Staples

Last Sunday, the boys accompanied me for my second time working the annual food drive. This occurs every year at the end of November with the goal of replenishing the food bank before the cold really sets in. Volunteers stand outside all the local grocery stores wearing little yellow plastic vests that identify us as such, and then we hand out flyers explaining the drive, along with cheap plastic bags (like we use in the US for vegetables) for people to use to separate their contributions from their personal purchases.

So far, so good, right? Sounds pretty standard.

Here's what I found interesting, though: the list was HIGHLY specific. Whereas in the US, we would have a list that includes things like "canned goods", "baby supplies", "rice and other grains", and so on, the Italian list had the following...ONLY:

Olive oil
Tuna (generally available packed only in olive oil, by the way)
Beans (which are generally canned, not dry)
Tomatoes, pieces or sauce (in other words, canned)
Baby food
Pasta
Biscotti (which means any kind of cookie, but NOT generally what Americans call biscotti)

As we received the items, we sorted them. We DID have a "miscellaneous" box, which included things like sugar and flour.

I found it fascinating that olive oil was specified rather than any general cooking oil. And other canned veg? Well, the truth is, other canned veg is really not easy to find, with the exception of corn. But corn is not really used here in my experience other than as a topping on salad or pizza. And cookies? Sounds strange, until you realize that that is the breakfast of champions over here.

No dry goods requested. No non-food items.

Comparison between last year and this year: last year a HUGE amount of sugar and flour. Some oil. Lots of tomato.

This year? A preponderance of tuna and oil, which are both more expensive items. Sign of a slight uptick in economic optimism? Let's hope so!

Love,

Alexandra