St. Martin’s Ministries Distributes “Good and Cheap” Cookbooks

House Resident, Zymira Lofland (with help from her daughter) preparing a recipe from Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/day

A resident of Saint Martin’s House, staff and volunteer Charlotte Hawes are making a special effort to provide food pantry clients with new ways to prepare some familiar foods this week.

For Christmas some of the families who come to Saint Martin’s Ministries for emergency food received the Kickstarter project cookbook, Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/day by Leanne Brown. Good and Cheap started as a free PDF cookbook for people with tight budgets, especially people receiving SNAP/Food Stamp benefits. The Kickstarter project funded a print run using a “get one, give one system” and has resulted in almost 9,000 printed copies donated to people in need.

Saint Martin’s purchased copies of Good and Cheap at the non-profit discounted rate and is sharing them with clients this holiday season. Jean Austin, CEO of Saint Martin’s Ministries, said, “It is a lovely cookbook with beautiful pictures and simple, tasty recipes. Often the food we are able to provide through government sources and the food bank is very plain. Leanne’s book demonstrates how to make basic foods taste better with spices and a variety of cooking techniques. There is an emphasis on healthier approaches such as turning a can of vegetables into a spread and serving it on whole wheat toast.”

Volunteer Charlotte Hawes gives out samples and a copy of the cookbook that provides families easy nutritious recipes to make on a food stamp budget.

Saint Martin’s House resident Zymira Lofland who has a background in culinary arts prepared several of the recipes from the book for clients of the emergency food pantry to try. Residents of

Saint Martin’s House establish personal goals to help themselves become self-sufficient. Zymira’s goal is to establish a catering business.

Located in Ridgely, Saint Martin’s Ministries has been helping people in poverty for more than 30 years by providing access to emergency food, inexpensive clothing and household goods, and supporting families who need assistance with housing. Visit www.stmartinsministries.org for more information.