Dining Out for Life

by Heidi Fellner lavendermagazine.com

Join Sven Sundgaard in Raising Money for The Aliveness Project

This time of year, it’s very easy to feel poor: months of high energy bills, taxes, and home improvement projects all pile on at once. This season in particular, our budgets are stretched even thinner, as more and more of us face pay cuts and layoffs, plus multiple international crises have required our aid as a nation and as a people. It’s all too easy to forget that we are comparatively very wealthy. The truth is that getting takeout coffee, renting a movie, or eating out at a restaurant may seem like basic living expenses to us, but in most parts of the world, they’re luxuries.

It’s pure genius, really, that someone had the idea of turning what Americans do best—spending money on a luxury—into an international fundraising event called Dining Out for Life. It works like this: Most of us have room in our budget for eating a meal out now and then, so if we just do so on April 29 at one of many participating restaurants throughout the Twin Cities, we will raise around $127,000 for The Aliveness Project.

Last year, Dining Out for Life accounted for 14 percent of the organization’s total budget—truly a staggering percentage, especially in light of what it is able to do for Minnesotans living with HIV/AIDS. Under one roof, it provides meals; a food shelf; integrative therapies like massage and acupuncture; case management; health and wellness seminars; and holiday baskets.
The Aliveness Project can do so much for so little thanks to a veritable army of volunteers who donate nearly 550 hours of their time each week. Their valuable skills are put to use in assisting more than 1,600 individuals each year, which amounts to about one in four people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Minnesota.

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Staying healthy while cleaning up after the flood

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 1, 2010

By Felice J. Freyer

Journal Medical Writer

When water pools, the risk of sickness of grows. But a few precautions can keep people safe as they clean up after the deluge.

The key thing to remember is that floodwaters are likely to contain sewage. If you must wade in, wear long pants, rubber boots, rubber gloves and goggles. Always wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning up or coming in contact with floodwaters.

Once the waters recede and the sun comes out, the risks outdoors will start to evaporate. “When it’s dry, it’s no longer germy,” said Annemarie Beardsworth, Rhode Island Health Department spokeswoman.

But inside, it is essential to clean and dry the house and everything in it to kill bacteria and viruses and prevent the growth of mold.

While public water systems are safe, the owners of the roughly 10,000 private wells need to take precautions, Beardsworth said. If you have a private well and standing water has pooled around the well cap, consider the well contaminated and take these steps:

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Minneapolis, MN 55408-1002

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How many calories would you like with those fries?

Bricks pizza. Photo by Becca Dilley/Heavy Table

Soon you'll see those numbers right on the menu, like it or not, thanks to a rule in the health care bill.

By MAURA LERNER, Star Tribune

Last update: March 29, 2010 - 9:52 PM

Would it surprise you to know that a crispy chicken salad at Burger King has as many calories (670) as a Whopper? Or that a 16-ounce mocha at Starbucks has twice the calories of a cappuccino?

These numbers aren't exactly trade secrets -- you can find them on the restaurants' websites -- but in the next few years, they will start showing up on their menus as well, thanks to a small provision in the massive health care law President Obama signed last week.

The new rule, which applies to restaurant chains with 20 or more locations, won't formally kick in for at least a year. But consumer advocates say it could be a powerful weapon in the battle against obesity, simply by allowing consumers to see how many calories they're eating when they dine out.

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Hospitality Careers Training Center

2751 Hennepin Ave S #297

Minneapolis, MN 55408

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