Eastern Plains Community Pantry

01/12/2026

Can I freeze my extra bananas? If you have gotten to the perfect ripeness day and you still have bananas, they are incredibly easy to freeze.

Bananas can be frozen whole with the skin on. Just put them in the freezer. You might want to put them in a bag. They will be juicy when you thaw them. Freezing with the skin on will give you a more intense banana flavor that is great for baking. The downside to freezing them in the skin is that it will take some time thawing before you can remove the skin which needs to be done before you use them.

Peeling the bananas before you freeze them will mean that you can just pull them out when you need to use them. You can drop a frozen banana into your blender if you are making a smoothie or a shake.

As an alternative, if you have the time or extra child labor, you can peel and slice the bananas and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Cover and put the cookie sheet in the freezer. When the slices are frozen, take them off the cookie sheet and put them in a freezer container. If you have a small blender or if you want to control the exact amount of banana you are using, this method will allow you to use just what you want. Ripe bananas can be sliced with a table knife, so your child labor doesn't need to handle a sharp knife.

Using lemon juice or Fruit Fresh will help preserve the color of the bananas.

Frozen bananas will keep for up to 6 months.

01/10/2026

Do you love everything about dried banana chips but the price? Try making them at home.

Use very ripe, sweet bananas. Slice them thin and dip them in a solution of 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to 2 cups of water. The amount of lemon juice is not critical. It is not being used for flavoring. It is used to keep the bananas from turning brown. If you can't use lemon juice, there is a product called Fruit Fresh which is ascorbic acid (vitamin c).

If you do not have a food dehydrator, lay the slices on a greased cookie sheet or cover the sheet with parchment paper. Place the bananas in an oven set at the lowest heat possible. If you have an oven with a pilot light, the pilot may be warm enough. You may also be able to use the lowest setting on an air fryer. You do not want to cook the bananas, just remove the water. With a little experimentatiion you will be able to get the exact product you want. Don't worry about it not looking perfect, they taste good.

01/10/2026

🍌🐒🍌 Are you going bananas with too many ripe bananas and no one wants more banana bread?

Try fried plantain (banana). All bananas are plantains, not all plantains are bananas. Bananas can be used in most plantain recipes.

Slice 4 very ripe bananas diagonally. Slices should be at least 1/4" thick. Put 1/2 cup of oil in a non-stick pan and heat the oil until it shimmers. Carefully drop each slice into the hot oil, being careful not to let the slices touch. When the slices have browned on one side, flip them carefully and brown the other side. When the slices are browned and crispy on both sides, remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Fried plantains can be eaten as soon as they are cool. For variety you can sprinkle on Old Bay seasoning, cajun spice mix or the savory mix of your choice.

12/03/2025

Another snow is on the way. Stay warm everyone. Please remember to give your pets shelter.

12/01/2025

The pantry will be closed December 31 to January 3 for the New Year Holiday.

12/01/2025

Coming up very soon--in order to get supplies and gifts purchased, we need to close our Christmas programs on December 9th. If you want to sign up for our special Christmas programs, you have until December 9th.

12/01/2025

For the safety of our volunteers and clients, we will follow the Calhan schools winter closure policy.

10/06/2025

Sign up is now open for all Holiday Giving Programs.

10/03/2025

Quick reminder, the Exchange Club of Falcon Craft Show is Saturday. If you can help with vendor move in/out call Richard at the pantry for details.

10/01/2025

Don't forget about this awesome event on Saturday morning!

We will start moving the rummage from the basement on Wednesday, October 1st at 4:30. Please join us at Whittemore Hall on Thursday and Friday for set-up. If you could, please bring a pie Saturday morning and join us for an awesome sale!

08/25/2025

It is with profound sadness that we announce the death of Bob Selle. Please pray for his family and for our community.

07/18/2025

The pantry will be closed on July 26th to allow our volunteers and clients to attend the celebration of life for Carl Finney.