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Recently starting the committee “Cooking for Our Neighbors,” several coordinators and volunteers gathered at Sprout in Little Falls, Tuesday, Jan. 9, to prepare 150 meals. The meals were then frozen to be distributed to people in the community, who can use them. The distribution is made through the Morrison County Drop In Center, located at 120 East Broadway, Little Falls. Oasis Central Minnesota board chair and Purple Carrot Market owner Judith Hecht said since Oasis’ Share a Meal ended in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, many people have asked when the outreach will return. Share a Meal was a weekly event where a free meal was served at First Lutheran Church in Little Falls. “It’s not coming back, but this is taking its place,” she said.  Several coordinators of Cooking for Our Neighbors and members of sponsoring organizations gathered at Sprout to chop meat and vegetables, Tuesday, Jan. 9. Pictured are (from left): Mari Ludwig (Oasis Central Minnesota), Darlene Brand (Purple Carrot Market board member), Cynthia Johnson ( Sprout employee and Purple Carrot Market board member) and Judith Hecht (Oasis Central Minnesota board chair and Purple Carrot Market owner). Cynthia Johnson, food systems program and outreach coordinator at Sprout, said “Cooking for Our Neighbors” was also the name of a similar event last year. While the event was successful and was intended to be ongoing, it was very difficult to find the time as the people involved were busy with other commitments. “So Oasis was kind enough to really move this forward and pick it up and just get it on the calendar,” she said. With approval of taking over the name, Hecht said the committee “Cooking for Our Neighbors” was formed and is a collaboration between several local organizations and entities — Sprout, Purple Carrot Market, Oasis Central Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Extension in Morrison County. The meal the coordinators and volunteers prepared Jan. 9, Johnson said, was a dirty rice skillet with cheddar bratwursts that were plated in burrito bowls. Johnson said the Morrison County Drop In Center provides a variety of services. In terms of the food made by “Cooking for Our Neighbors,” the frozen meals will be available on a first come first serve basis. As such, there is no guarantee there will always be meals available. “People can pick it up and heat the meal at home or at the Drop In Center. That option works great for people who may be homeless or in transition,” she said.  Many hands make light work preparing 150 meals for Cooking for Our Neighbors. Pictured are volunteers (from left): Julie Richgels, Bill Hecht, Lois Merchant- Stumpf and Tim Ludwig, all of Little Falls. Another detail the Cooking for Our Neighbors Committee has established is that the meals will not be tracked in terms of needing names of the people who receives them. The reason for that, Johnson said, is that they feel people may sometimes be put off asking for a meal if such is required. “We just want people to be able to get a meal if they need one without any strings attached,” she said.  Judith Hecht transferring cooked rice from the pot to a plastic container. The meals that were prepared Jan. 9 were sponsored by the different organizations and entities in the collaboration. Hecht said the Little Falls Exchange Club also gave Oasis a generous donation to purchase a freezer and packing equipment for Cooking for Our Neighbors. Johnson said that overtime the number of meals that are made may increase. The goal as of now is to see if there are enough people interested to form two groups per month to make meals. As such, the Cooking for Our Neighbors Committee is encouraging individual people, as well as businesses to form teams to volunteer to prepare meals.  Cynthia Johnson holding a bowl of chopped onion. With enough volunteers, the work can also be divided into two or three shifts with groups of eight to 10 people. After all, many hands make light work.
As the outreach requires funding to keep it going, the Committee encourages people and businesses to donate to the cause. Every little bit helps. “We encourage local agencies and businesses to sponsor a meal or come help make a meal or both,” said Samantha Barron, SNAP education health and wellness educator with the University of Minnesota Extension — Morrison County. Johnson said as the outreach is in its early stages, a pantry has not been built up. As a result, there are a lot of initial expenses, such as purchasing spices, bags of rice, packaging and more. Looking to the location of the Morrison County Drop In Center in downtown Little Falls, Hecht said it may be easier for people to access the food. One challenge some people had when the Share A Meal program was ongoing was to find transportation to First Lutheran Church, as it is located nearly two miles from the central location of Bank Square in downtown Little Falls. To donate, make a check out to “Oasis Central Minnesota” with “Cooking for Our Neighbors” written in the memo. The check can then be mailed to Oasis Central Minnesota, PO Box 542, Little Falls, MN 56345. To volunteer, contact Barron at [email protected] or (320) 632-0163. Comments are closed.
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