Just because it looks like an orange, don’t expect to savour the taste of sun-kissed sweetness when eating the pulp of a kumquat. Prepare to pucker when tasting this sour-sweet citrus fruit. The opposite of an orange, the golden-yellow peel of a kumquat is soft and sweet, while the inside packs a tart, acidic punch.

While kumquats are believed to be native to China, they are widely grown in the warm climates of California, Florida and Texas. The most common type available to North Americans is the Nagami kumquat, an oblong-shaped fruit about the size of a large grape.

The sweet and sour properties of the kumquat lend it perfectly to both sweet and savoury dishes. When cooked, kumquats lose some of their acidity, while retaining their tangy flavour.

Kumquats can be eaten fresh and whole, dried and candied, pickled, as marmalade preserves or sliced and tossed in salads. The tart nature of the kumquat makes it a tasty compliment to pork, chicken and seafood dishes.

A fresh kumquat contains about a dozen calories, and is high in vitamin C, potassium and beta-carotene.

Sometimes the best lessons in leadership aren’t learned by studying principles, but by following the principal players who take the lead. This spring, the Kelowna Food Bank has partnered with principals, teachers, students and parents from School District #23 so that no child has to go hungry in our community. 
 
The Lunch Bucket Wish List Challenge has elementary, middle and high schools collecting non-perishable food items until May 18.  The school that raises the most pounds of food and products will win the Lunch Bucket Wish List Challenge Award.
 
A staggering 40% of food bank clients locally and nationally are children.  It’s a fact that children who are well nourished learn better and live a healthier life.  The Food Bank and its supporters have a wish for every child to receive nutritious foods, so that they are nourished in the body, mind and soul. 
 
Participation from schools in donating food is vitally important to the Food Bank’s operations.  Last year, individual schools in District #23 raised more than $25,000 worth of food for low-income children and families in our community.  The commitment from students, teachers, principals and parents has been outstanding.
 
Items needed for the Lunch Bucket Wish List Challenge canned goods, whole grain pastas, pasta sauce, peanut butter, rice, oatmeal, cereal (hot or cold), crackers, juice, and meals in a can such as chilli, ravioli and chunky soup.
 
Our honours go to Glenrosa Middle, Pearson Road Elementary, Raymer Elementary, Rose Valley Elementary and Rutland Elementary, Rutland Senior and Spring Valley Middle schools for their commendable examples of leadership in taking on the Lunch Bucket List Challenge for a better community.

While good nutrition is important at every age, the early years are an especially critical time for development, with 90% of the brain’s growth occurring by the age of five.
 
Success by 6, an early childhood development initiative dedicated to providing all children with a good start in life, has provided the Kelowna Community Food Bank with $20,000 in funding to implement a Kids’ Snack Pack project. 
 
Families with children aged one to six receive a supplemental bag of ready-to-eat nutritious snacks for pre-school, day care or school.  Snack packs include fresh fruit, fruit cups, cello-packaged fresh produce, milk boxes, bottled water and healthy granola bars.
 
Studies show that produce and perishable food items are the first dietary requirement to be cut from food purchases when the household budget is reduced, shifting purchases to low-cost, highly-processed foods. 
 
This results in a malnourished population needing increased health-care services for preventable conditions and can be damaging for children, often with irreversible consequences.
 
The Kids’ Snack Pack project is designed to significantly increase the nutritional value, quantity and variety of food that the Kelowna Food Bank is able to provide for children living in low-income families.
 
Top Ten Nutritional Brain Boosters

Blueberries for motor skills and learning capacity.

Wild salmon for its omega-3 essential fatty acids, required for brain function.

Citrus fruits and colorful vegetables because of their antioxidant properties.

Avocados with monounsaturated fat contribute to healthy blood flow.

Beans help stabilize blood sugar levels, which the brain requires for fuel.

Water, which aids in brain hydration, is vital as the brain is 80% water.

Whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice and barley promote cardiovascular health and good blood flow throughout the body, including the brain.

Nuts and seeds are an excellent source of the antioxidant Vitamin E.

Grape juice helps to improve short-term memory and motor skills.

Eggs, in addition to being an excellent source of protein, are rich in choline, which helps create memory stem cells.

One of the greatest aspects of the Kelowna Community Food Bank is how people from different back grounds, with varying skills and abilities come together for a single cause.

Each year, nearly 100 volunteers devote a combined 20,400 hours of their time to help feed hungry children and families in Kelowna.  They drive over 15,000 kilometres to pick up donated food, prepare 12,000 hampers, sort and organize $2 million dollars worth of goods and meet face-to-face over 30,000 times with families and children needing food. Additionally, the Society’s volunteer Board of Directors devotes countless hours to ensure the mission of the Food Bank to help alleviate hunger and poverty in the Central Okanagan is realized.
 
The reasons which bring individuals to the Food Bank are as different as the volunteers themselves. They are from different social circles and different income classes. Some of the volunteers are highly educated and speak many languages, while others have not completed high school.  Retired RCMP work side-by-side with those who have rebelled youth work together with seniors, and career women with housewives.  Every day dozens of people who face physical or mental disabilities take on significant roles within the Food Bank’s operations.  And although everyone is different, they are equal, and they are important.
 
It is because of this welcoming and inclusive atmosphere that Don comes to volunteer at the Food Bank almost daily.
 
“The atmosphere here is super positive,” he says, “everyone is here for the same reason – to help people.  The relationship between the volunteers is excellent because we share a common goal.  The volunteers are united in helping others, which creates a bond and, as a result, there is a mutual feeling of harmony and respect among fellow workers and the people they serve.”
 
Nancy and Ann are also regular volunteers at the KCFB.  The two women have taken leading roles in the kitchen, acting as role models for some of the newer volunteers.
 
“We work hard but we always have a good time with each other,” says Nancy, who has been a volunteer at the Food Bank for more than 15 years.  In fact, many Food Bank volunteers have made a long-term commitment to the organization, the longest being more than 22 years. 

 
“And we get to help the less fortunate and give back to our community,” added Ann.
 
Just as it has been for Don, Nancy and Ann, the Food Bank is and will continue to be a part of many people’s personal story. And while acting as a backdrop to these individuals’ lives, it will carry on as a place that bridges the gap between generations it will be an organization that offers purpose and meaning to people who may feel undervalued in our society and it will work to generate understanding and encourage communication between social classes of people.  The Kelowna Community Food Bank is proud to be one of the few places that welcomes everybody, from all walks of life, and asks them to work together, without passing judgment, in the attempt to build a better community.
 
Anyone interested in being a part of the Food Bank can call 763-7161 or drop by 1265 Ellis Street for a tour.