Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

On October 25th sponsors, guests, volunteers, and supporters of the Santa Barbara Organic Soup Kitchen gathered at the Cabrillo Pavilion to celebrate the 13^th anniversary of the organization, enjoy a delicious artisan luncheon, and listen to a keynote presentation on the connection between food and cancer.

The room was overflowing with guests and an army of smiling servers who gave individual care to each guest at the tables they were assigned. Centerpieces were donated and consisted of vases filled with beautiful fresh vegetables and greens. The artisan crafted luncheon consisted of healthy home style quinoa salad, green salad, rustic split pea and coconut curry lentil soup, artisan bread, baked apple strudel and handmade chocolates with a variety of beverages.

Hosts Andrea and Anthony Carroccio greeted guests and did photo set ups as people arrived, and Andrea formally welcomed everyone and invited them to enjoy the amazing artisan lunch being served. She also extended their thanks to the volunteers and generous event sponsors including Gold Sponsors Pete and Gerd Jordano, Nancy Newquist Nolan of Santa Barbara RE, Beth and Dodd Geiger; Silver Sponsors Santa Barbara Winery, The Lark, Samsara Wine Co., Topa Topa, Grassini Family Vineyards, Oat Bakery, Open Portions, World Centric, The Andersen, CenCal Health, Trader Joes, ALSCO, Sol Wave Water, Sprouts, and Home Center.

Anthony Carroccio gave the keynote presentation on The Connection Between Food and Cancer, which included a history of their journey that began with he and Andrea having a desire to just make a difference and open a soup kitchen that lead to contact with experts in the field that provided valuable knowledge, and a seed of hope and hard work that grew into an army of volunteers working together to provide soup to 800 clients a week.

“This is where we landed, this is what we do best, “said Anthony Carroccio. The pandemic hit and nearly shut us down, only my wife, myself, and my son, as well as some drivers kept pushing. Currently, we are feeding 240 clients a week who are in recovery” “Cancer does not discriminate, we need to help people, we need you and your help to keep helping people.”

During the Q&A when asked if cancer patients pay for their services Carroccio explained that 94% of the Organic Soup Kitchen clients are free and the remainder pay a sliding scale. The organization has currently been offering soup for sale to the community to deal with the serious drop in funding they have experienced since the pandemic, as have so many other non-profits in our community. “

It was heartwarming to see and feel the immense love the audience had for this couple and their volunteers who have given so much to help cancer patients over the past 13 years. Many guests, including Tobias H. Hildebrand spontaneously stood up and gave testament to the great service Organic Soup Kitchen provides needy members in the Santa Barbara area.

One of the popular sayings among Organic Soup Kitchen people is one shared by Mahatma Gandhi “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service,” and obviously it’s working for this amazing group of people. Bravo to Anthony and Andrea Carroccio who shared that If you are making a contribution to a charity this year, please consider the Organic Soup Kitchen. Our clients depend on us.” For information or donations visit: www.organicsoupkitchen.org.

A number of apps can tell you how much time you spend on your phone and how long you’re in each app. Even if you don’t think you’re on your phone too much, seeing the cold, hard numbers may inspire you to put it down.

It’s easier to ignore your phone if it doesn’t buzz every few seconds with a text, email, or social media update. They’ll all be there, no matter how long you wait to check your phone, and you might feel better and more productive if you let them linger a bit. If you can’t afford to miss some things -- say a message from your spouse or kid -- you can set your phone so only certain texts get through.

It’s a little reminder to turn off the part of your brain that does things without thinking. If a rubber band is too annoying, try a screensaver that asks “Do you really need to get into your phone?” It might save you that 45 minutes of mindless scrolling through pictures of farmhouses before you remember that you don’t really like farmhouses.

When you use your phone’s alarm to wake up in the morning, you’re more likely to get sucked into checking your email, texts, and social media. An alarm clock keeps the phone out of your hands at least a few more minutes. Other ideas include charging it overnight in another room and setting a specific time to look at it in the morning.

Some experts suggest going without your phone for 3 days. That can help you kick bad phone habits and find new, healthier things to do instead. You can ease your way back into using it -- say, just calls and texts at certain times -- then gradually start to do other things if you decide you want to again.

If you can’t imagine life without your phone for 3 days, set aside certain times that are phone-free in your household. (You may want to include other digital devices, too.) That might be an hour or so each evening before dinner or every Sunday afternoon. Go for a walk, or play cards or a board game -- anything that gives you a chance to talk and engage with one another.

Try something simple like reading a book or going to the park with your dog. No need to post pictures about any of that on social media. Instead, invite some friends to meet you for coffee or a jog and see them in person. Tell them you’re turning your phone off, and they may decide to do the same.

It’s not a great idea to take your phone out in the bathroom. Mainly, for reasons of basic hygiene, but also because it can be good to keep your phone out of certain parts of your life. Those also might include meetings, playtime with your kids, and driving. It’s a healthy way to get used to short amounts of time without it.

Some smartphones have a setting that lets you limit certain parts of your phone during a set time every day. For example, you could stop all calls and alerts between 5 and 9 p.m. and after midnight.

Those games are designed to keep you coming back for more, but they can’t if they’re not there. You just might be able to get by with phone, text, and email on your phone -- you can check social media when you’re on your computer.

Some apps can help limit the time you spend on your phone by locking you out of certain things during set times of day or after you’ve spent a specific amount of time on them. Others offer encouragement or reward you with time after you’ve done things like take 5,000 steps in a day.

You’re more likely to leave your phone in your pocket if you say “I don’t check my phone at dinner” than if you say “I can’t check my phone at dinner.” It might be because “can’t” suggests you’ve been denied something, but scientists don’t know exactly why that one word can make a difference.

If you want to spend less time on your phone but are concerned that people will think you’re rude or get upset if you don’t respond quickly, just tell them. Say you’re trying to break the phone habit and it might be a while before you get back to them.

If the temptation of a pocket-sized computer is just too much, a cellphone that can only call and text might be a solution. It can’t download apps or access the Internet, but it's much less expensive and might be just the thing that sets you free.

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