Soup Kitchen

I ask Rosie to let me know when turkeys hit the .99 cent/lb.

2012-12-15 1:20 PM "Hi there just to let u know no frill has there turkey on. For 87 cents per. Lb they r big just to let u know :-)".

2012-12-15 4:04 PM "Hi Caroline did u get my mess this morn about the turkeys they r on sale"

2012-12-17: No Frills:

- 40 lbs new potatoes
- 10 gala apples
- 2 celery stalks
- 6 red onions
- 5 lbs cooking onions
- 8 tins of cranberry jelly
- 4 20 lb turkeys
- a blend of herbs for the stuffing

The cabbages are puny. Hold off for better ones. Drop by the church hall to pick up bread for the stuffing from the mountain of donated baked goods. And then head home to throw the birds in the deep freezer.

2012-12-20 6 PM: The turkeys are laid down to brine in salt water for 18 hours. Make one badge of stuffing for a test run.

2012-12-21 2 PM: Make 20 lb of stuffing. Chop. Chop. Chop. Rinse the birds. Pat them dry. Foil them. Throw everything in the Canadian Giant Fridge aka le garage!

2012-12-22 10 PM: Jimmy helps to stuff the birds and load up the car.

2012-12-22 11.30 PM: Running half an hour behind. Turn on the ovens at the church hall to 325 F. Friend Trish butters the birds' bottoms as they go in breast down for the first 2 hours.

2012-12-22 12 PM: Filomena drops by to do first basting.

2012-12-22 2 PM: Flip the birds with Sean's help. The members of the CWL accept to do the 3 PM basting! Yeh! Off the hook! Sean will do the 4 PM.

2012-12-22 4.05 PM: Text from Sean: "Caroline sorry I can not get into hall to base the turkeys". Hop in the car and head down the road to do the 4 PM basting. Check the birds' temp with the dandy probe. Done. Worked out well. Throw the birds in the car. Windows fog up. Turkey smell is overwhelming. Too much of a good thing. Overdose! Roll down windows. Defrost ON full blast. Once home Jimmy helps to remove the stuffing. Throw everything back into le garage. Turn light OFF.

2012-12-24 11 PMish: Load up car: 40 lbs potatoes, 4 cabbages, 5 lbs carrots, 4 turkeys and a partridge in a pair tree! Always lugging!

2012-12-24 2 PM: The turkeys are sliced. Coleslaw is prepped. Buns are buttered. Potatoes are scrubbed, boiled and mashed. Vegetables are blanched and buttered. Gravy is thickened. Tables are set. Stuffing and poultry are warmed up. Tea. Coffee or me? Volunteers and guests walk in. More volunteers than guests it seems! Many hands...

2012-12-24 5.30 PM: Grace. Guests line up. Seconds and some thirds. Containers are filled for take homes. Dessert is put out. Christmassy looking cake and squares. Seconds. Thirds and take homes. Feet are soar. Clean up.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night! Into the darkness they go. Some to their homes. Some to their homelessness...

Sink or Swim!

And the award goes to... this giant chinese skimmer aka the spider!

Last Monday I cooked dinner for a local soup kitchen for the very first time. I spent Saturday afternoon getting ready. Flyers and grocery list in hand with $200 in my wallet, I headed out the door. Two hours later and $5.38 over budget I drove home with the goods. Shortly before six, it was off to the bakery with Jim to pick up the day's leftover bread. I kid you not, we filled the back of the pickup truck. That is a lot of bread my friend. So I decided to add bread pudding to the menu!

Monday. The morning is mine because the afternoon won't be. I've got my To Do list ready.

