Another thank you from those we serve

From: take and eat [mailto:takeandeat@verizon.net]
Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2010 11:49 AM
To: 'Joe Nadeau'; ...'Charlotte Buijnarowski'; 'Buijnarowski, Charlotte'
Cc: jabahamonde... Mark@...PryorInsurance.com; BobJudge@comcast.net
Subject: Thanks from client

Dear Joe, Deb and Charlotte,
I just received a phone call from Mr. and Mrs. ...who reside at...expressing their deepest thanks for the wonderful meals you all provide to them – they are so appreciative of the care you are providing them and want you all to know how very much this means to them – they love all the meals and said that the salads and fruit salads are just wonderful and they so look forward to receiving the meals you provide and greeting the drivers who deliver to them.

Thanks to each of you and all of the volunteers who make this Meals Ministry happen – you are doing such kind and caring works of charity – please do share the above message with all at St. Theresa’s, St. Patrick’s and Food For Friends – blessings to all,

Kathleen

Our menu for July 17

From: Stephen Foster
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 7:38 AM
To: Charlotte Buijnarowski
Cc: Steve Foster; Gail Foster; Cathy Irish; Jim Corey; Bob Judge; Bobbie Ayers; Allan Patriquin; Bev Pead
Subject: Re: Meal prep 7/17

The menu is:
roast chicken
rice
green beans
pineapple chunks
dessert

tuna fish sandwich
fruit cup
dessert

Blonde brownies and oatmeal raisin cookies!

From: Beverly Pead
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 8:00 AM
To: Mary Ann Wordsworth; Stephanie Smith; Anita Sarro; Donna Pinciak; Branda Mathieu; Sheila Fitzgerald; Carol Brunelle; Carol Deten; Doris Gagnon; Shannon Noyes; Kay Washburn; Karen Motyka
Cc: Charlotte Buijnarowski; Jim Corey
Subject: RE: June Food for Friends

I can't believe I'm asking you guys to bake in this heat!  Anyone have no-bake ideas for August?

This month we are making blonde brownies and oatmeal raison cookies.  I need 3 people to make 4 dozen cookies, paked 2 to a bag and 6 people to make a dozen blonde brownies paked one to a bag.  I know that Mary Ann and Anita will not be available this month.  Betty has already volunteered to make a batch of blonde brownines and Sheila has volunteered to make cookies.  Thak you both!

Does anyone need hairnets, gloves or baggies?

Please let me know what you want to make.  I will ask people to switch if we don't have enouth of something.

Please also let me know if you need pick up or will be dropping items off at the UMC or Congo churches.

Thank you all for being so flexible.

Car Wash moved to this Sat., May 15 noon - 4:00

From: Rich Lovelace [mailto:richlovelace@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 4:48 PM
To: Al Duffy; Bev Howells; Brian Lapis; Cathy Irish; Center Church office; Cindy & David Morrell; Emily Pietras; Linda Laderach; Nancy Bozek; Tom Hazen; Susan Lovelace; Alan Patriquin; Bettty Innocent; Bob Judge; Bobbi Ayers; Cara Parchesco; Charlotte Buijnarowski; Del Borah; Diane Deshaies; Gayle Kenneson; Lori Souder; Mary Adewusi; Paula Lonergan; Sarah Smith; Suzanne Cordes; Wayne & Ruth Cowan
Subject: Car Wash moved to this Sat., May 15 noon - 4:00

The Car Wash to benefit Western Mass Food Bank has been moved from the planned June 5 date to THIS SATURDAY, May 15, from noon until 4:00.

The Car Wash was moved in order to combine this Mission activity with the Ecumenical Youth Group "30 Hour Famine".  Both activities have the goals of drawing attention to hunger and raising food and funds for the Western Mass Food Bank.  

The Youth will begin their fast on Saturday morning.  They will assist with Food for Friends food preparation, and then provide much of the labor for the car wash.  After a service lead by Lutheran pastor Stephanie Smith, they will spend the night in the church without food.  Sunday morning they will prepare lunch for the church and guests, help lead the church service (which will include brief remarks from Andrew Morehouse, Executive Director of WM Food Bank); serve lunch, and, after they have served us, they will break their fast.

