Bringing community together over food

By Victoria Howell

More than one hundred people showed up at St. Mary’s Family Center in Stevensville recently to get a free lesson from local chef Eric Loessberg, along with a taste of the food he showed them how to prepare.
The event was organized by Rita Hall, who has been running a free summer meal program for Stevensville’s kids. She successfully applied for a grant from MT No Kid Hungry Share Our Strength to help increase future participation in the summer food program. Hall thought it would make sense to show the parents of the kids she’s been serving how to prepare simple but delicious, healthy and affordable meals from ingredients readily available at local grocery stores.
She chose the “Good and Cheap” cookbook with a cooking demonstration by Mission Bistro with the hope of bringing the community together over the issue of food security.
Hall was able to get 50 free copies of the book, “Good and Cheap – How to Eat Well on $4 a Day,” the runaway bestseller by Leanne Brown. (The cookbook can be downloaded for free and Brown also donates a free cookbook for every book sold.) Hall also secured 50 bags of donated ingredients for two of the book’s recipes, which participants would be able to take home after the cooking lesson.
What Hall perhaps didn’t count on was the drawing power of Chef Eric, who has put downtown Stevensville on the map with his wildly popular restaurant, Mission Bistro. People poured in, perhaps hoping to glean a tip or two from the master. Hall decided not to turn anyone away, and they ended up serving well over 100 people with food that was planned for 50. The food was cheerfully shared among all.
Loessberg chose two recipes from the cookbook, Creamy Zucchini Fettucine, and Caramelized Bananas (served with ice cream). According to Loessberg, the ingredients for the meal (to serve two people, according to the book) cost about $3 per person. He cooked the food on a hot plate in front of the crowd, even making fresh pasta from scratch. Then everyone enjoyed a meal of the same recipes, prepared earlier by Loessberg and his staff.
After the cooking demo, Hall said a few words about the summer meal program. Hall worked with the state’s Office of Public Instruction to develop the meal program. The free meals for kids 18 and under are paid for by the federally assisted USDA Child Nutrition Program. The Montana Office of Public Instruction administers the funds through the National School Lunch Program which includes the Summer Food Service Program. St. Mary’s Family Center, the host site, gets reimbursed based on the number of meals served.
Although the cost of the food is reimbursed, all the labor is volunteered. Hall says she serves anywhere from a dozen to over 60 children Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. throughout the summer. She tries to get additional food items donated so that she’s able to provide second servings and supplemental food for kids that want more, kids that might not have had a breakfast either.
Following the cooking demonstration, the audience gave Hall an enthusiastic round of applause for her efforts on behalf of the community’s needy children. Anyone wanting more information about the program can contact Hall at 546-8916.