Month: May 2018

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Recipe Spotlight: Easy Applesauce Muffins

by Linh Ho, HSRC Intern

This super easy recipe for applesauce muffins has less than ten ingredients, many of which can be found either in the HSRC Food Pantry, or in your pantry at home! The stars of this recipe are the pre-made baking mix that can be found in our Food Pantry at Avery Lodge, as well as some unsweetened applesauce that we also have an abundance of.

The baking mix, supplied by the Oregon Food Bank, is very versatile and can be used to make pancakes, biscuits, and even muffins like we are doing today! The unsweetened applesauce also adds some natural sweetness and additional moisture to the muffins. Applesauce can also be used to replace eggs in many recipes. Check out this website for tips!

Onto the recipe, which can be either a sweet treat or even an easy on the go breakfast item!

The ingredients you will need for the muffins:

  • 2 cups of baking mix
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 generous teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 1 serving container of unsweetened applesauce (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tablespoons of oil

For the cinnamon sugar topping:

  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons of melted butter

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Combine baking mix, sugar, and cinnamon into a bowl.

  • Stir in applesauce, egg, milk, oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Add other mix-ins if desired. I added about a third of a small chopped granny smith apple to half the batter.

  • Fill greased muffin tins with batter, about 2/3 full. Using cupcake liners saves some mess and clean up time!

     

  • Bake the muffins for about 10-12 minutes. They are done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

  • Combine the remaining cinnamon and sugar in a shallow dish or bowl. Melt the butter in bowl — be careful with this: remember to cover the bowl with plastic wrap and only heat for about 15 seconds.

  • Gently dip the tops of the muffins into the melted butter and quickly roll into the cinnamon sugar mixture.
  • Enjoy your muffins!

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Gettin’ to know the Garden

by Anne Snell

Did you know the HSRC has a garden? That’s right! Just to the East of the building are 7 rows of soil,  and two raised beds. (Or, if you’re directionally challenged like me, the side with the 30-minute parking spots.) There is also a mini orchard which includes dwarf-sized fruit trees like fig, apple, pear, and persimmon. The garden began in the 2016-2017 school year as part of the Growing Food Security Initiative between the HSRC and the Student Sustainability Initiative (SSI).

Two of the garden beds, growing baby kale and pepper plants

If it doesn’t look like much now, it’s because this will actually be the garden’s first year producing a full season of crops!  It takes time for well-producing gardens to form. The Organic Growers Club grew the starts from seed to help us save money. This also helps make sure we get the varieties people want to eat.  The soil conditions are constantly improving, so in a few years, they will be even more nutrient rich than they are now. More nutrients in the soil means more produce!

Colorful Swiss Chard is almost ready to harvest!

This year the garden, which is mostly managed by the SSI, is growing vegetables like Swiss chard, tomatoes, kale, tomatillos, bell peppers, carrots, beets, squash, and garlic. Everything grown in the garden is harvested directly for the HSRC’s Shopping Style Food Pantry nights or Fresh Food Friday. Production is slow right now, but come summer, and into the fall, we will have vegetables galore!

The apples aren’t quite ripe yet, but they will be soon!

 

 

The HSRC Community  Garden isn’t just for  providing fresh produce to the food pantry. It is also a learning environment, where students can get their hands dirty and help grow the food harvested from the garden. In the future we hope students can engaged in the process of growing food, both so they can give back to their community, but also so they can learn the skills required to grow your own food for themselves. The community garden we have is small, and still very young, but growin’ strong!

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I’m facing a housing emergency…where do I go?

Come here to the HSRC first!

We have 2 rooms on campus available to students in need of emergency housing. This requires consulting with one of our GTAs to better understand your situation and assess if our emergency housing option is your best fit or if there are more suitable resources elsewhere.

These outside resources include:

Jackson Street Youth Services Next Steps Program – 541-754-2404

This program is a Transitional Living Program that is available to anyone 18 years of age until their 21st birthday. The locations are confidential. Participants are offered up to 18 months of services. This includes a bed, case management, skill building, financial support, mental health services, and community building. Upon entering a person is obligated to be pursuing either: Employment or Education. While living there, a person is asked to pay a flat rate or percentage of their monthly income as a form of “rent”. This “rent” gets stored in a savings account and when a person exits the program, they are given the amount back to help with costs of moving into a new place.

The program currently offers 8 beds. When those beds are already occupied a person applying can opt to be placed on a waitlist. A requirement of this waitlist is to engage with an Outreach Case Manager and attend a weekly skills workshop. This is to potentially find an alternative solution to their situation, thus opening up a spot for someone else.

The application for this program can be found through the link provided above. Applications can be submitted to their Corvallis House at 555 NW Jackson Avenue.

Community Outreach Inc. – 541-758-3000

This is the primary adult shelter in Benton County. It is located at 865 NW Reiman Avenue. They primarily provide services to families, women and children, and veterans. This includes housing, case management, guidance seeking employment, etc..

They have 70 beds available and are often at full occupancy, but a bed can become available at any minute. They do require sobriety.

Corvallis Housing First – 541-230-1297

Housing First is a national model for eliminating homelessness within a respective community. Corvallis offers two locations within the community that offer long term housing for those experiencing or at risk of chronic homelessness. The goal is to provide stability and structure for folks exiting the streets with the assistance of case management and accountability from a professional staff.

Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services – 541-752-7220

Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services is a private, nonprofit community development corporation committed to improving lives and strengthening communities through quality affordable housing, homeownership, economic opportunity, and community partnerships. They provide educational and financial services to secure your future. They are able to make referrals when necessary and help guide you through the process of finding stable housing.

Community Services Consortium – Housing Resources – 541-752-1010

Community Services Consortium offers a variety of programs. In regards to housing they offer rental assistance and utilities assistance programs to help alleviate costs of living.

If you are in need, or know someone who is in need, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We would love to help you resolve your situation as quickly as possible.