If you happen to be volunteering at the Community Kitchen, you may see a new face in the kitchen.  Chef Giselle Stitt has come on board as our Chef Instructor for our annual Job Training Program.  Chef Giselle is taking over for Chef Ellen Moloney, who has taught the class for eight years.  Chef Ellen is passing on the baton and all her knowledge to Chef Giselle as we ramp up for a May 13^th kick off.   The chefs meet every Wednesday to ensure a smooth transition.

Scott Roubeck (Special Projects Coordinator) and Chef Giselle Stitt (Chef Instructor) are looking forward to the May 13 kickoff to the Community Kitchen Job Training Program!

“I am happy to be turning over the program to a colleague that I have known for years and have great respect for.  I am confident that Chef Giselle will be able to advance the program and make it shine,” says Chef Ellen.

The Job Training Program, which focuses on the culinary arts, is geared toward young people ages 17-24, who are either homeless or at risk of being homeless.  Chef Giselle will work with the students two days a week, giving them real experience in recipe development and culinary techniques.

Chef Giselle has a lot of experience under her belt.  She started cooking for her family at age 10, and has almost 50 years of experience.  She received her degree in culinary arts from Washtenaw Community College, and has worked in a variety of jobs.  She has been a pastry chef, a corporate chef, and is currently a sorority chef here in Ann Arbor.   She has also worked in a culinary arts program at Pioneer High School. With the academic year winding down, Giselle is looking for a new challenge.  We know she is up to the task because she has been a great volunteer in our Community Kitchen for years.

Chef Giselle can’t wait to get started.  “I can’t wait to teach the students new concepts.  My class will be fun, challenging and will make the students think about food in new ways.”

Chef Giselle feels that she can relate to the students on a lot of levels. “I am a woman who has achieved success in a male dominated field.  I worked as a single mother and have earned my stripes in this profession.  I can motivate and help these kids achieve success!”

As she has pointed out, there is always a thriving job market for cooks and chefs. “Everyone needs to eat, and they eat whether the economy is up or down.”

The Job Training Program requires a lot of passion, and Giselle is up to the task.  “I think about cooking all the time.  Even when I am not cooking!  In my neighborhood, I am known as the cookie lady.”

Welcome aboard, Chef Giselle.  It is great to be working with you!

Scott Roubeck is the Special Projects Coordinator for Food Gatherers.

Have you stopped by our warehouse on Carrot Way lately? If so, you may have noticed some big changes taking place at Food Gatherers: that’s right, we’re expanding!

Carrot Way is bustling with construction activity – this is the start of our expanded warehouse structure, built behind our existing space!

This exciting construction will create additional freezer and cooler space to accommodate more fresh, healthy food, as well as a more safe and efficient work space for our growing base of committed volunteers.

With the expansion, our current food distribution capacity will nearly double. This means that we can continue our hunger-fighting efforts with an emphasis on nutrition, providing more healthy food to the individuals and families in our community who need it most.

Interested in learning more about the expansion project? Check out our website, regularly updated with plans and information about our progress. You can see a detailed site plan, and even view the planned facade of the new space.

Keep checking back for the latest updates in the fight against hunger!

Graham Patton, Food Gatherers Agency Relations/Operations Intern

For the past six months, Graham Patton has worked as a volunteer intern in the Agency Relations and Operations departments at Food Gatherers. Prior to working as our intern, Graham volunteered at Food Gatherers and participated in various roles for the past 11 years. Graham has a great passion for learning about the needs of low income communities as they relate to food and nutrition.  His internship has focused on providing high quality, nutritious foods and nutrition education to the low-income families served by our partner programs.  As part of his work with Food Gatherers, he chose to try the SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge.  The following is Graham’s blog on the topic.

Last Monday I finished my week-long SNAP challenge. SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps) and my challenge was to calculate what my benefits would be and live on that food budget for a week ($50). I first heard of this when Newark Mayor Cory Booker had completed his challenge. I started talking about it at work with some other staff and really got motivated to do it. I decided to take the challenge because I wanted to better understand the real struggles that many of our clientele and many in the nation face.

Before setting out to the grocery store, I set some rules. The money would have to cover all food, condiments, spices, oil, etc. The main question I had entering the challenge: is it possible to eat on this budget and meet nutritional needs as well (carbohydrates, protein, fats, sodium, potassium, iron, etc.)? It would have been easy to hit the freezer section and grab 3/$1 burritos, but that is exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do. Overall, my diet for the week kept me relatively full; it was nutritionally very good (except low in overall calories) but I couldn’t stop thinking about food and different flavors. Throughout the week, I often felt tired and missed real coffee.

