re headed out to the beach where we can buy fresh salmon dockside. This is one of my favorite things. In my opinion, it doesn’t get much more organic than wild ocean salmon bought off the boat! I love the ocean and whether at home, school, or studying abroad I have always lived about a half hour drive from its waves. (Okay, except when I was in Chicago.)  But then I started thinking about how easy this all seems to me, and I realized how much I take the ocean for granted.

When I think about water biblically I go straight to Genesis 1:1-2, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” Water also has a cleansing nature, shown to us in baptism, and for me, water is the ultimate source of calm and contentment. The ocean is additionally where much of our oxygen comes from, an essential part of our ecosystem and one of our most crucial economic mediums for transportation and tourism.

So here I sit, thinking about the beauty of the ocean, the calm of the water and the fresh food which it yields. Are you waiting for the big “but!” yet? Well here it is – yesterday I read yet another story about oil spills. In the last few months there have been leaks or spills in the Gulf of Mexico, China, Michigan and a small spill from a boat in Alaska. Our water is in need of cleansing and my outlook is in need of thankfulness as I try not to take my Pacific Coast for granted. You see I can get fresh fish from rivers, lakes and the ocean with little worry or trouble, but many people right now are struggling to provide food for themselves, their families and society in general. In the wake of oil spills God’s creation is in hardship – not just the ocean, but also God’s people. So as I go to buy a fish tonight I think of the fishermen, the seafood restaurants and the sportsmen and women who all count on the water as a life-giving resource. Not to mention the whole of creation who count on its oxygen and ecosystem.

So as I go in search of fresh fish, I’ll say a prayer at the water’s edge.

~ Lana Lile