Friday, May 27, 2021
Tania Marino
Silver Linings—Gather Cooking 4 Community
There’s no doubt that the last year has been memorable, most of us would say for all the wrong reasons and they would be right, we have seen many lose family, jobs, income and homes and the repercussions of this pandemic will live on long after the imminent danger is over.
When I was asked to consider any possible silver linings of the COVID pandemic, I think that what St Johns Church and Gather has achieved together in the last 12 months is a shining example.
Stacy Whittier and I have had the privilege of co-leading a program run by Gather, NH called ‘Cooking 4 Community’. The C4C mission is to rescue food that would go to waste, and re-purpose into nutritional meals that in turn support the food insecure.
St Johns church opened their doors to us, allowing our program to operate out of the kitchen three to four days a week. In a time of hugely increased need C4C produced over 25,000 meals and sides. We have carried 34,000 pounds of rescued or gleaned food up and down stairs and saved over 10,000 pounds of food from landfill. Meals, sides and baked items were distributed to families, seniors, physically disabled and the homeless. For Gather members this has meant the difference between going hungry and having access to a balanced meal. Care, love and respect was poured into every packing container in an effort to provide a sense of dignity to those that received our meals.
We could not have achieved this without our team of volunteers - friends and neighbors who stepped up to help, wearing their masks like shields and answering our call to action. Volunteers left the safety of their homes to prep, cook and pack. Together stories were told, support and companionship were shared, and a bond was formed. As a result, we will all look back on this time with not only sadness, but also with a great sense of pride and accomplishment.
Saving food from landfills, producing thousands of nutritious meals in times of increased need and creating a community of incredible volunteers, are what I believe exemplify silver linings. We are so grateful to St Johns Church; all of this would not have been possible without our collaboration.
Tania Marino
Gather, NH
C4C Program Co-Coordinator