Letters and can openers to help feed Houston’s soul

WASHINGTON — Donate food for Harvey flood victims at an area grocery store and you might learn a new recipe for a “no cook” salad.

“We collaborated on a recipe that doesn’t require cooking and is really, really easy to create,” said Kirsten Bourne of the Capital Area Food Bank about working with Giant Foods on the Zesty
Tuna and Black Bean Salad.

Giant Foods stores throughout the D.C. area are collecting donated items that the Capital Area Food Bank will box up and ship to Houston.

Find the sign that says “Help For Harvey,” donate the specified ingredients, and “they’ll have everything they need to do [the recipe] along with even a can opener that we’re going to send down,” Bourne said.

Volunteers are needed to pack boxes of donated food on Sept. 18, Sept. 19 and Sept. 20.

You can sign up to volunteer on the Food Bank’s website.

“You’ll have an opportunity to write a note to those displaced by the hurricane, which will go in the box with the food,” Bourne said. “Knowing that those of us who can’t be there physically are behind them and thinking of them — is important, too.”

The Capital Area Food Bank is sending a full-sized tractor-trailer of supplies to Houston on Wednesday and again later this month with the locally donated and volunteer-packed items.

“Our logistics, our truck fleets and the relationships we have allow us to be immediate responders, so that’s why we’re acting right now,” Bourne said.

Preferred items to be donated at Giant Foods stores include:

  • Bottled water
  • Ready-to-eat foods, such as nuts, granola bars and other snacks
  • Shelf-stable items, such as peanut butter, tuna and soup
  • Cleaning supplies, such as bleach and paper towels
  • Personal items, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste
  • Diapers and other baby items

Find other ways to help Harvey victims here.

And in case you’re interested, here’s the recipe for that no-cook salad.

Zesty Tuna and Black Bean Salad
185 calories | 19 g carbs | 5 g fat (1.1 g sat fat) | 18 g protein | 328 mg sodium | 4 g fiber per serving
Serves 6 for $3.73

Ingredients
2 (5-ounce) cans tuna, drained
1 (15 ounce) can low salt black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can low salt corn, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dried minced onion

Combine ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit 15 minutes for flavors to come together.

Try “switching it out”: Sub in canned chicken for the tuna.

(You can also enjoy it as a dip with crackers or rolled with a flour tortilla for a wrap.)

Kristi King

Kristi King is a veteran reporter who has been working in the WTOP newsroom since 1990. She covers everything from breaking news to consumer concerns and the latest medical developments.

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