Hillside Students Get Cooking To Feed Homeless

Fourth and fifth grade students in Hillside's Greener Tomorrow course prepared a full course meal for MESH—Montclair Emergency Services for the Homeless on Wednesday, June 13.

Approximately 15 students and several parent volunteers donated ingredients and time to help members of our community. The menu included an appetizer of white bean dip with whole wheat pita chips, gazpacho soup, spinach and strawberry salad, chicken marbella as the main course, and sweet potato, oatmeal and chocolate chip bars for dessert. Eight students from the class also prepared the dining room, served the meal, and shared in conversation with the guests later that evening at the Unitarian Universalist Church. The meal was enjoyed by about 30 community members.

The Greener Tomorrow course enables students to identify environmental problems within their community and then prepares them to take responsible social action. Course content is driven by student values. This particular opportunity evolved from the previous learning cycle where students were concerned with school lunch from the perspective of waste, nutrition, social interaction, and the farm-to-table continuum.

Building on some of these components, students wanted to serve members of the community who were in need of a healthy meal. With guidance from Alma Schneider of Take Back the Kitchen, the class created a menu, utilized signupgenius.com to gather materials and volunteers, and got cooking!

The aromas eminating from the kitchen were fabulous. The students truly prepared a gourmet meal. Overall the students approached this service learning opportunity with enthusiasm, respect, and a deep commitment for helping members of our community.