Guest Blog by Allison Black, Second Harvest Intern
Claudette Patterson, Nancy Vienneau, and Chef Mark Rubin
For those of you who enjoy cooking, baking, grilling, or eating, we’ve got a volunteer opportunity for you! On the afternoon of June 24th, I was lucky enough to step out of the Marketing Department and into the Culinary Arts Center to prepare for that Friday’s meal: Santa Fe Chuck Wagon Fajita Buffet. I didn’t realize how much preparation went into the lunches we all eat every Friday here at the Food Bank. Claudette, Second Harvest’s assistant chef, ran the kitchen, since Chef Mark Rubin was on vacation. The CAC was wonderfully spirited with laughter and fun throughout the day. We chopped, peeled, grilled, smashed, and laughed all day long with several volunteers who came to help.
After we prepared the food for the Friday lunch, we moved on to dinner for the Thursday night board meeting. The delicious menus were prepared under Claudette’s supervision, and the food turned out great (which you already knew if you were at lunch on Friday, June 25). I had such a fun day volunteering over in the kitchen, knowing that the money to be made from the lunch would go towards feeding others. The CAC also gives lessons for our partner agencies, teaching them how to store and prepare food healthily, and it’s home to our annual Cooks’ Rule summer cooking day camps.
Make sure to come to lunch again! We have a delicious meal every Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Make sure to meet Claudette, Chef Mark, and all the volunteers who will once again be working hard to prepare the meal.
To volunteer in the CAC, e-mail volunteer@secondharvestmidtn.org.
