Food

Burbank Coordinating Council has been helping low-income families in Burbank for decades and this year we need to help more families than ever. We are in desperate need of people to stand at stores today to ask patrons for donations of food from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Thursday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Little White Chapel, we will consolidate the food into family units and then on Friday at Washington Elementary we will match those foods with donations of...

Tickets are now available for Taste of Downtown Burbank, which takes place from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 30, on San Fernando Boulevard between Magnolia Boulevard and Orange Grove Street. The event features food from 20 downtown restaurants, live entertainment and family activities. Tickets are $25 for food only; $35 for food and access to the beer garden; and $40 for food and beer garden access, plus child care provided by the Burbank Community YMCA for children younger than 12. Proceeds from the event benefit the Burbank Community YMCA.

At Poquito Mas in Burbank, the restaurant?s motto is simple: ?We don?t serve fast food. We serve fresh food as fast as we can.? The menu says they always use only the freshest ingredients ? lean beef, chicken, pork and ahi right from the fisherman?s boat. They serve freshly made tortillas, salsa, chips, jalapeños, beans and more, and they prepare your meal right in front of you. Poquito Mas guarantees that you will always get friendly, courteous service, and that your food will be delivered within seconds after it is prepared, so you can enjoy your meal hot and savor the nuances of their Baja California style dishes.

The students that attended Friday's art show at John Muir Middle School had a number of attractions to choose from ? the food, the music or the walls covered in art. For 14-year-old Evan Leigh, however, the event was about none of those more obvious things ? it was all about the glamour. "This isn't just a deal, this is a way of life," he said, wearing a bow tie and waiter's outfit, stirring a bowl of red punch. "You know, all the parties and the glamour." In its second year, art teacher Scott Nobles has tried to make the art show as realistic and as glamorous as possible.

After years of donating food and clothing to various charities, I recently found myself on the opposite side of the equation. Sales at my online auction sites completely dried up; I’ve been unable to find a job, and I totally depleted my savings. During the Christmas season, I was forced to make a horrifying decision. I had to choose between buying Christmas gifts and putting food on the table. In one of the most depressing decisions of my life, I chose food over Christmas gifts.

Federal stimulus money recently made available to school districts for food service departments almost seemed like a cruel joke this week when it was announced. Districts can apply for their share of $12.8 million, but can use it only for food services equipment, not to supplement cuts in funding for free or reduced-fee meals for low-income students. State education officials said Wednesday that new equipment would increase food prep efficiency and sustainability, but at this point in the recessionary budget game, that logic reads like the main ingredient in the title recipe for Ineffectual Bureaucracy.

Thousands of toys for hundreds of families — it’s a ratio that just a week ago seemed improbable after Metrolink canceled its Holiday Toy Express due to bad weather. But after Burbank firefighters issued a plea for help to make the difference in their “Spark of Love” toy drive campaign, the community responded in a big way. The outpouring translated into roughly 2,000 toys for about 700 families who, like so many households in this recession, saw their ability to play Santa severely diminished or erased by lost jobs or reduced work hours.

DOWNTOWN — Hundreds of people braved the cold and a downpour Wednesday as they stood in line to get a hot plate of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy at the Burbank Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. Burbank resident Maria Nelson, 79, rode the bus and walked in the rain from her senior home to get a portion of Thanksgiving trimmings. Her clothes were soaking, and she stuffed her shoes with paper towels. Nelson was first in line for the dinner. But while her trip to the organization’s facility at 300 E. Angeleno Ave. was challenging, she said she didn’t mind because she was with her friends from the senior home, and knew she would be eating a delicious meal.

DOWNTOWN — Hundreds of people braved the cold and a downpour of rain Wednesday as they stood in line to get a hot plate of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy at the Burbank Salvation Army’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. Burbank resident Maria Nelson, 79, rode the bus and walked in rain from her senior home to get a portion of Thanksgiving trimming. Her clothes were soaking, and she stuffed her shoes with paper towels because water had entered them. Nelson was first in line for the dinner.