Start time 1 pm:

Boil vats of water
Oil the frying pans
Chop onions in record time
Fry up onions
Cut up 20 lbs of sausage
Toss sausage in with onions

1.45 pm:

Vats of water now boiling
Throw in 2.5 lbs of pasta/pot
Stir pans of sausage and onions
Stir pasta
Stir sausage and onions
Stir pasta
Think. Fast. Think
Stir sausage and onions
Stir pasta

2 pm:
 
Using a giant spider, I start scooping the cooked pasta in large stainless steel pans
Stir sausage and onions
Carry pan #1 to island and stir in oil to prevent clumping
Fill pan #2. Island. Oil
Turn off burners for sausage and onions
#3. Island. Oil

2.30 pm:

#4. Island. Oil
Line up jars of tomato sauce
Yikes. Jars are sealed shut and won't open!!
Hammer lids with a knife. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Open. Taptaptaptaptaptap. Open. Taptaptaptaptaptap. OpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpen
TaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpenTaptaptaptaptaptapOpen
Pour sauce into sausage and onions mixture. Quickly. Quickly.
Rinse out jars with tomato juice. Faster. Faster!

THIS IS IT. THIS IS WHERE I SINK OR SWIM!!

2.45 pm:

Line up ingredients for bread pudding
Turn oven on to 325°F
Fill pot with 5 L of milk
Think of how to warm up milk without burning and without having to constantly watch and stir
Set pot in pot full of leftover hot pasta water to act as double boiler
Crack 30 eggs into bowl
Add brown sugar, cinnamon, freshly ground nutmeg and vanilla
Check milk. Ready.
Chop up 1 1/2 lb of butter into squares. Add to milk to melt.
Whip up egg and sugar mixture
Slowly add warm milk and butter mixture
Butter 4 shallow pans. Add chopped up bread (thank goodness I cubed the bread on Sunday!)
Toss raisins on top

I AM SWIMMING!!

3.15 pm:

Set bread pan in oven and fill with egg and sugar mixture
Pan #2. Oven. Fill.
#3. Oven. Fill.
#4. Oven. Fill.

I AM ENJOYING MY SWIM!

3.30 pm:

The team will start rolling in
Start washing mushrooms.
Eilleen walks in. "Eilleen, how would you like to wash mushrooms?"
Take romaine lettuce to dishwasher room ready for the next batch of volunteers to work on
"Eilleen can you chop the mushrooms please."

INHALE! EXHALE! HA!

3.45 pm:

Start assembling pasta dish
Turn 2 ovens on to 350°F
Toss sauce and sausage with pasta, layer of mozzarella, layer of mushrooms, layer of pasta and sausage, final layer of mozzarella. Foil. Oven.Toss sauce and sausage with pasta, layer of mozzarella, layer of mushrooms, layer of pasta and sausage, final layer of mozzarella. Foil. Oven. Toss the pasta, layer of mozzarella, layer of mushrooms, layer of pasta and sausage, final layer of mozzarella. Foil. Oven. Toss sauce and sausage with pasta, layer of mozzarella, layer of mushrooms, layer of pasta and sausage, final layer of mozzarella. Foil. Oven.
Check bread pudding

I'M OUT OF THE POOL!

4.00 pm:

More volunteers roll in. They know what to do.
An hour and a half to show time! We bag bread. We slice bread. We butter bread. Garlic bread it is!
Check bread pudding
Check pasta casseroles
Butter baguettes and sprinkle garlic powder
Eilleen cubes bread to make croutons for the Caesar's salad

4.15 pm

Take bread pudding out of the oven
The dining room is ready
The coffee... something's wrong with the coffee machine. Too late to brew another pot.
Open the door. The guests start to flow in.
Line up the apple juice. Stir up another jug of OJ. Put out the water jug, the kettle and tea bags, milk and sugar.
"When will the coffee be ready?" They are cold and look for it. "Sorry no coffee today."
They drink hot tea instead.
The volunteers keep refilling.

5.00 pm

Prep the serving table. Serving spoons, tongs. Count out 103 plates. 
Head count: 55 guests

5.15 pm

Who is serving?
Dish out the bread pudding
Broil and slice the garlic bread
Who will say GRACE?
Head count 80+


5.30 pm SHOW TIME!

Set 2 serving stations of cheesy pasta casserole, Caesars salad and garlic bread
GRACE
2 tables at a time, our guests line up for their supper
Seconds.
Volunteers also eat.
Clear the serving station.
Set out the bread pudding.
Dessert line up.
Leftovers are packed and handed out.
Bags of bread are put out.

