Feeding Teens

MEGA MEALS: Many hours at MPA on Friday and Saturday were spent getting ready for our monthly gig prepping and serving 80+ meals at a youth homeless shelter in the University District on Saturday evening.

On Friday, we boiled up about 50 cups of salad pasta (cute little tubes) for a mountain of macaroni salad. We  also cooked up 20 pounds of chicken with barbecue flavor. No big deal, ha ha.

Also on the menu were watermelon, dill pickle spears, and nice big cookies.

We headed up to the U District and arrived there a few minutes after 5. When Teen Feed's director of community engagement Janine Kennedy saw us loading in on Saturday evening, she declared, "It looks like a summer barbecue!"

That was exactly what we were after with this menu, so mission accomplished! We had several friends help provide many items for the dinner. CJ and Christian collected those in the alley, while Annabelle, Kennedy and I prepped in the kitchen. Once the stuff was collected, it was all hands on deck in the kitchen.

Annabelle's duties included bagging the meals up. We had options for everyone, including vegan and gluten free diners. 

CJ can pretty much claim 'toastmaster' status at this point. He spend a hour toasting 90-plus buns to perfection. 

Let me tell you, the BBQ sandwiches were HEFTY. We loaded them up with a half pound or so of meat apiece. While we were prepping, the kitchen smelled so wonderful.

The cookies were nestled in french fry wrappers. That worked quite well.

And can we talk about the pickles? Such a simple thing, but it thrilled people to no end. We cut the big pickles into spears for easier eating and bagged them. Not only were the pickles loved, but imagine our surprise when we started fielding requests for 'pickle juice shots,' I kid you not.  Needless to say, the dills were a HUGE hit!

Ever since the pandemic hit, we have had to shift from buffet-style service, dine in, to to go. It has been hard. It has meant only one family in the kitchen instead of multiple, plus the added work of having to box or bag or whatever each and every item for the to go service. 

But somehow, every month we've made it all work. The need to feed is bigger now than ever.