Marion-Polk Food Share’s Board of Directors today embraced plans to move forward on a plan to produce nutrient and protein-rich bean patties to help fill the protein gap many of our food pantries are experiencing.

Program director Steve Morton has spent the past two months developing and taste-testing nutritious patties made from lentils, rice, oats and spices. The aim is to produce a kid-friendly product that will be delicious and easy to prepare.

MPFS Food Resource Developer Rick Gaupo presented the product as a tasty and cost-effective alternative to other protein sources. He presented a price comparison that ranked the bean patty as the most economical way to deliver 100 grams of protein for $1. By comparison, peanut butter cost $3.31, chili cost $2.94 and tuna cost $2.65.

He said one patty could deliver 22% of the protein a 4- to 8-year-old would need in a day. The patty also delivers 20% of grain and 5% of the vegetables required per day.

Gaupo told the board that protein remains a difficult nutrition category to fill in emergency food boxes. More often than we'd like, pantries will run out of protein before they run out of people seeking assistance.

Today the board voted to purchase an automated patty making machine to standardize the size and increase the quantities that can be produced.

“We’re ready to take this on the road,” Morton said about plans to test market the patties to the target audience, the 12-year-old. He believes if youths like it, parents will too.

Photos: Top - Rick Gaupo, right, and Steve Morton, left. Bottom - Rick Gaupo presents a price comparison.