This month, I have an appointment with Hannah from The Seed Farm to start planning our 2025 pantry garden. However, with the extremely cold weather, snow and ice we experienced in February, I haven’t given this year’s garden a lot of thought.

As I wrote last month, we remained extremely busy at the pantry, down packing bulk produce for the February distributions. The items we down packed in February included avocados, oranges, sweet potatoes, carrots and onions. In February, we also distributed white potatoes, mangoes, grapes and cabbage.

In case you were wondering, when you are packing 180 bags and you have 400 pounds of carrots, 400 pounds of sweet potatoes and 400 pounds of onions, you place five or six onions, 10-11 carrots and four to five sweet potatoes into each bag.

Thank goodness for our scale and math skills — but mostly for our volunteers! Each bag contained approximately 6.5 pounds of produce.

Fresh-from-the-farm foods are great but are not always readily available or even practical. In a recent AARP newsletter, I read an article by Alison Gwinn titled “25 Processed Foods That Are Actually Good for You.” I was curious, then intrigued at what I learned because many of the 25 foods she noted I never thought of as “processed.”

Here are the 25 items, with one bonus item, from that AARP article:

1. Dairy, soy or filtered milk: Milk is natural, but it is pasteurized.

2. Greek yogurt: Choose plain yogurt because it doesn’t have added sugar.

3. Precut vegetables: This works especially if you don’t like cleaning and cutting your own.

4. Packaged salads: This is a timesaver to get those leafy greens.

5. Canned beans: Choose low sodium or rinse for a few seconds.

6. Frozen or canned fish: Look for low salt/no salt and no breading.

7. Nuts and seeds: Limit intake to a handful (1/3 cup), and choose no salt varieties.

8. Peanut butter or other nut butters: Avoid added sugars, hydrogenated oils and excessive salt.

9. Tofu: It is linked to lower rates of certain cancers; use as a replacement for meat.

10. Rotisserie chicken: Remove the skin and shred for quick, versatile meals.

11. Frozen fruits and vegetables: They are easy to portion and use and can eliminate wasting food.

12. Cottage cheese: Choose low-sodium and low-fat varieties.

13. Whole-grain brown rice: Season plain brown rice with dried herbs and spices.

14. Hummus: The creamy texture can be gentle on aging digestive systems.

15. Popcorn: Pop your own on the stove top or choose low-salt and low-fat microwave varieties.

16. Mozzarella sticks: Each stick is typically one convenient calcium serving and is great for bones and muscles.

17. Sauerkraut: Choose fresh varieties without added sugars, preservatives or vinegar.

18. Chickpea or lentil pastas: They provide more protein and fiber than white pasta.

19. Dried fruit: They are high in fiber and antioxidants; limit to 1/4 cup servings due to concentrated sugars.

20. Cereal: Choose healthy, lower-sugar options, but any cereal is better than skipping breakfast.

21. Protein powders: They can be added to other foods if you are struggling to get enough protein.

22. Edamame (frozen or dried): Look for low-salt/no-salt varieties; eat as a snack or add to soups and salads.

23. Tomato sauce: Check the labels and choose varieties low in salt and sugar.

24. Kombucha and kefir: They are good for gut health; choose those with less sugar and other additives.

25. Olive oil: Opt for extra-virgin varieties; use for sauteing, drizzling over salads and as a dip for whole-grain bread.

26. Pureed pumpkin: Choose pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) and stir into hot cereal, casseroles and soups.

Have a great March!

Editor’s note: This column was written by Gwen Herzog, pantry garden chair.