I have learned so much about the difficulties using SNAP benefits for sustenance. It’s tough for me to express many of my general insights (because there are many), but here is one; it would be a whole lot easier without nutritional restrictions on the food that I ate. I think many people, who may not be aware about their nutritional needs, could get into a cycle of extremely bad (cheap) food choices. And those food choices could lead to an increased probability of chronic disease.

For more information on the Food Stamp Challenge, please click here.

Graham has been a wonderful addition to our team and we hope that he takes with him some of what he has learned and experienced at Food Gatherers. Graham hopes to continue his work in nutrition working with low-income communities. We wish Graham well in the next steps of his journey!

Jim Lee and Terri Wilkerson at the Food Gatherers warehouse. Photo by Mary Schlitt.

One of our favorite Food Gatherers stories was featured in AnnArbor.com for Valentine’s Day! Check out this great article about volunteers Jim Lee and Terri Wilkerson, who met at Food Gatherers and are celebrating Valentine’s Day with a gift to our capital campaign.  Thanks to Jim and Terri for their generosity!

Here at the Community Kitchen, we are always working on “special projects”.  While preparing and serving 20 different meals each week takes up much of our time and physical space, we do a fair amount of production work – including preparing entrees for our partner programs. We recently finished a project where we converted donations from Michigan Stadium into nearly 2,400 servings of new entrées.  Many of our special projects combine the talents of our staff and our paid interns, who are graduates of our Community Kitchen Job Training Program.

Interns Meshauna, Bryan, and Ashley cook up a storm at the Food Gatherers Community Kitchen!

These internships are available to help young people prepare for the job world. Our program focuses on young men and women between the ages of 17 and 24 who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.  Students are referred to our program by case managers at our partner agencies, who offer support services and counseling. The internship program provides advanced skill building to students who have demonstrated enthusiasm for the culinary arts and leadership skill development.  Since our most recent graduation in August, we have provided nine internships to our students who are dedicated to changing their lives.

Right now in the kitchen we are working with Ashley, Bryan, Meshauna and Mae.  Each of them brings their own unique enthusiasm to our special projects as well as our daily meal service.

Ashley is 24 and came to our program through the Delonis Center.  Her dream is to own her own café called Café Larousse.  When she first started with us, Ashley was homeless and not working or in school.  Today, she has housing and is working towards her GED which she will complete in March.  Ashley says the internship program is a great fit for her.  She is learning managerial skills and cooking techniques which she says will allow her to be successful when she is ready to open her café.  Ashley is a quick study and always aces her exams and practicums. “I love being in the kitchen. Not only am I learning things but I love to see the guests appreciation for what we do.  It makes me feel good to know that I can give back to a program that helped me when I needed it most.”

Bryan, 21, is our newest intern.  He is currently enrolled at Washtenaw Community College and is studying photography.  He is industrious and holds down two jobs in addition to his studies.  He always makes the presentation of the food here at the kitchen look beautiful which he chalks up to being an artist.  He says he loves learning how to run a kitchen the correct way and is especially proud of his new found knife skills. “I am learning the fundamentals of good management which will help me no matter what I decide to do.”  When asked what surprised him about our program he said that he learned that sometimes you have to go back before you can go forward.  Bryan is definitely moving forward.  His kindness and compassion are a great gift to our kitchen and the guests we serve.

Meshauna, 27, is one of our upper-level interns.  Her desire to learn and her dedication to our program has earned her a year long opportunity with us.  Like Ashley, she hopes to have her own business, a pizzeria.  Meshauna wears many hats in our kitchen and as the result of her training now has a leadership role with our volunteers.  She has learned to work independently and has learned many new skills.  At first, she was homeless and without a job.  With the help of our program, she got back on her feet, has her own housing and is holding down three part-time jobs.  In addition to her work in the Community Kitchen, she works in food service during the day, is a caregiver, and works a janitorial job at night.  She is busy and determined to build a great life for herself.  “I have never been more proud of what I do than my work at Food Gatherers.  It makes a serious difference in my life.”

Like Meshauna, Mae, 21, has also been awarded an extended internship.  She has been part of our kitchen crew for most of the last year and will continue with us for several months to come.  Like so many of our students, Mae has made the transition from being homeless and is now studying at WCC.  Since entering our program, she says her life has changed dramatically.  While in the kitchen she has learned cooking skills, managerial skills and has gained a lot of confidence while working with Kitchen Coordinator, Paula Dana.  She has a positive outlook for the future and her kindness and dedication to our program have brought smiles to our staff, our volunteers and our guests!

