Project Share Dinner

by Jasmine McBeath

Last Tuesday I spent the majority of my day chopping--onions, tomatoes, squash, mushrooms, and potatoes. As I'm still learning the art of cooking, I was more than happy to cut veggies and take orders from our head chef Kathy Chavez. And, under her fearless direction, we prepared food for 180 people at Project Share in a little under four hours.

It all began when one of our volunteers, Pat Zimmerman, asked if Oxfam could partner with a local organization to provide fresh produce to hungry people. Everyone thought applying the GROW Method was a great idea, so Pat and Kathy met with the director of Project Share the next week and learned more about the nonprofit that has been feeding hungry people in Albuquerque for almost thirty years. I was impressed to learn that Project Share is open six nights a week and serves nearly 40,000 meals a year. Plus, almost all their meals come from the generosity of churches and civic groups. 

The meeting was a great intro to Project Share. We still need to discuss further the idea of delivering produce on a regular basis and increasing community participation at the on-site garden. Long-term, we recognize it's important for Oxfam to partner in a way that raises awareness, educates, and empowers the community. For the time being though, we learned a lot about the site and had a great time preparing and serving dinner at Project Share on Tuesday.

We took on the challenge of creating a GROW meal from donations, farmers market produce, and a few choice meat and cheese items. We made enchiladas (more veggie than meat), rice, refried beans, calabacitas, papas, green chili, and served these with a side of watermelon and fresh green salad. 

Diners had nothing but compliments and many sang praises to the New Mexican flavors. Others appreciated the flowers in recycled glass bottles that decorated each table. I was grateful for everyone's help in the kitchen and the team effort that transformed so many raw ingredients into a wonderful meal.  I believe Pat said it best with, "It was hot, intensive work, but all involved came away with a full stomach and a little more joy in their hearts. We look forward to another foray into the battle against hunger."

Thank you!

Dinner Organizers/Coordinators

Kathy Chavez and Pat Zimmerman

Head Chef

Kathy Chavez

Project Share Employees

Ernest Jaramillo and Noel Aragon

And a shout out to our WONDERFUL volunteers!

Gloria

Jasmine

Jesse

Kalen

Kathy

LaVita

Pat Z.

Patricia B.

Tessa

Tomas