Western Mass Food Bank is our Mission Partner for May.  In 2009, the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts provided 7.6 million pounds of food through its regional network of 400 food pantries, shelters and meal sites to over 108,000 of our neighbors.  The Food Bank works behind the scenes of nearly every charitable organization that provides food to people in need in Western Massachusetts. For every $1 that we can donate, the Food Bank can leverage $9 worth of food.  Hunger in Western Massachusetts is a real problem.  The Western Mass Food Bank is the lynchpin to managing this critical problem.   For more information about the Food Bank, please go to www.foodbankwma.org

 

.  Through May we will continue to collect food donations on Sundays.

To be a part of the Youth 30 Hour Famine and to help benefit WM Food Bank, please come get your car washed Sat afternoon, and join us for church on Sunday.

You are receiving this message because you are lucky enough to be in my contacts list.  Please forward this message to others in the church: e.g., people on a committee with you, people who are in your contact list, or people who just have a car that needs washing.

Thanks!

Rich Lovelace (Mission Committee) and Cara Parchesko (Youth at the Center) 

Parish introduces simple gifts: The Food Project - Click HERE and go to Page 5

From Charlotte Buijnarowski - March 13 2010 Food For Friends - Monthly Coordinator Checklist - Click HERE

From Stephen Foster: Our next meal prep, 3/20

...

The menu is:

Salmon pie

white asparagus

soda bread

peaches

desert

Sunday's:

Han & pickle salad sandwich

fruit cup

desert

Take and Eat, Inc - Berkshire Foundation $20,000 Non-Profit Give-Away Results - Click BELOW for details

View "People Feeding People"

From Charlotte Buijnarowski: Our next meal prep, 3/20

From: Charlotte Buijnarowski

Date: Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 9:16 PM
Subject: Our next meal prep, 3/20
To: Steve Foster; Gail Foster; Cathy Irish; Jim Corey; Bob Judge; Bobbie Ayers; Bev Pead; Allan Patriquin, Sarah Smith; Charlotte Buijnarowski

Hello All,

Our next meal prep is March 20th....   We are following up on an offer from All Saints for  a contribution of salmon pies and Irish soda bread!  Bev will have the bakers make oatmeal raisin cookies with nuts, and blueberry muffins.  I'd say that's a great start!

Besides the menu items, is there anything else we need to purchase?  Bobbie, how are we doing on packing materials?  Could you please also check on hairnets and gloves?

We had discussed holding an organizational meeting following the meal prep, so I'm checking if people would be available to meet at noon on that day....please let me know.  Agenda items include:

Finances - Allan will update us, and we can discuss from there.

Cross-Training - let's get detailed documentation in place, based on everything we've figured out in the last six months, and get others up to speed on each job.

Volunteers - we have so many, what do we do with them all?

Fourth Weekend - can we help another group get going to cover this?

What Else - please contribute ideas and concerns!!

Health laws halt hot meal program

Date: Mar 8, 2010
"For eight years parishioners at the United Church of Christ in Medfield cooked up hearty batches of chili and chicken soup and brought them to the streets of Boston, handing out bowls of sustenance to the city's homeless."
____________________________________________


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/08/medfield_church_curtails_meal_program_after_nine_homeless_men_become_ill/?s_campaign=8315
____________________________________________________________

"The quiche was delicious" - Click BELOW for larger image

"Driver was very nice" - Click BELOW for larger image

Take and Eat, Inc.- “People Feeding People” - Click HERE

                   

Food for Friends March and April choices

From: Beverly Pead
Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2010 2:21 PM
To: Mary Ann Wordsworth; Stephanie Smith; Anita Sarro; Donna Pinciak; Branda Mathieu; Sheila Fitzgerald; Carol Brunelle; Carol Deten; Doris Gagnon
Cc: Beverly Pead
Subject: Food for Friends March and April choices

Dear Bakers,

I am trying to give you more advanced notice about upcoming desserts.  Please let me know which desserts you would prefer to bake.  I will make March choices "first come, first served" and then reverse the order for April.  In other words, if you are the last to reply and have to make something you didn't want to make in March, you will get your choice of desserts for April.

