S moke S ignals
AUGUST 15, 2016
7
Being prepared could mean eating 25-year-old food
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
A group of Tribal members, Trib-
al Elders and staff gathered at the
Elders Activity Center on Monday,
Aug. 1, for a lunch of chicken salad
– chicken salad that may have been
made in 1991.
Nutrition Program Manager
Kristy DeLoe said she found out
about Thrive Life meals from for-
mer Emergency Operations Coor-
dinator Jamie Baxter and that she
wanted to be prepared as a Tribe
for any type of emergency that
might hit the community.
DeLoe contacted Thrive Life
Consultant Alisha Erickson and set
up the demonstration at the Elders
Activity Center.
“Jamie Baxter got a grant for
some food supplies for the Tribe,”
said DeLoe. “That’s when she
gave us their information and we
reached out to them. We met with
them to deal with the grant and
they had the idea to bring it on
to campus here for the employees
and the community to be able to be
prepared.”
Thrive Life is a food company
that offers freeze-dried foods in a
can that can have a shelf life of as
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Nutrition Program Manager Kristy DeLoe, right, hands out samples
of chicken salad that was made with freeze-dried chicken from Thrive Life
during a presentation held at the Elders Activity Center on Monday, Aug.
1. Emergency preparedness and Thrive's food products that have a 25-year
shelf life were discussed.
long as 25 years.
According to Thrive Life, their
foods are healthy and nutritious,
affordable and convenient. The
company markets to the idea of
being prepared for any situation by
having healthy food that can last
for decades and still be tasty and
nutritious when needed.
Erickson said that the food the
WALK-IN DENTAL APPOI NTMENTS FOR KIDS <6
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY FOR DENTAL CHECK-UPS FOR KIDS 5 AND
UNDER WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO BE SEEN AT THE TRIBAL CLINIC.
JUST COME ON IN!
We will check your child’s teeth during any of our clinic hours without an ap-
pointment. Dental check-ups are recommended beginning with the first
tooth!
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Dental Clinic
Phone 503-879-2020
Hours: Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri 8:00—5:00; Thur 9:30-5:30
company offers is picked at its
ripest point and then freeze-dried.
Raw or cooked foods are frozen
to as much as minus 50 degrees
Fahrenheit. The food is then placed
in a vacuum chamber at low heat.
As the food warms, water turns
to vapor and evaporates out in a
process known as sublimation,
which allows the food to maintain
its shape. The food is 90 percent
lighter after being freeze-dried. The
food is then packaged and sealed
in containers with nitrogen gas to
prevent spoilage.
When water is added to the food,
it regains its original flavor, smell
and texture.
According to Dr. Gary Stoner,
professor of Medicine at Medical
College of Wisconsin, freeze-dried
berries can retain as much as 90
percent of their anthocyanins,
which are compounds that give
berries their color and possibly
prevent cancer.
Stoner said that vitamins C and
E are mostly lost in the freeze-dry-
ing process.
Erickson handed out strawber-
ries, corn, coconut and pineapple
samples to those present.
Tribal Elder Peggy VanAtta said
she is an avid canner and that the
chicken salad tasted much like her
own.
“I thought it was very good,” said
VanAtta. “I don’t buy stuff that has
words I can’t pronounce. If I can’t
say it, I don’t want it.”
VanAtta’s comments put a smile
on Erickson’s face as she pointed
out the list of ingredients on the can
of pineapple was simply pineapple;
nothing else.
“I tried the pineapple, the corn,
the coconut, the chicken salad and
the strawberries,” said Elders Lead
Cook Kevin Campbell. “They were
good; really good. It was something
I would eat. It’s remarkable.”
Campbell said he hopes to secure
some of the Thrive Life products for
the Elders’ kitchen. He said there
might be a time when those foods
could come in handy.
“This would be good for emergen-
cy backup,” said Campbell. “If a
freezer went down or a refrigerator,
I’d still be able to make something
and feed people.”
Thrive Life offers three-month,
six-month and one-year food pack-
ages. The prices vary on different
items individually purchased and
the packages are $583.99 for the
three-month package, $1,312.99
for the six-month package and
$2,407.99 for the one-year package.
There are 24 one-gallon cans of
food in the three-month package, 48
cans in the six-month package and 99
cans of food in the one-year supply.
The packages can be viewed at
www.yummyquickmeals.com.
“We want to make sure that we’re
ready so in case there is an emer-
gency we’re prepared so we can
serve some people,” said DeLoe.
UPCOMING PARENTING WORKSHOPS
Please join Children & Family Services for our upcoming workshops.
Attend one or all. All are welcome!
Session 1: Thursday, August 18, 9am 11am
Positive Parenting
Session 2: Friday, August 19, 9am 12pm
Fun & Creative Parenting
Session 3: Friday, August 19, 12:30pm 3:30pm:
Parenting to a Child’s Temperament
REGISTER BY AUGUST 15TH
Lunch & Child care provided
( must rsvp, limited space, youth ages 3 yrs to 11 yrs ).
To Register or for information call
Amanda Mercier at 503-879-2039
or email
amanda.mercier@grandronde.org
Ad created by George Valdez