6.30 pm

Dinner is over and the last guests leave. Satisfied (I think).
We wash: dishes, utensils, pots and pans, tables, kitchen surfaces.
Put out the garbage, recycling and the green bin.

7.00 pm

It's done.
Approximately 160 servings.
Total cost per setting: $1.46

Cook and Bottle Washer

I am in planning mode. Serious planning mode. I've been assigned the position of chief cook and bottle washer for next Monday's Community Bread on Main. What will I make? The meal should cover all the basic food groups: carbs, veggies and protein. I am leaning towards shepherd's pie. How easy is that!? Hhmm. Think about it: 50 lbs of potatoes will have to be peeled. That's the challenge... because I'll be on the hook for that job. The team of volunteers wonders in between 3.30 - 4.30. Dinner is at 5.30. The pie should be out at 5.15 to set, in the oven by 4.30 at 325°F for 45 minutes. Potatoes and meat to cook at 3.30. This means that I'll have to be in at the latest 2.30 to start peeling. Conclusion: potatoes are a heck of a lot of work! Hhmm, what about using instant mashed? Hey, don't knock 'em 'til you've tried them. Believe it or not, I've got a box in my pantry and they taste pretty darn good! I think that might be the way to go! hhmm... the box says that holding temperature should not exceed 160°F. There goes that idea.

How about this Italian Sausage and Mozzarella Dinner. Chicken à la King. Chicken is labour intensive. All those bones. And then cubing the meat.

Two hours later. I've settled on Beef Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping for 120 servings. What a process! I'm thinking coleslaw for a side. Hope they like it. Who am I kidding! How can I be sure that I can cook 50 lb of beef cubes into tender and juicy bites. Tough one.

OK, I'm settling with my first idea: Italian Sausage Mozzarella Dinner. Lots of bread. Caesar salad as a side. Hhmm...what about an appetizer? I'll have to check the flyers for an idea. Maybe egg rolls. Garlic bread. Whoa Nelly. Confession time: I've never shopped from flyers in my life. Jimmy has. I'll have to recruit his help.

My spread sheet is ready! My team will think me green and keen! Oh well! So, grocery shop on Saturday. Pick up a truck load of bread donated from a local bakery after six on same day. Cook time starts at 2 pm Monday!

Sausage and Mozzarella Dinner
Serves 150

•     20 lb Link or bulk Italian sausage, sliced or crumbled
•       3 gallons Spaghetti sauce
•      16 c  Sliced fresh mushrooms
•   1 1/2 qt  (6 cups) Tomato juice
•       3 large Onions, chopped
•       3 tbsp. Italian seasoning
•       2 tbsp Salt
•       1 tbsp. Pepper
•      12 lb Corkscrew noodles, cooked and drained
•       5 lb Mozzarella cheese, sliced
•       8 lb Mozzarella cheese, shredded

 
  Brown sausage, drain fat. Mix  browned sausage with the Spaghetti sauce,
mushrooms, tomato juice, onions, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
 
  Grease 8 6-quart baking pans. Layer half of the noodles, sliced cheese and
  meat sauce in pans. Repeat layers. Sprinkle shredded cheese equally over
  each pan. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover and bake 15 minutes
  longer or until cheese is melted. Serves 150

☛ ☛ ☛ ☛ ☛ ☛ ☛ ☛ M ☜ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☜ ☜

Photo credit

Did the morning shift at the shelter. M came to the kitchen coffee bar slash order counter. She seldom makes eye contact. Her tendency is to gaze up to an imaginary 8 foot face. Tuesdays is eggs any which way, toast, apple juice, banana, yogurt and any hot beverage of your choice. M is particular about her food. A bit health conscious maybe.  Not quite sure. She orders toasts and eggs to go. When asked how she would like her eggs, she doesn't care. Surprising. Since I know she likes hard boiled (because they travel well and might keep her hands warm while they finish cooling), I fill a pot with water and throw in a couple of eggs.