The choices for March are oatmeal raisin cookies or blueberry muffins.

The choices for April are brownies or blueberry crumble.

I will be sending recipes soon.  I will be testing the oatmeal raisin cookie, blueberry crumble and blueberry muffin recipes.  As always, if you have your own favorite recipe for an item, you may substitute it for the one I send, as long as the serving sizes are comparable.  You may use any brownie recipe or mix as long as you add nuts.

I want to streamline my deliveries as well, so I will be planning to deliver items once every two months. 

I will be bringing everyone a two-month supply of gloves and hairnets.

I will bring frozen blueberries to all those who will be making either the muffins or the crumble. 

I will bring containers to those making crumble.

Let me know if you will be needing more baggies for packaging the cookies, brownies, or muffins.

Nuts will be used in the cookies and brownies.  Let me know if you still have some left or if you need me to bring you a bag of nuts.

I will need you to be home for the blueberry deliveries so that they do not defrost.   I will e-mail later to make these arrangements.

See you in about two weeks for the deliveries.

Bev

---

Question/ Food for Friends

From: take and eat <takeandeat@verizon.net>

Date: Wed, Feb 17, 2010 at 4:44 PM
Subject: RE: FW: Question/ Food for Friends
To: "Buijnarowski, Charlotte

Hi Charlotte,

     Our understanding with all of the Elder Services Agencies that we work with is that they do not furnish to us any clients who have an eating disorder or severe food allergy that could put them at risk.

We also are not prepared to "personalize" meals to accommodate diabetic clients who require a restricted diet.  
     The rule we have utilized is that, while we know there are diabetic issues among some of our clients, we trust them to utilize their judgment and consume those foods that are good for them and reject those that are not.  I have had a handful of clients over the years who have contacted me to indicate that they needed to be more diligent with their diet and requested that they be removed from the client list – but this has been the exception, not the rule.  I also have had a few clients along the way who indicated that they know they should not consume some of the desserts or breads and pass them on to a neighbor or friend.

     As you know, we encourage all of our Ministry teams to utilize fresh or frozen products and refrain from canned goods which are loaded with sugars and salts.  

     It is very kind of the baker to offer to prepare some "diabetic friendly" desserts but we do not have a list of who might be diabetic.  

     I hope this helps.

     Thanks much,

     Kathleen

---

From: Buijnarowski, Charlotte [mailto:cbuijnarowski@massmutual.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 1:05 PM
To: takeandeat@verizon.net

Subject: RE: FW: Question/ Food for Friends

Hi Kathleen,

As you will see below, we have a volunteer who has offered to create some diabetic-friendly desserts each month.  How do you handle the diabetic issue now?  Do you know who on our client list is diabetic???  I would appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Thanks,

Charlotte

Charlotte Buijnarowski

------------------------------------

From: BobJudge
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 10:03 AM
To: Sheila Fitzgerald
Cc: Buijnarowski, Charlotte
Subject: RE: FW: Question/ Food for Friends

Sheila:

     I will send a copy of this email to Charlotte Buijnarowski, the Food For Friends (FFF) Coordinator.  She may forward it to Steve Foster.  In any case, you will then hear back from Charlotte, Steve, or someone else, with a phone number of the right person for you to call to discuss further.

     Thanks for the offer!

- Bob Judge

From: Sheila Fitzgerald
Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 9:26 AM
To: BobJudge@comcast.net
Subject: Re: FW: Question/ Food for Friends

 Thanks Bob.

One more question.  We have been preparing meals for between 60/75 people, I would suspect that perhaps a few within this group could be diabetic.  In addition to the 15 or so desserts I put up each month, I'd be more than happy to prepare diabetic deserts for the few, if any that are diabetic.

