The word “Bread” is found in the Lord's Prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.”
This Christian prayer is a request for both actual and spiritual food.
Bread is also a gift from God: when Moses fed his people in the desert with food which fell from heaven, and during the last supper, when bread became the body of Christ.
Bread, especially wholemeal, is also an important source of dietary fibre which helps to keep our digestive system healthy, helps control blood sugar and cholesterol levels and makes us feel fuller for longer.
Is LOAF food about having lots of different breads to eat around our homes?
And what does it have to do with “Creation Care”?
L O A F food stands for food which is:
L – Locally Produced
O – Organically Grown
A – Animal Friendly
F – Fairly Traded
St. Andrews Church is taking part in the Creation Care scheme (we have already achieved the Bronze Eco Church level). We would love to achieve Silver and eventually Gold level in the next 3 years.
Under part of the Lifestyle section, we would like you to consider and encourage not only our own Church family but other households around us, to make changes to care for God’s earth.
If you don’t already use LOAF food, perhaps your first step could be looking at how the bread you eat, could be LOAF food.
So perhaps the bread that you eat, could be LOAF food?
L – Have a go at making your own bread – there are lots of recipes on line. Is there someone out there in our congregation that has a favourite recipe and would like to share with us in our digital newsletter?
Follow the smell of freshly baked bread - Why not look at what a local bakery shop or market stall is selling when you are out and about, to see what artisan bread they have on offer?
O - To be considered organic, breads must have ingredients that are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms (GMO's), or ionizing radiation. Some shops and supermarkets do sell organic breads – look at the packaging to help you identify if the ingredients used have been grown organically.
A - The simplest form of bread is vegan as traditionally bread is made from yeast, flour, water, and salt. Unfortunately, some commercially sold breads contain dairy such as whey (a milk protein) or eggs as fillers or stabilizers and those breads would not be considered vegan (or plant-based). The most common vegan bread types are sourdough, Ezekiel bread, ciabatta, focaccia and baguettes. If you haven’t tried a vegan bread type, why don’t you give it a go?
F - Fairtrade is a system of certification that aims to ensure a set of standards are met in the production and supply of a product or ingredient. For farmers and workers, Fairtrade means workers' rights, safer working conditions and fairer pay. For shoppers it means high quality, ethically produced products.
Have a look at the “Fair Trade Cookbook” online – It contains lots of recipes from around the world, and includes a section on breadmaking:
Our Fairtrade Shop at St. Andrew’s sells bags of Beer Bread – a delicious baking mix, produced in South Africa and made with love. All you have to do is follow the instructions including “adding a brew” of your own choice of beer.
For more information about how to purchase Fairtrade items from St. Andrews, Bedford, go to our website.
A couple of fun quotes for you to think about:
The bread of life never gets stale; and
Without the bread of life, we are toast.