We are so proud of our interns and we celebrate their success.  They bring so much to our program.  They shape their own lives and challenge themselves and they make a difference in the lives of our guests.

Scott Roubeck is the Special Projects Coordinator at Food Gatherers. To learn more about the Food Gatherers Community Kitchen and the Community Kitchen Job Training Program, click here.

In September 2012, the Hope Clinic Food Pantry held our first, fresh produce distribution with the assistance of Food Gatherers of Ann Arbor.   We were able to provide food for over 30 families at our first event.  Fresh produce distribution continued every Monday by appointment through the end of October.

Hope Clinic staff and volunteers learned a great deal during this first distribution.  We noticed that many clients were skipping some of the more unusual produce like eggplant or squash.  As we talked with the families we learned that they really had no idea how to prepare some of the more exotic vegetables and since many of our clients don’t live near large markets, some had never been exposed to them at all.

Initially we thought on site taste-testing might generate a little enthusiasm but decided that many vegetables really need to be cooked or prepared in a recipe in order to maximize interest.   With a little help from our partners at Food Gatherers, we began providing a collection of recipes using the produce available for distribution that day.  This fostered interest among clients and volunteers alike.

Most importantly our experience reinforced the idea that a healthy lifestyle isn’t just about eating fresh fruits and vegetables.  Healthy lifestyles begin with a holistic approach to changing our minds, bodies and spirits.  With that in mind, our first call for volunteers to assist with fresh produce distribution was to our newly formed Get Fit Club.  Hope’s Get Fit Club is made up of clients, patients and volunteers looking to make a positive change in their lifestyles.

The Get Fit Club is on a winter hiatus but will resume Saturday morning walks in April.  Beginning with prayer for our spirits, we hold group walks and runs for all fitness levels.  Experienced athletes work with members to customize training plans to meet individual goals and provide encouragement along the way.

The Get Fit Club members brought  enthusiasm and determination to our fresh food distribution in a way that only involvement and real-life experience can provide.

We wish to thank Food Gatherers for their support in this process and can’t wait to see what the future holds for us as we continue to teach and practice healthy lifestyles for all ages.

Melissa Burkhart is the Food Programs Coordinator at Hope Clinic. Cathy Twu, Patient Advocate at Hope Clinic, is the contact for Hope’s Get Fit Club.

You can tell that Tamara Thompson (name has been changed) has not led an easy life.  Her warm brown eyes constantly dart back and forth, absorbing everything that happens around her.  After raising four children of her own, on her own, she is now trying to gain full custody of her grandson, whose mother is unfit to care for a six year old.  She speaks with pride as she reminisces on the beautiful flower and vegetable garden she had at the home she lived in for nearly eighteen years.  When the housing market took a turn for the worse a few years back, she was forced to move into substandard housing on a dangerous corner in Ypsilanti.  “Look!” she says as she pulls out the cell phone she and her son share. “This is the second car this month to crash by my house!”  The grainy picture shows an old Ford a few feet away from her home, whose front end looks more like a smashed soda can than a working vehicle.

I first met Tamara a few months ago at one of Hope Clinic’s weekly food distributions.  As a Community Resource Navigator, I was there to introduce and explain the MiBridges online benefit application system to folks, as well as answer any questions they might have about their Department of Human Services (DHS) benefits.  Tamara came to my table, chitchatting as she examined my papers.  Not being in need of a change to her benefits, she asked a few questions about housing resources, specifically for an agency that might help her put together a deposit for a new place to live.  I gave her a few numbers and my information, and we pleasantly parted ways.

Last month when I was called to Hope Clinic for an appointment, I was surprised to see Tamara waiting for me.  Immediately she started pulling out papers and detailing the phone calls she had made in the last week.  Thinking I’d be of no real use to this woman, I looked up as she pulled a broken tooth out of her mouth she said “Kelsey, I just didn’t know who else to turn to.”  Right then, everything changed for me.  These are the times I feel most useful as a Community Resource Navigator- when I can serve as a point of contact between a client who is feeling overwhelmed, scared or frustrated, and connect them to the organizations in the area that have been established to help.

Tamara went on to explain that last week she cracked a tooth that had been “fixed” years ago at a low cost clinic.  Exposed gums and jagged remains were all that was left in place of where a full, intact incisor should be.  The tooth itself, now pinched between her fingertips, was starting to grey, but she continued to keep it wedged in place.  “I might be poor, but honey I can’t go on walkin’ around like this.  My own grandson says it’s scary!”  Only now did her desperation begin to show, and the harsh humility that comes from relying on others for financial aid.  She went on to explain that the lowest cost to replace it would be $100, and an additional $400 was needed to construct a replacement flipper.  At that point, her electricity, rent and phone bills were all paid, so she figured she could take away the money from those for next month and ‘just deal with it.’  That scenario, the perpetuation of poverty and the sense of powerlessness that comes from always being one step behind, was not something I could let happen.