I would be willing to make the call if there is someone I can call, that would have that information and could give me a rough number so that we will always have a healthier dessert choice to pack for them.  Do you know who I can call to ask? 

Shelia

February desserts

Dear Bakers,

It's that time again!

This Saturday we are delivering chocolate cupcakes with white frosting (any recipe is fine) and cherry cheesecake (see recipe below). 

We need a total of 72 of each item.  We need 6 people to make, frost and bag 6 dozen cupcakes.  Since each recipe of cheesecake makes 8 servings, we need some of our bakers to make 2 recipes and some to make one.  Our newest volunteer (whose recipe we are using) is making 2 recipes, so we need a total of 7 more batches.

Please let me know which item you wish to make.

Let me know if you need containers, bags, hair nets, gloves or cherries.

Let me know if you want me to pick up your baked goods on Friday evening or Saturday morning, or if you will be delivering them to the United Methodist Church between 7 and 5:30 on Friday or if you will be delivering these items to the Congo Church on Saturday morning.

I also need ideas for next month.  We now have frozen blueberries.  Any ideas?  Any good recipes?

Thanks!

Bev

------------------------

SHANNON'S NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

·        1 Package cream cheese

·        ¼ Cup sugar

·        1 8oz. tub of Cool Whip

·        1 Tablespoon milk

·        1 graham cracker crust

Blend cream cheese until smooth and then add sugar.  Blend until smooth and add Cool Whip and milk.  Blend until smooth and pout into crust.  Cool until firm (about 4 hours)

CHERRY PIE FILLING

·        3 cups cherries

·        ¾  cup water

·        ¾  cup sugar

·        3 Tablespoons cornstarch

In a saucepan cook cherries in water for 10 minutes.  Mix together the sugar and cornstarch; add to cherries.  Cook cherry mixture until thickened.  Cool.

PACKAGING DIRECTIONS

Cut pie into 8 slices.  Put one slice in each container.  Spoon cherry pie filling over each piece.  Put  covers on containers.  

All Saints' Contribution

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charlotte Buijnarowski <charlottecb@comcast.net>
Date: Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 3:13 PM
Subject: Re: All Saints' Contribution
To: All Saints Church <allsaintschurchoffice@gmail.com>
Cc:... "

Hello Cynthia,

Your meal preparation plans sound wonderful - thank you so much!!!

I'm copying our cooks on this email, as they are the meal planners.  I'll let them respond to you regarding the salmon pies and soda bread, but I'm betting that they may want to include both in our March 20th menu!

Thanks,

Charlotte

----- Original Message -----

From: All Saints Church

To: charlottecb@comcast.net

Cc: Rev. Tanya Wallace

Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 9:39 PM

Subject: All Saints' Contribution

Hi Charlotte,

I am writing to offer a special contribution for the Food for Friends program from All Saints' Episcopal Church in South Hadley. As one of the first events of our 2010 outreach ministry, Simple Gifts: The Food Project! Rene Beauchemin (our Senior Warden and owner of Langelier's Bakery) will be baking salmon pies in our church kitchen on February 27th and he has offered to create extra salmon pies for your program. As the pies will then be frozen, you may use them on a date of your choice.

From reading your blog, it appears that Food for Friends fed 64 people in January. All Saints' would be happy to contribute enough salmon pies, divided into 8 parts, to give each of these Food for Friends meal recipients a healthy slice of salmon pie as an entree. Delivery to the Congregational Church can be arranged whenever it is convenient, as it is just a block away from All Saints'.

For St. Patrick's Day, Rene will be producing Irish Soda Bread which we thought might make a nice contribution for the Food for Friends meals prepared on March 20th. Please let us know what you think.

All Saints' Simple Gifts:  The Food Project! hopes to be of more service in the future.  Food for Friends is a wonderful program and provides so much more than just food to the Seniors in South Hadley.

