“I had tears in my eyes when one of those kids not only served me but gave me a hug.”
The grizzled, elderly man smiled and wiped his eyes with gnarly fingers as he thanked the petite eighth grader.
Outfitted in a crisp white chef’s jacket and a colorful hair cover, she handed him a heaping plate of freshly prepared food.
She and nine other youngsters from the middle school culinary class in the Bagdad Public Schools fed not just a grateful man. They served a free tasty meal totally prepared by students to some 170 other hungry or homeless people.
The reason?
Because Shaun Rose, who teaches culinary arts for the Bagdad Schools System and her students decided they wanted to “…make a difference by doing something for the needy,” Rose explained.
Rose applied for a modest $480 grant from the Yavapai County Education Foundation (YCEF). She had applied for the grant right after the school term began last fall after being prompted by her young students.
“It really touched me when these middle school students brainstormed and decided they wanted to contribute, even in the smallest way, to feeding those who were less fortunate,” said Rose, now in her second year of teaching in Bagdad.
When the students learned of the Prescott-based Coalition for Compassion and Justice (CCJ), a non-profit organization that focuses on aiding the homeless and low income populations of Yavapai County through Open Door, they picked that as their class project – preparing a full meal for homeless people.
“When we learned from Mrs. Rose in our classes that hunger in America is a big problem, we decided we wanted to do something,” said 14-year-old Collin Bryant, an 8th grader. “We picked the theme for the class – ‘Organization to Fight Starvation’ – and that’s why we’re here.”
Bryant and his classmates said they had learned during lessons that one in seven people in Arizona goes hungry every day, and that the U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that about 48 million people in America can be described as living in poverty.
Rose successfully applied for funding from YCEF, a philanthropic organization that supports Yavapai County teachers and school districts with grants. As a result, she coordinated a visit through the CCJ to have students plan and serve the food to Open Door clients.
Students Involved in Every Phase
“One thing I wanted to make clear from the beginning with the students is that they had to do far more than just cook and serve a meal,” Rose said. “That’s why we had lessons on the history of cooking and how good chefs prepare meals. They studied safety and sanitation, learned how to use kitchen tools and equipment, and most important, how critical good nutrition is.”
She said once a time and date for students to visit was determined, the menu was created. The students decided on pulled pork sandwiches, ranch style beans, cole slaw and chocolate chip cookies.
Rose used the grant funds to buy all the food and other items needed to prepare the meal.
At 6 a.m., she and students gathered at Bagdad Public School parking lot, loaded the food, and climbed into the school minivan for the 65-mile drive east to Prescott. They arrived at the fully equipped kitchen of Open Door, located in the basement of a Prescott United Methodist Church building.
That was on Friday, April 1. By 9 a.m., the youngsters had prepared food enough to serve 200 people. Shortly thereafter, they began serving. They worked in the kitchen, helped serve and clear the tables. By early afternoon, they had cleaned up and were headed back to Bagdad.
“We were tired,” said Zaac Vasquez.” We’d been up a long time and we really worked hard. But it really made us feel good to help other people. It was a good experience for us.”
Open Door Director of Operations Temmy Bowler told the students that Open Door provides meals for the needy from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, every week, about 150 to 175 people daily, which is an increase of about 17 percent in recent years.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that Open Door also serves hundreds of preschool kids on weekends during the school year,” she said. “It’s not unusual for us to feed more than 300 kids any given weekend.”
Bowler also mentioned that volunteers often provide a diverse variety of contributed food such as canned goods, pasta and other small items to those who request it.
“It is the only culinary program that we work with that had done everything – bought the food, prepared it, served it and then cleaned up afterward,” she said about the Bagdad students. “Having them here cost us nothing, and they really deserve a big thank you from the community.”
Before leaving for the afternoon return trip to Bagdad, Rose said she wants to continue visitations in the future. “We’re working with a national organization called Lead 2 Feed, and we want to expand what we do. My program has more than doubled in the past two years, with both eighth and ninth graders. I’ve got about 40 kids enrolled now, and I really think it will grow. My students are beginning to realize they can become leaders in the battle to fight hunger. I’m really proud of them.”
By Ray Newton, QCBN
Photo by Ray Newton
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