2008 Woodie Awards
Forest Grove soup kitchen opens its doors to the needy
Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: News
With the organizational leadership skills of one, the practical kitchen know-how of another, and the eagerness of many volunteers, Forest Grove's only soup kitchen has just opened its doors.
"In the beginning of the year, I heard people wanted to start the project, but no one really knew how to go about it," said Dana LaMonica, a member of the Anthropology Sociology Club on campus.
LaMonica has previously worked in a soup kitchen for about seven years. Her talent as a cook and desire to help have aided in the start of this operation, which is being held at the United Church of Christ.
"Caitey knew more about the business end of it, and I knew more about the food end of it, like how to plan a budget and how to run a kitchen," said LaMonica, referring to Caitey Anderson, president of the Anthro/Soc Club.
According to Anderson, "When we asked at the beginning of the year what they wanted to do, the club said 'we wanna start a soup kitchen.' It's something the community wants and needs to do, and a lot of the people in Forest Grove don't know how much we need this."
This is not just a one-club effort, as a collection of clubs have helped support the kitchen and its operations thus far - namely Circle K.
The first meal putogether was a Thanksgiving dinner in November, complete with turkey, potatoes, salad, cranberries, and pie.
"[The U.C.C.] has a nice big kitchen space, so it's been nice of them to let us use that area. We figure we had about 40-50 people there, and we were able to send everyone home with leftovers," said LaMonica.
The kitchen opened again in February, with a chicken, chili, cornbread, and salad meal. About 25-30 people arrived.
"We're thinking that's about average for us," said LaMonica, "and we're hoping that if it becomes month to month, we'll get more people, and we did see some returners from Thanksgiving, which was cool."
The club had actually limited the number of kitchen staff in February, because too many people wanted to volunteer.
"In the beginning of the year, I heard people wanted to start the project, but no one really knew how to go about it," said Dana LaMonica, a member of the Anthropology Sociology Club on campus.
LaMonica has previously worked in a soup kitchen for about seven years. Her talent as a cook and desire to help have aided in the start of this operation, which is being held at the United Church of Christ.
"Caitey knew more about the business end of it, and I knew more about the food end of it, like how to plan a budget and how to run a kitchen," said LaMonica, referring to Caitey Anderson, president of the Anthro/Soc Club.
According to Anderson, "When we asked at the beginning of the year what they wanted to do, the club said 'we wanna start a soup kitchen.' It's something the community wants and needs to do, and a lot of the people in Forest Grove don't know how much we need this."
This is not just a one-club effort, as a collection of clubs have helped support the kitchen and its operations thus far - namely Circle K.
The first meal putogether was a Thanksgiving dinner in November, complete with turkey, potatoes, salad, cranberries, and pie.
"[The U.C.C.] has a nice big kitchen space, so it's been nice of them to let us use that area. We figure we had about 40-50 people there, and we were able to send everyone home with leftovers," said LaMonica.
The kitchen opened again in February, with a chicken, chili, cornbread, and salad meal. About 25-30 people arrived.
"We're thinking that's about average for us," said LaMonica, "and we're hoping that if it becomes month to month, we'll get more people, and we did see some returners from Thanksgiving, which was cool."
The club had actually limited the number of kitchen staff in February, because too many people wanted to volunteer.
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