IÂ really like feeding people, whether they are family, friends, homeless people at a shelter, or formerly homeless elders who now live permanently at the Anna Bissonnette House in my former neighborhood, Boston’s South End. Maybe I’m nondiscriminating since everyone can be hungry.
Call it selfish, but I feel good when I prepare a nice meal for people. To me, a nice meal is something delicious and comforting and made from scratch, not something packaged/unhealthy, which is why I particularly like cooking for people who share this view.
On June 23rd, Greg, Eric, Karen, Jeremy and I worked hard to put together a popular luncheon that had frail elders taking seconds, thirds, and even fourths for dinner later at the Anna Bissonnette House. We served fresh fruit, crackers, and cheese for starters. Then Greg roasted and sauced* 16 kosher chickens (that had been frozen and donated to me by Trader Joe’s); Eric made fresh, summer vegetable medley; Jeremy made potato salad with lots of vegetables hidden in it; and Karen made low-cal, glazed chocolate sheet cake, all from scratch. Yum! *I highly recommend making quick barbecue sauce using the recipe from Cooks Illustrated.
Locally, Rosie’s Place recently wrote that they are actively trying to improve the quality of their meals by including more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and reducing fats, sodium, and processed foods, which only increases the pleasure I have in planning and preparing a delicious dinner for them. PMD will be there on Sunday, July 29, 2:45-7:45 PM, and we welcome your help if you are age 16 or older, male or female, and/or welcome your financial support to help us purchase top quality ingredients. The more people who help, the less work per person and the more ambitious a menu we can execute. Please sign up by 7/19 so I have time to plan accordingly.
While cooking is by far one of the most physically demanding activities that PMD volunteers take on, it’s incredibly rewarding. As Robert Egger, founder of D.C. Central Kitchen, said in the Washington Post, “I’m always amazed when people come in to volunteer at the kitchen and realize they’re having a good time, that it’s not ashes and sackcloth.”
This short interview by Tamara Jones is worth reading. Egger points out an emerging caste system, which is one reason why PMD has supported Hearth (formerly called the Committee to End Elder Homelessness) for nearly a decade. “You have all these efforts to feed hungry children when the reality is there are probably more hungry seniors in America than there are children. These are men and women who fought World War II. These are men and women who led the civil rights struggle. These are men and women who built our roads and a million other things that we owe them a debt of gratitude for, yet we refuse to even deal with the issue of senior hunger in America.”
In the interview, Egger raises important issues of respect for and empowerment of hungry people, many of whom are employed but still cannot make ends meet. I am not satisfied with serving anything of lesser quality than what I would feel good about serving to my own family and friends, and fortunately I have the ability to be uncompromising about this.
If you’d like to learn about food stamps and making food choices with limited funds, read the comments/tips that people posted in response to the Congressional Food Stamp Challenge in the spring. Congressman McGovern (and his wife) from MA was among the partipants who blogged about their experiences and received very interesting comments online.
 