We're back!

After having to cancel last week's meal due to inclement weather and experiencing even more wintery precipitation this week, I think it's safe to say that Spring is a little confused. I'm beginning to think Groundhog Day might be a hoax and that groundhogs can't actually predict the weather.....

Regardless, we're happy to be back after our time off from Community Harvest! This week we served beef stroganoff with noodles, peaches, and salad. Ben and Lynn clearly enjoyed themselves as they prepared the meat for the stroganoff. As you can see in the picture below, Ben was actually shocked at how much fun he was having, preparing for the weekly meals (this is a normal response among the newcomers).

And remember how we were chosen as the service project by a company from Management 101? Well, they provided us with a small army of volunteers for this week's meal, and as we are all well aware at Community Harvest, many hands make light work. We were happy to have them assisting us with pantry inventory, serving the meal, and cleaning up. 

And last, but certainly not least, I am thrilled to announce that the GIRL SCOUT COOKIES HAVE ARRIVED! This time of year may be my favorite (even if it is snowing far past winter's allotted snow time frame) because the girl scouts have once again donated a generous amount of cookies our way. And who doesn't like girl scout cookies?! Needless to say, our dessert table will be stacked for the next few weeks. 

But don't get me wrong. We recognize the importance of balanced meals at Community Harvest. You may not find lettuce on the dessert table, but if you pop on over to our donations table, the salad is abundant!

And with that, I would like to thank our friends from Management 101 for deeming us worthy of their volunteer efforts this semester and also the girl scouts for making sure we never have to experience a day without a cookie. :)

Congratuations!

At the Women In  History Dinner, 5 women from our office were recognized for their contributions in the area of community service. Pictures from left to right:

Katie Janda, Casey Coffman, Wallis Gaillard and Jasmin Johnson (not pictured Katie McAvoy)

 

You will recognize Casey from her work with Community Harvest, Jasmin and Wallis for their contributions at the Community Garden and Katie and Katie with the Bucknell Brigade.

EMPTY BOWLS!

I couldn’t be happier to report that Empty Bowls was a huge success this year! We raised over $2,0000!
So many members of the Bucknell and local communities came together to help us surpass our fundraising goals and beat last year’s totals! The one-of-a-kind ceramic bowls were beautiful and the soup was delicious – what more could we ask for?

For those of you who may not be familiar with Empty Bowls, it is a fundraiser that we hold once a year to benefit Community Harvest, while spreading awareness about food insecurity. Generous volunteers at the Craft Center make unique, clay bowls that we sell, along with soup, bread, crackers, and drinks. This year, we had soup/chili donations from Parkhurst, Country Cupboard, Ric-Mar Restaurant, Townside Garden Café, and Hotel Edison. We offer the meal for a few hours at lunchtime and again for dinner. Some of our dinner guests were experiencing Empty Bowls for the first time, while other "regulars" were eager to add bowls to their growing collections. 

From everyone at Commuity Harvest, we would like to send a big thank you to everyone that came together to support our program and help fight food insecurity! We couldn’t have done it without you!

Spring Fever

The Bucknell students are gearing up for a long-awaited Spring Break next week, and everyone is excited about warmer weather in the near future! And you know what warmer weather means? Fresh garden food (and lots of chopping)! This week, the volunteers were hard at work preparing celery, carrots, and apples for the meal.

In addition to the fresh veggies, we served casserole (chicken, broccoli, stuffing, and cream of mushroom soup) and baked cinnamon apples. The dessert table was stacked with cake, homemade cupcakes, and no-bake cookies. Volunteers from the St. Andrew's Youth Group helped serve and clean up.

Meanwhile, Eddie modeled this season's latest and greatest kitchen fashion trends,

Helen posed for a picture,

And we helped Alicia celebrate her 20th birthday!

But, let's not forget about the unsung heroes, the ones who take on some of the less desirable tasks around the kitchen. I'm talking about you, girl in the *insert color here* scarf (formerly known as Carly). Take note of her form while mopping. We're dealing with a natural here. :-)

The 3 C's of Community Harvest

This week, I am going to elaborate on the 3 C's of Community Harvest: Cornbread, Chili, and Cobbler. It is rare for all 3 C's to make an appearance in any given week at Community Harvest, but when they do, the joy is unmistakable.

1. Cornbread
The process of making delicious cornbread requires a combination of skilled mixing and ingenious combinations. Who would have thought mixing canned corn with cornbread mix, water, and butter would have such a desirable effect? That's where the brains behind the ingenious combinations came in handy (which I take no credit for). As far as skilled mixing goes, Carly and I were eager to lend a hand.

And the result? Pure, corny paradise.

 2. Chili
I spoke a little of ingenious combinations when I discussed cornbread. But chili, my friends, takes ingenious mixing to a whole other level. This week's chili was a blend of veggies, beans, and meat, cooked to perfection in a Community-Harvest-sized stew pot.

 3. Cobbler
Last, and most certainly not least, we have our infamous street cobbler. We have a rule of "no cobbler left behind" at Community Harvest and trust me, it's no tough bargain. But, the process of peeling apples and spreading cherries underneath of layer of sugary, buscuity goodness is not always an easy task. However, this week Liz stepped up on cobbler duty and did a great job!

And of course the most important C, which I have not yet mentioned, is Community. We couldn't make it happen without our wonderful volunteers and our hungry dinner guests, all with smiling faces. Thanks to the Bucknell Tour Guides for lending plenty of helping hands our way this week!

We are the chosen ones!

I am happy to report that Company B from Management 101 has chosen Community Harvest and the Community Garden for their service project this semester! Company B's mission is "to increase the availability of fresh, healthy, low-cost food to families of the local community by assisting with the gardening of fresh produce at the Lewisburg Community Garden and donating time and labor to Community Harvest’s hot meal program in Milton." They plan on selling tank tops and sunglass straps to fundraise. We are excited to start working with the Management 101 students!

This week's meal featured grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken noodle soup, crackers, mixed veggies, and applesauce. Making grilled cheese sandwiches is a multi-step process, that requires skilled volunteers like the ones pictured below.

First, the bread is prepped with butter and cheese.

 Then, the bread is handed over to Lynn, who used her "grill skillz" to cook the sandwiches to perfection.

Don't these sandwiches look delicious?? (And, there are no Cajun-style ones this time around!)

While all that was going on in the kitchen, Carly and I got to work on the desserts. We iced chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and placed them alongside some donated "heart" cookies. Who says we can't celebrate Valentine's Day all year-round?

We had wonderful volunteers come help with serving and cleaning up.

Thanks to the Bucknell Brigade for all their hard work!

 And thanks to Chi Phi Fraternity for sending another batch of helpful (and daring) volunteers...

...who aren't afraid to try new food combinations, like hot cocoa mix and applesauce.

We had another great week at Community Harvest. Thanks again to all the volunteers, and a special thanks to Company B for making us the chosen ones! :)

Valetine's Day helpers!

On Valentine's Day members of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Phi Epsilon baked some dessert treats for the upcoming Monday meal.