Peace,

Cynthia Lambert
     All Saints' Episcopal Church
     Parish Administrator

January desserts - From Beverly Pead

Hi, Everyone!

..We are having blonde brownies and cherry-chocolate chip muffins.  Next month we are having cherry cheese cake and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting.

Bev

From: Beverly Pead
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 6:00 AM
To: Mary Ann Wordsworth; Stephanie Smith; Anita Sarro; Donna Pinciak; Branda Mathieu; Sheils; Carol Brunelle; Carol Deten
Cc: Beverly Pead
Subject: Food for Friends - January desserts

Dear Bakers,

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and that your New Year is off to a good start.

First, I want to thank you for your extra effort for the December desserts.  The holiday treats were greatly enjoyed!

This month we are making 2 simpler recipes, both of which are attached.  Please let me know:
1.  Would you prefer to make the bars or the muffins?

2.  Do you need any hair nets, gloves, bags, nuts, or cherries?  (I can deliver them on Tuesday if I hear from you by then or on Thursday)

3.  Do you want to deliver them to the Congo church on Saturday morning, to the UMC on Friday before 5:00, or do you want me to pick them up on either Friday evening between 5:30 and 6:30 or on Saturday morning between 8:00 and 9:00?  I am now free on Saturday mornings, so I can give you more options.

4.  In February, we are going to be making no-bake cherry cheese cake and chocolate cupcakes with white frosting.  You can use the cheese cake recipe I will provide or use one of your own.  Likewise, you can use your own chocolate cupcake recipe or a mix.  Likewise, you can make your own frosting or use a pre-made one.  I will give you details re: amounts later.  Let me know now which you wish to make for February.

Thank you for all that you do!

Bev
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CARAMEL (BLOND) BROWNIES
Recipe provided by Mary Ann Wordsworth

350 degrees     25-30 minutes
9 x 13 pan, greased

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 cup butter +2T
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup nuts

Melt butter
Add sugar and cool
Add eggs and vanilla; beat
Add dry ingredients ; beat altogether
Add nuts; Pour into pan and bake.  When cool, cut into 16 bars and place each bar into a bag.

Some people like to add chocolate or butterscotch bits to blonde brownies.  You can if you want to, but it isn’t necessary.  These are truly delicious as they are.  Thank you, Mary Ann!

Cherry & Chocolate Chip Muffins

Based on a recipe by Charishma Ramchandani, as found on Recipezaar.com

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Grease 16 muffin cups or use liners

Combine in a bowl :

1¼ C cherries, quartered

¾ C chocolate chips

½ C chopped walnuts

 In a large bowl combine:

2 C all-purpose flour

1/3 C light-brown sugar, packed

1/3 C sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

In another bowl, stir together:

2/3 C milk

½ C butter, melted and cooled

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

 Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and stir just to combine.  Stir in the chips, cherries and nuts.

Spoon into muffin cups and bake 15 – 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean when inserted.

Remove muffin tins to wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.  Remove muffins from tins to finish cooling.  When cool, place each muffin in a bag.
  

FFF Meal Count for this Saturday, plus menu!

From: Charlotte Buijnarowski <charlottecb@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 7:30 PM
Subject: FFF Meal Count for this Saturday, plus menu!
To: ...

Meal count:  64 as of today.

Menu sent from Steve (yummy!):

Saturday

mushroom and broccoli quiche

sweet potatoes

peas

peaches

desert ?

Sunday

tuna salad

pineapple chunks

desert ?

We picked up some blue berries (30lb. for the bakers) and I need to call or email Bev.

see ya soon

Steve

We now have a crew for Jan. 19 - From Gail Mailhott-Foster

From: Gail Mailhott-Foster [mailto:gemfoster@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 13, 2010 6:57 AM
To: …
Subject: We now have a crew

Thank you for your quick response  

Margit     8:00

Cindy      8:00

Jan         8:00

Larry Dziedriz   welcome to the crew   11:00 for clean up

See you all there      
--
Enjoy the day
Gail

Food For Friends - Weekend - From Gail Mailhott-Foster

From: Gail Mailhott-Foster [mailto:gemfoster@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 7:22 PM
To: ...