M decides to sit and wait for her food. She always picks the same seat. Corner table. Back to the wall. Always making sure that nobody will consider joining her. M is extremely quiet this morning. She sits face in hands at times. At other times, she looks up to her imaginary 8 foot face battling with her thoughts. What is going on in that head? When I take the order of toast and boiled eggs over, she thanks me. And I believe that she is grateful.

M is always the last to leave the shelter. This morning I send her off into the cold with a "take care" which is met by total silence. For the longest time, she stands outside the door. When I see her again, like a statue she is standing 10 feet further looking down.

My shift is over. I walk out towards my car and there is M, standing still. Still standing. I decide to speak with her.

I start with: "M, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I don't know, she answers, can you?"

"Talk to me," I respond.

Her response was my reality call: "Why would I talk to you? I don't even know you." Like my earlier "take care" her words met my total silence but did not fall into deaf ears. I walk away. I walk away thinking that she is right. Why on earth would I begin to think that I could help?

Bread on Main

On Mondays at 5.30 p.m., the church down the road hosts a community meal. At 3.30 p.m. the volunteers gather to prepare the food. They're a great bunch of people. Salt of the earth and I enjoy seeing them every six weeks when our team's turn comes up. Chris is our cook. In her late sixties, she is small and mighty. There's Bonnie, Gwen, Nancy, Bev, Lynn, Angie and Elizabeth. Some chatty. Others quiet. But all very efficient. We wash and chop food, set tables for 100, bag donated baked goods to hand out, butter bread, make coffee and cold beverages and whatever else needs to be done. On the other side of the hall are the men: Dan, Steve head that team. They wash dishes at lightning speed.

4.30 p.m. we let the guests in for tea and coffee. They walk in from all walks of life carrying luggage that they can't let go. Addictions. Mental illnesses. Bad choices. Poverty. Loneliness. They sit alone or with others. The church basement is transformed into a giant dining room filled with noise, chatter and even laughter.

5.00 p.m. we serve an appetizer. Maybe an egg roll. Cheese and crackers. Whatever the budget can afford.

5.30 p.m. we set up two food stations. Steve says a few words, a blessing and invites everyone up for food. While dishing out food, I greet everyone lightheartedly all the while carefully observing the different individual before me. I don't want to sound morbid but, it is a fascinating exercise in social study. Some are rude. Some are funny. Some are sad. Some are absent. Some are abused. Some are high. Some are dirty. Some are proud. Some are friendly. Some are angry. Some are just like you and me. How on earth did they get here?

Many I recognize from the homeless shelter. Caught up in this vicious circle, they can't find a way out. There's a whisper of a woman by the name of Dawn. Tragically, last Christmas, her boyfriend beat her to a pulp. Although she ended up on the street, Dawn made sure that her cat had a safe home with a friend. During the winter months, she struggled to put her life back together. In March, I heard that she moved into a place of her own. Good. Very good. Dawn was at the church this week. She coloured her beautiful red hair charcoal black. Thin, she shakes so badly that I think she can't bare the weight of her plate of food. Her face and arms are bruised. Hospital bracelets ornate her left wrist. One white. The other yellow. I feel sadness. I say hello and see a trace of recognition in her blue eyes. Then I see defeat and helplessness. I look for the right words and say: "Enjoy your dinner Dawn, it will do you good." Sadly, I don't think that eight meatballs, some rice, carrots and broccoli will fix everything that this woman faces.

Inn from the Cold

5.30 a.m. : The third shift volunteers sit around a table chatting, drinking coffee, waiting for the guests to awake. Today there are 18 guests. The shift leader assigns each volunteer a job. Two in the kitchen, one on smoke break and two on cleaning.

6.30 a.m. : The kitchen crew starts on breakfast. Egg any which way: over easy, scrambled, French toast or omelettes. The day of the week dictates the way. Sometimes there are sausages. Sometimes there is bacon. Sometimes it's just egg and toast. The bread is white or whole wheat. It's donated by a local grocery store after it's best before date is past. Still good to eat but not at its freshest, it will have to do. Any fruit? Some apples, lots of bananas. Apple juice, sometimes there is orange as well. Cold cereal. Instant porridge. Quite a variety.

