Serving You An Easter Buffet Of Stories
The food charity world is on alert, and a food star is returning
Happy Easter to anyone who is celebrating! It feels like Easter came late this year. Here in the Midwest, we are more than willing for spring to well, spring. Forsythia and daffodils are in bloom and birds are building nests, but the lows can still be in the 30s at night.
There is a lot of turmoil out in the world, and as you all know, it’s affecting the food world. Let’s start with a couple of stories that worry me.
Food Charities Are Feeling The Turmoil
I’ve supported Second Harvest in New Orleans for years. It’s been a perennial fixture on the food charity scene, rallying in times of stress, such as hurricanes and the Covid pandemic.
But it’s now enveloped in uncertainty. According to WDSU-TV, 37 truckloads of food that it was expecting to receive during the second and third quarters have been canceled.
That’s more than 600,000 pounds valued at over $1.1 million. The problem comes from two directions.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is experiencing delays in bonus food deliveries originally expected in April.
Meanwhile, a separate program that allowed food banks to buy fresh food from local farmers has been discontinued all together. This is bad news for both farmers and their customers.
Second Harvest has asked the public for help in continuing to feed the hungry in the 23 parishes (counties) in its network. This is more disruption for Second Harvest, which went through a leadership change earlier this year in a dispute with the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
Meanwhile, the USDA program cuts also are affecting Food Gatherers, an Ann Arbor, Mich., charity that is focused on food insecurity.
Its CEO, Ellen Spring, told WEMU that 30% of the food it distributes annually in Washtenaw County comes from the USDA-funded TEFAP program.
In late March, Food Gatherers also learned that distributions for April and May were being reduced. She estimates that the organization will receive half of what it expected to get from the USDA this year.
“The level of need has been high since the pandemic, and that's not unique to Washtenaw County. It's really happening throughout the country,” Spring said. The value of the items that Food Gatherers receives from the USDA is estimated at $2.5 million a year.
I’ve seen stories saying this is happening everywhere around the U.S. If you support a local food charity, it’s crucial to check in with them and see what kinds of needs they have. (I’m going to guess that you have already received an email.)
Wine Consumption Is Dropping
Tariffs are expected to make wine more expensive in many parts of the world. And that’s additional bad news for wine producers.
According to The Guardian, worldwide consumption of wine fell in 2024 to its lowest level in more than 60 years. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said on Tuesday that annual sales fell 3.3% to 214.2 million hectoliters (a hectoliter is equal to 100 liters).
The OIV, whose report was based on government figures, said this would be the lowest sales figure since 1961, when sales were 213.6 million hectolitres.
Production is also at its lowest level in more than 60 years. It fell 4.8% in 2024 to 225.8 million hectolitres. In the United States, the world’s top wine market, consumption fell 5.8% to 33.3 million hectolitres. Consumption is also down in Europe, including France, where it fell 3.6%. Only Spain and Portugal saw an increase in wine drinking.
The OIV’s statistics chief, Giorgio Delgrosso, said the wine industry had been hit by a perfect storm of health concerns and the economy. Tariffs on top of those were another “bomb,” he said.
NYC Restaurants Have Good News On Congestion Pricing
Getting away from the gloomy, New York City’s congestion pricing program has been underway for nearly four months now. And, it does not seem to be keeping customers away from restaurants.
AMNY reports that it has been business as usual for many restaurants in the congestion zone below 61st Street, where motorists pay tolls to enter the streets.
Dave Perlman, owner of Essex, a restaurant known for its American cuisine and brunch menu, says it has had a minimal impact on business.
He compared it with the ban on smoking in NYC restaurants starting in 1995, followed by the Smoke-Free Air Act in 2003 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg that prohibited smoking in bars, restaurants and many other venues.
“It’s like when they did away with smoking in restaurants, we thought it was going to be a big deal — and then everyone just forgot it was there,” Perlman said.
Perlman says he’s had to pay congestion tolls from companies making deliveries, but they average about $1 per shipment. E
The congestion pricing program is the subject of a federal lawsuit by President Donald Trump, who wants to halt it, but the fees continue while the case is ongoing.
With the number of cars down, the number of bicycles is up, at least when it comes to bike share bikes, according to the Bureau of Transportation statistics. In fact, bike share use rose the past year in several cities, particularly NYC. If you build bike lanes and curb cars, people will pedal.
Stanley Tucci Returns To TV
Lots of us were fans of Stanley' Tucci’s CNN program, Searching For Italy. It aired for two seasons before it was abruptly canceled.
Tucci subsequently signed up with Nat Geo, and returned to Italy to film a new series. Tucci In Italy begins airing on May 18. In the program, Tucci visits five regions of Italy in the five-part series.
He is both producer and host for the program, which kicks off in Tuscany. He will visit Lombardy, as well as Trentino-Alto Adige, also known as the Italian Alps. As with the CNN series, the shows promise to be relaxing Sunday night viewing.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
I took a deep dive into food packaging trends for Food & Wine. This year, numerous companies are updating the appearance of their products, embracing sustainable materials, and even embracing new logos. You might find some surprises from familiar brands.
I hope you got to hear me talking about tariffs with Detroit broadcast legend Dave LewAllen on his podcast. Here is the video if you have time to watch.
I’m happy to hear from you and have you follow me.
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Tomorrow, in Red Beans & Advice, paid subscribers will get a tutorial from a Korean MLB player in eating Korean BBQ. It’s incredibly charming.
Have a lovely Easter Sunday and see you soon.