Gina Rau's Page

While the summer bounty of fruits and vegetables are abundant right now and it appears that there is more than we could simply enjoy, our country continues to have a serious hunger problem. There are still over 36 million Americans that don't know what their next meal will look like, where it will come from or when it will come. As a family, this is an area we have decided to get behind and help. We've bought and donated food to our local Oregon Food Bank monthly, we will help those on the stree… Continue

Mom I just returned from a few days in my Southern California home town . We've had this trip planned for about five months since it was centered around a surprise birthday party for my mom's 60th in July. The weekend before we left, my dad had a heart attack after a routine surgery but thankfully was in the right place and right hands and they took excellent care of him. Those of us who planned the party talked everyday, trying to determine whether we should cancel the birthday celebration. We… Continue

A new survey highlights that consumers are putting price ahead of nutrition at the grocery store during these tough times. While that's not a complete surprise, it seems that what is really in order is some nutrition education. There are a lot of inexpensive, nutrient-dense choices we can make so that we can still eat well on a tight budget.

Here's a few choices that I'm going to call my Healthy Dollar Menu (not sure if they actually cost $1 per serving, but you get the idea):

* Peanut… Continue

Given today's economy, I'm sure you've seen signs of hunger all around. We've highlighted here a few of the programs that our Oregon Food Bank has to enable local families to help others in our communities, like Plant a Row for the Hungry. And other areas have food relief services that are doing great work too. Well, next month, they'… Continue

A friend who works at the Environmental Working Group introduced me to the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act and asked if I'd be interested in helping to bring some awareness to the topic. After a quick glance at the issue, I immediately signed up: the current toxic chemical regulatory law, the Toxic… Continue