About 30,000 people are expected to flock to Olive Avenue on Saturday for the 32nd annual Burbank on Parade, with this year's theme “Let's Go to the Movies!” Dancers, clowns, floats, marching bands and equestrian entries, along with popular characters Bob's Big Boy and Ronald McDonald, are slated to walk, glide and trot down Olive from Keystone to Lomita streets starting at 11 a.m. “So many citizens wait all year long to share this special day with us, and we hope to live up to those expectations with this year's production,” said Joanne Miller, parade chairwoman, in a statement.

The Burbank Salvation Army Community Center would like to thank the many individuals, companies, studios, Holiday Inn, City Employees, and organizations that helped make the Angel Tree Program a success again this year. The food, toys, bicycles and gifts were distributed in a beautiful winter wonderland setting with falling snow. More than 2,200 individuals had a merrier Christmas because of our many caring volunteers and friends. The Red Kettle Program enables us to provide food and needed supplies to numerous families each week, conduct church services in English and Spanish on Sundays, and to plan more youth and senior programs for the new Community Center.

Burbank Coordinating Council has been helping low-income families in Burbank for decades and this year we need to help more families than ever. We are in desperate need of people to stand at stores today to ask patrons for donations of food from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Thursday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Little White Chapel, we will consolidate the food into family units and then on Friday at Washington Elementary we will match those foods with donations of...

Burbank Coordinating Council is facing its toughest year ever to collect food, toys and gifts for its annual holiday basket program. They need individuals, organizations, businesses and neighbors to adopt families and purchase gifts and provide nonperishable fixings for a couple of holiday meals. Last year 560 families - more than 2,500 children and adults - received help, said Barbara Sykes, who is co-chairing the program with Eileen Cobos, council president, and Janet Diel, past president.

Good morning, readers. Today is Friday, November 9. Whole Foods is moving its regional headquarters to Glendale. More than 140 employees will move in , reports the Glendale News-Press .  The porn industry is ready to fight L.A. County on a new law requiring the use of condoms in adult films . L.A. Times Even though the Valley is notorious for porn shoots, voters in the region supported Measure B, and they voted liberally on...

They wanted to open up a Whole Foods where Martino's Bakery originally was on the corner of Alameda and Main street. Everybody opposed it because of too much traffic. Here we go again with the traffic excuse. Seems nobody in Burbank wants anything new. That would have been an excellent place for a Whole Foods. I think the Great Indoors building is a little too big for a Whole Foods market, but perfect for a Super Walmart. Gerry McAllister Burbank

Instead of putting in another department store, i.e. Walmart, in the Empire Center, perhaps Burbank should look into adding a Whole Foods market. The closest ones are in Glendale and Sherman Oaks, and I think it would be a good choice for Burbank. Not only would it be a place people could shop for organic foods, but would also provide jobs. Just something for the City Council and the owner of the Empire Center to consider. Anjanette McFarlin Burbank

A draft report by the firm brought in to help turn around the struggling DeBell Golf Club suggested infrastructure upgrades and a concessions revamp for what it otherwise called a “quality municipal golf course.” In the report to a golf club oversight committee created by the City Council, the nonprofit National Golf Foundation suggested reducing the number of trees and upgrading the infrastructure to make the course more playable and attract more...

After an almost three-hour debate, the City Council on Tuesday effectively nixed a new Taco Bell at the intersection of Burbank Boulevard and Buena Vista Street, citing traffic safety concerns tied to a proposed drive-through on the site. The intersection is already clogged with traffic during morning and evening peak hours, according to about a dozen residents living near the intersection who attended the council meeting and spoke in opposition of the project. Taco Bell officials said rejecting a drive-through would be a deal-breaker.

Hoping for a gift in this season of giving, about 30 needy people, mostly women, waited patiently for the doors to open at the Salvation Army near downtown Burbank Thursday morning. Ana and Tony Tamayo of North Hollywood said they heard about the Salvation Army's program to provide food and other items for Christmas through friends, and this year, they needed the extra assistance. “We lost our apartment, we lost our jobs, we're unemployed,” Tony Tamayo said in Spanish. “This helps us give something to our children.” The giveaway has happened every year since the Salvation Army opened its doors in Burbank in 1957, said Lt. Kari Rudd.