6.50 a.m. : It's time to turn on the dimmer switch in the sleeping rooms. The idea behind the dimmer switch is to slowly pull the guests out of their slumber like the rising sun.

7.00 a.m. : The lights go on. It's the official "get out of bed call". The guests know to grab their pillows and blankets as they rise. They toss their bedding in a large bin before entering the eating room. At this point, some are desperately craving for a cigarette. They quickly grab a coffee and pour out the door followed by the designated "smoke break" volunteer. The kitchen is open for orders. Eggs any which way depending on the day. White or whole wheat toasts? Juice please! More juice please! Is there any more sugar? The guests love their sugar. It's the buzz they're looking for. The eating room is quiet for the most part. Clinking of utensils on dishes, spoon stirring coffee, coughing, sneezing and coughing.  It's winter time and many are sick with a form of winter illness -- colds, flues, etc.

Some of the guests are plagued by forms of mental illnesses. They refuse medication, help and choose to live on the fringe. Others are addicts: drugs of some sort or alcohol. The men are more plentiful than the women. On average, 2 - 3 women stay at the shelter, the rest are men. Some are as young as 18. What is their story? What path brought them here? People of authority make them feel inadequate. They prefer to avoid the social worker, the cop or the shift leader. Instead of facing their demons, it's easier to live on the fringe.

CP 24 rolls out the morning news on a loop. Same news every so many minutes. Eventually the guests get bored and move out to the foyer to await their sign out time.

7.45 a.m : The kitchen closes. If anyone is lingering in the eating room, they're asked to move on to sign out. The TV is turned off and wheeled out to its storage area. Clean up winds down. Dishwasher is loaded up, food put away, counters cleaned, pots and pans washed, tables, chairs, door handles disinfected, floors mopped, carpets vacuumed, washrooms disinfected and washed.

8.00 a.m. : The guests sign out and grab a bagged lunch of sandwiches, juice, granola bars, water and fruit. Some walk out and head for the nearest place that will allow them to hang out for the day: the mall, some church hall, a coffee shop. Others take time to bundle up, layers upon layers of clothes, parkas, snow pants and boots, scarves and mittens. Packs are thrown on backs, shopping carts are loaded up.

8.15 a.m. : The volunteers finish up the morning shift. They chit chat in the office and agree that all went well today. Home James.

Paths will cross. Volunteers and guests on the city streets. A shy "hello". An awkward nod. Their only wish is to blend in with the crowd and to forget that at the end of the day, they won't have a place to call home again.

Homeless Father and Son

A couple of years ago, when Edward (44) found out that his son Damian (19) was living on the street, he quit his job and hitchhiked cross country to help him out. Word on the street was that things were safer north of the city. The father and son team headed to York region in search of a better life.
Edward wants to find a job, a place to call home and a chance for his son to finish high school.

But times are hard and the bureaucratic red tape of a burdened social service system impedes their best intentions. Unable to find housing, their home is a tent in the bush on the outskirt of Newmarket two nights a week (and they are not the only ones living there) when the homeless shelter is closed. The seasons roll by and so do the odd jobs.
In January, prompted by a local anti-poverty group, our local newspaper ran a few stories on Edward and Damian. The articles uncovered a side of the community that people didn't know existed in Newmarket: homelessness! Overnight, Edward and Damian became homeless stars... Offers of hope streamed in from the community.
It's interesting to review the online comments posted by readers, friends, followers and even those in opposition. Viva social media(s)! It allows us to see the other side of the coin. Dependency. Bad choices. Etc.
I read that Edward started a full time job on January 24. The funds of a recent fundraiser might be their ticket to suitable housing. It's a slow process. Damian is still using the shelter.
I wander what direction their lives will take. Sure, everyone makes bad decisions but where there is a will, there is a way to make things right. Hopefully this is the "hand up" that they've been looking for and that theirs will be a story with a happy ending. We must hope...(and not judge however tempting it might be). Time will be the teller of this one and everything else in this world.