Coincidentally, the day before I had attended the monthly Barrier Busters meeting.  Barrier Busters is a group of nearly one hundred social service provider agencies committed to increasing communication and coordination between its members, and improving services for Washtenaw County residents in need.  Each month, guest speakers are invited to give presentations that encompass a common theme, county updates are relayed, and members can pass on any announcements from their agency.  Very generally speaking, it is an exceptional discussion forum and acts as a space to share resources.  My biggest take away from this group is being part of the email list.  Knowing that at my fingers tips I am almost instantly connected to hundreds of contacts in the community provides me with an invisible layer of confidence in my daily service.

Quite obviously, one of the first steps I made was to send an email to the Barrier Busters group.  Within minutes, I received phone calls and email replies asking for more information, or advice on how I should proceed.  I was given the information for a woman who works at the Washtenaw Health Plan, who is the assigned Barrier Buster in my area that is trained to enter in financial requests such as this one.  She then emailed me the forms to fill out, which I did with Tamara after I contacted the dentist to ensure that they would accept this form of payment.  Like many health providers who focus on low-income populations, they were happy to provide a relatively inexpensive procedure with a ‘promise to pay’ from an outreach organization on Ms. Thompsons’ behalf.

Less than two weeks after meeting with me, Tamara was able to get funding secured for her tooth to be safely removed.  Once the procedure was completed, the bill was passed along through the proper channels, and payment was delivered to the dentist.  For now at least, Tamara does not have to worry about jeopardizing her tight monthly budget or skimping on food or other expenses we would all consider necessities.  I can happily share this story because all of the right players came together.  Not only did Tamara trust that I would follow through on my words from months earlier about doing all that I could to help, but she did as much research as possible on her own.  From there, a proven and successful network of grants, concerned advocates, and county employees worked to improve this woman’s life.

My hope for Tamara, and all of the clients I work with, is that amid the chaos and stress that seems to be inherent to living an impoverished life, they are also able to experience the love and care that circulates in the community.  The services non-profit agencies provide may come develop from need, but they are continued on and fueled by compassion.

Kelsey Cauley is the AmeriCorps Member/Community Resource Navigator at Food Gatherers. 

With the help of volunteers, Food Gatherers rescues food seven days a week from generous food donors around Washtenaw County. Photo by Tracy Ko.

Weekends off? Not exactly. Although operations at Food Gatherers are scaled back on weekends, there is still plenty going on. As Operations Manager, perhaps I can offer some insight into our weekend activities.

On Saturday, November 10, we kept ourselves quite busy. With a Michigan football home game going on, the town was buzzing with activity, and Food Gatherers operations were no exception. On Saturdays, we do a busy truck run, picking up donated food at many area stores and markets. Many Saturdays we also deliver food to one of our partner agencies for a food distribution.

This particular Saturday, our food run driver, along with a volunteer, set out for a big run. First stop, a delivery to Parkway Meadows of thousands of pounds of food: 420 pounds of baked goods, 369 pounds of non-perishables, 305 pounds of dairy products, and 1,961 pounds of fresh produce! After our truck leaves, many dedicated volunteers at the site proceed to bag up and distribute this food to about 300 people.

After delivering this food, it’s time for our driver and volunteer to pick up donations from local retailers. The number of stores we stop at varies; on this day, we picked up food from 7 stores for a total of 2,036 pounds. Navigating football traffic can be tricky, as we pick up from stores on all sides of town.

On home football Saturdays, we do one more special pickup. With the help of volunteers from First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, we pick up leftover prepared food from the football game. We typically get pizzas, hot dogs, and pretzels. For this run, a different member of our operations team works, as it occurs much later in the day. We don’t even try to get into the stadium until at least 30 minutes after the game ends, (usually after the Michigan Marching Band leaves the stadium). Once inside the stadium grounds, our truck slowly circles the stands, stopping for volunteers to bring boxed up food and load it onto the truck from each concession stand. Finally, our truck heads back to the warehouse where the donated food is placed in our freezer for distribution the following week.

So, as you can see, we don’t really take it easy on Saturdays. On the contrary, our drivers and volunteers work hard on the weekend too, in the fight against hunger in our community. In addition to the busy football game-day Saturday, we also do a store donation pickup on Sunday. At this point, it is just one store: Costco is one of our newest major donors and we pick up from them 7 days a week

Hunger doesn’t take a weekend break and neither do we at Food Gatherers. Thanks to all our volunteers, food donors, and our small but mighty Operations Staff for fighting hunger seven days a week!