Subject: Food For Friends weekend

Hello all, now that the holidays are behind it is more important than ever to think of others, and in doing so, it is our weekend to serve meals.  I am looking for so willing persons to help out in the kitchen on Saturday morning.  We will need three persons at 8:00 and  one person at 11:00.  Can anyone help me out?  Email your responses please.

Take and Eat, Inc. - Request for your Vote for Funding from Berkshire Bank

Dear Weekend Meals Ministry Coordinator for the Take and Eat, Inc. Program,

On December 16 I sent each of you a request for assistance in a Grant we are seeking that is being offered by Berkshire Bank Foundation to 4 community non-profits. Essentially, the $20,000 that will be equally shared by the four recipients will be awarded to the "top 4 vote-getters".  A copy of that request with details can be found below and it is also detailed on our website: www.takeandeat.org  The Deadline for Voting is January 31, 2010.

Gladys, the Parish Secretary for Most Holy Redeemer – Hadley, was gracious enough to contact the Berkshire Bank Foundation on our behalf and advises that the Foundation will accept on-line as well as mail in votes.  In order to assist us, Gladys furthered the voting opportunity by creating a ballot which can be used by those individuals who wish to vote but don't have access to a computer. Instructions are also furnished on this ballot for those individuals who can vote on-line.  I am attaching this form which you may personalize with your Parish/Meals Ministry name and would very much appreciate your furnishing a ballot to your clients and parishioners. Those clients who wish to vote can return their ballot to their weekend driver who should provide it to you (Meals Ministry Coordinator) to turn in to the Parish office.  Those votes can be sent in to the Berkshire Bank Foundation:

Berkshire Bank Foundation, Inc.  P. O. Box 1308  Pittsfield, MA 01202 Attn: "$20,000 Non- Profit Vote"

with those collected by parishioners in the weekend collection baskets.   If it is agreeable to the individual parishes, as Most Holy Redeemer is doing, this ballot/information could be included in the Parish Bulletin as an insert.  I have copied those parish offices for whom I have email addresses to "put them on board" so they will have a heads up when you contact them.

As stated in my earlier correspondence, Take and Eat is competing with the "big boys" and we need as much support as we can obtain.  $5,000 would greatly assist us in sustaining and growing this Meals Ministry to our Homebound Senior Communities – as many of you realize, we are currently providing all of the packaging supplies to the majority of our sites through another Grant we were awarded last year from Bank of America and Community Foundation of Western Mass.  However, as our client base continues to grow, obviously so do those costs to expand it. 

We greatly appreciate your assistance and thank you for continuing to "put shoes on the Gospel Message" through Take and Eat's mission of "people feeding people".  Thank you and God Bless,

Deacon Frank and Kathleen Ryan

Take and Eat, Inc.

www.takeandeat.org

Blessed and Happy New Year from Take and Eat from Kathleen Ryan

A very blessed and happy, healthy and peaceful New Year to each of you, your volunteers in the Meals Ministry Programs and your families from Deacon Frank and me – we cannot begin to thank you enough for your dedicated works in this program serving the homebound senior community in Berkshire County (North Adams, Adams, Cheshire, Pittsfield, Williamstown) and the Pioneer Valley (Greenfield, Turners Falls, Chicopee, Ludlow, S. Hadley, Granby, Hadley, North Hadley, Easthampton, Holyoke)…thanks to you and your volunteers devoted and selfless efforts, over 30,000 meals were delivered during 2009 to over 1600 clients…you are all truly “putting shoes on the Gospel Message” and we and all of the clients being served through your caring works of charity are blessed to have you part of this program. 

We look forward to a continuation of your collective works in this ministry during 2010 as well as the expansion of this ministry through the participation of others in faith based communities throughout the Commonwealth.

Blessings for a Happy 2010,

Deacon Frank and Kathleen

Take and Eat, Inc.

                        “People Feeding People”