“Breakfast Battle” Benefits Local Food Bank

In a race against the clock, nine local businesses and civic organizations “fought over food” on Wednesday morning during the 3rd annual Breakfast Battle sponsored by the Franklin County Farm Bureau.

“This event helped raise understanding of finding solutions to eating healthy on a stretched budget plus raised awareness of food insecurity in Franklin County,” says Val Plagge, public relations chairman for Franklin County Farm Bureau.

Food insecurity isn’t unique to Franklin County. One in eight Iowans – approximately 400,000 – is food insecure, meaning they lack the resources to live an active and healthy lifestyle. One out of 5 Iowa children does not know where his next meal will come from. Many of these individuals have been faced with a job loss or unforeseen expense that has brought on the burden of wondering how they will put food on their tables.

Ten local families will have food on the table for at least three meals, thanks to groceries gathered during Wednesday’s event. These bags of groceries included perishable items like butter, milk, meat and vegetables, so families could make three well-balanced meals. Each family also was given the Healthy Homemade Cookbook published by Iowa State University Extension.

Trying to buy enough groceries for three meals in less than 3 minutes is an experience to be sure! Breakfast Battle team members raced around the grocery store – in an organized frenzy – to feed breakfast, dinner and supper for a family of four between $45 and $50. Teams were timed from the moment they left the cart area until they reached the checkout lane.

Time bonuses were given to those that answered ag trivia questions correctly before the race, and Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds received a time bonus for having the most votes on the Franklin County Farm Bureau’s Facebook “Fan Favorite” team poll.

Time penalties were given for every dollar over or under the $45 to $50 cart total range. Coming in $18 over budget, Team Latham incurred some stiff penalties! We bought entire bags of onions and potatoes even though our shopping list only listed 1 onion or 2 potatoes. We also bought a full gallon of milk and 18 eggs plus a bag of dinner rolls.

Although Team Latham didn’t win a plaque for winning the competition, we can feel good knowing that one family will receive additional perishable items. Following the race, grocery items were delivered to the Franklin County Food Pantry in Hampton and the Immanuel UCC Food Pantry in Latimer.

“The Breakfast Battle is for a great cause, providing for those in need here in Franklin County and also reminding folks that our groceries came from a farm,” said Jackie Dohlman, Franklin County Extension Youth Coordinator, who was a member of the winning Breakfast Battle team. “In one way or another, the products we all buy at the grocery store came from a farm.  It’s important to remember that only 2% of our nation’s population is feeding U.S. consumers and also helping feed people all over the world.”

In honor of this week’s Breakfast Battle – and the winning team – today we’re sharing a recipe from the Healthy Homemade Cookbook.