Pat Clancy is the Operations Manager at Food Gatherers. To learn more about volunteering as a food run volunteer, click here!

The University of Michigan Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) works with several service-oriented organizations to provide students with an outlet for their desire to do good. One such organization is Food Gatherers. Here, an anonymous MSA student reflects on time spent at the Community Kitchen. This piece was originally posted on the Muslim Student Association blog. Many thanks to the author for allowing us to re-post this reflection!

As the leaves begin to change color and sweater-weather descends upon us, the workload piles up and we’re reminded of why we’re here: school is in full swing. The amount of hours spent socializing decreases while the amount of hours spent slaving over that engineering project or research paper increases dramatically. We find ourselves struggling to call our parents each day or to make time for our religious obligations. On top of all of that, we still have to find time for extracurricular activities to make sure our graduate school applications aren’t lacking. All of these things, the quintessential components of student life, have one thing in common: we do them mainly for our own benefit. 

How often do we stop and consider the conditions of those around us outside of our families and friends? We often don’t realize how blessed we are to attend this university, to have clothes on our backs each day, and to not have to worry about whether we will be able to eat dinner on any given night. Unfortunately, that is not the case for many others. What’s worse is that this isn’t just referring to people far detached from us whom we see on television or read about online; this is in our backyard. Here in Washtenaw County, one in seven adults deals with hunger on a daily basis, and one in six children also faces that same challenge each day. The Prophet (peace be upon him) taught us that “He who sleeps on a full stomach whilst his neighbor goes hungry is not one of us.” We must honestly ask ourselves what we are doing to alleviate the problem of hunger for our neighbors. As college students, we can’t readily donate money to help end this problem, but we can certainly donate our time. The Community Service Committee (CSC) recently partnered with Food Gatherers to serve food at the local community kitchen in the Robert J. Delonis Center on a biweekly basis. The kitchen, a fifteen-minute walk from campus, provides twenty free meals a week to the needy. I was fortunate enough to go on one of the most recent volunteering trips.

Most of our group met at the cube and walked together to the community kitchen. I joined them on the way to the Delonis Center because I was starving and stopped to indulge in a Chipotle burrito. Upon arriving, we walked back to the kitchen and met with Scott, the kitchen coordinator, who informed us of our jobs. I, along with another volunteer, would be serving drinks. As we washed our hands and donned the aprons we would wear for the next few hours, the cafeteria filled with hungry clients. Soon enough, it was 5:30pm and the long line began to form in front of the juice and water coolers. “What would you like to drink, sir/madam?” I repeated to each person who walked to the coolers. Over the next few hours, we served scores of people from nearly every background imaginable. There was Julius, a middle-aged man whose face lit up when he was handed his favorite fruit punch drink, and Richard, who was thrilled to learn he was allowed two cups of juice. Despite their divergent life experiences, the clients all had one thing in common: they were immensely thankful to all the volunteers who cooked and served them food. One man thanked me more than five times for volunteering; I later found out he hadn’t eaten in over three days. And there I was earlier “starving” despite my hearty breakfast and mid-afternoon snack.

6:30pm approached and “last call” was announced. Those still eating forked down the last few chunks they could. They knew this food might have to last for the next few days. The serving line closed and we rolled the coolers back into the kitchen and began to clean the kitchen in preparation for the next day. Eventually, we returned our aprons, said our goodbyes to the other volunteers, and made our way back to campus.

On the walk back, we each reflected on our positive experience. “That was really a lot of fun,” one of us mentioned and another chimed in, “I can’t wait to be back!” In the short two and a half hours we spent working in the kitchen, we saw a side of Ann Arbor that students don’t often see. By conversing with the people in the cafeteria, we realized that they were not very different from us. They cried when they were sad, they laughed when they heard a joke, and their faces radiated joy after they ate a fresh, hot meal. We might not have completely changed the course of anybody’s life, but the smiles we saw assured us that what we did was meaningful.

I urge you all to devote at least some time to a volunteer organization on a regular basis, whether it is serving food to the needy or tutoring children. “The deeds which Allah loves the most are those done regularly, even if they are small.” (Bukhari & Muslim). May you reap the rewards in this world and in the hereafter.

Food Gatherers offers volunteer opportunities for individuals and groups. Check out our website for more information! Interested in writing a guest post for the Food Gatherers blog, or have suggestions for what you’d like to see? Submit your ideas to Kate Balzer at kate @foodgatherers.org.