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

The Year In Review

Last month marked the end of the 2012 Action Corps season. The overwhelming success of last year means there's a lot to live up to, though I'm confident there are good things in store for 2013. Before we move on, I want to take a moment to recognize all we've accomplished this past year.




Nationwide, Oxfam Action Corps gathered over 10,000 petition signatures, did 105 lobby visits, organized 503 events, and performed outreach at 142 concerts, farmers markets, and campus events. 2012 ushered in the second year of the global GROW movement and the unveiling of the Behind the Brands campaign.

The momentum behind the Behind the Brands campaign is especially significant. Nestle, Mars, and Mondelez agreed to major policy changes less than two months after OAC volunteers took to the streets to demand fair treatment for women. Considering there are 40 million farmers whose livelihoods depend on cocoa, and these companies control 30 percent of the market, these are some big changes. 


Here in Albuquerque we were proud to participate in the Behind the Brands unveiling and year-long promotion of the GROW Method. World Food Day events in October were a highlight, with outreach to restaurants serving local food and our first big community dinner made from Growers Market leftovers.

Coordinating the 100 person Hunger Banquet and presenting at the IMPACT Conference was equally rewarding. We've also made some great partners with Bread, Nourish, Community Bricolage, Interfaith Power and Light, Food Corps, and more. Finally, I'm excited for more volunteer fun with picnics, Explora Science of Food nights, and movie screenings such as Half the Sky. We couldn't have pulled off any of our events without support from headquarters and our wonderful team of committed volunteers, so to them I owe a big thank you.  
 
Whew--what a stellar year! Here's a look at what's in store and more about our incoming co-leads:

Katherine Chavez was born and raised in New Mexico. She joined the US Navy at age 19 and served four years before moving to Hanford, California where she worked as a bartender at a Mexican restaurant. Kathy currently works as a pediatric nurse at the University of New Mexico Hospital. She became involved with Oxfam at Albuquerque’s downtown growers’ market and later found herself volunteering in a kitchen full of great fresh food and wonderful, fun people. Kathy is excited to join the New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps as a new co-organizer and can't wait to do outreach at concerts and the Growers Market.

Jasmine McBeath is from Arizona, but moved to Albuquerque a year ago. She works at Big Brothers Big Sisters, offering support to volunteers, families, and children. She finds the work extremely rewarding (with the added benefit that it helps her practice her Spanish). When she returned from her year in Brazil, she wanted to continue learning about development work and low-and-behold she found Oxfam. She has been a leader for the New Mexico Action Corps this past year and is thrilled to be back on board. Jasmine is looking forward to training new volunteers and organizing a big community dinner on World Food Day in October.

And we can't forget last year's organizers, back for more OAC action!

Kalen Olson was a peer facilitator for the spring Oxfam Action Corps training in DC. This past year, she organized with Jasmine for the New Mexico chapter and worked as Alumni Relations Coordinator at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy. She loves food and teaching hip-hop. Here she is pictured with her brother Ryan, back home in Washington at the Fort, celebrating the 4th of July at the biggest fireworks display west of the Mississippi. Kalen is excited to keep spreading the word about Oxfam's work through restaurant outreach and tabling around town. 

Dinner at the Dismas House

by Jasmine McBeath

Half a year after meeting Kathy Chavez, our community chef extraordinaire, I'm still wowed by how she can put together a meal from whatever food is laying around the kitchen, including those pesky leftovers challenging you from the fridge. This past Friday I saw Kathy in her element as she coordinated from the kitchen of the Dismas House. I was content chopping vegetables, while other Oxfam volunteers plus Dismas' staff and residents prepared appetizers, dessert, and side dishes.

I first learned about the Dismas House from Greg Heilers, one of our Oxfam volunteers. Greg is part of the house staff and told me how the program helps adults on probation and parole transition into society. On Friday I received the full tour and learned there are actually multiple buildings on the property that house 17 residents at any time and almost 100 residents throughout the year. Their Volunteer Dinner Program is a way for residents to meet new people and network for jobs and housing opportunities. For us, it was a fun way to spend a Friday evening, with good food and even better company.


One resident from Las Cruces lamented that the red chile made him miss home. Most everything from the dinner was local following the GROW Method, from the beans harvested in Estancia to the carrots grown at Skarsgard Farms. Kathy even provided a healthy twist on local recipes such as turkey adovada, a delicious dish made with potatoes, red chile and turkey. Of course, no meal would be complete in New Mexico without either red or green chile. We were lucky enough to have both.


 We started talking about New Mexico in the context of food, and soon we were discussing water rights, conservation, and solar power. A number of Dismas House residents had experience installing solar panels and were passionate about the environment.  We also touched on things everyone can do, such as eating less meat or using less water when cooking or brushing your teeth.

More importantly, we shared our experiences and what brought us to Albuquerque. Kalen and I were particularly moved by a resident who said he's extremely grateful to be where he is now and couldn't be more excited to live his life. It was a good reminder for me, and at the end of the night, I felt the same way.

Thank you Dismas House for the warm welcome!


And...a final shout out to our volunteers: Greg (pictured above), Pat, Kathy, and Kalen

Celebrating as a Community

 

The time to vote has come and gone, right? Not true, according to Foodology star Greg Gould, who claims we vote three times a day, probably more. That’s because you’re making an economic, political, and social justice choice every time you raise a fork to your mouth. 

For instance, if Americans in urban areas bought two fair trade chocolate bars a month, it could benefit 30,000 small-scale farmers. Or, if we were to join families in the Philippines, India, Brazil, Spain, and the UK in cooking more efficiently, the benefit would be the same as planting 540 million trees and letting them grow for 10 years. 

My favorite part about this worldwide GROW movement is that it’s not overwhelming. The idea is to think global, act local. It’s not hard to save food, cook smart, or eat a little less meat. It’s also reasonable to expect us to eat seasonally and support small-scale farmers.

Oxfam’s been talking a lot about the GROW Method this fall, so we decided to practice what we preach in a big way. Two weekends ago, we celebrated our first World Food Day Community Dinner. We partnered with six different nonprofits, received donations from a dozen farms, and put twenty volunteers to work in shifts from 10am to 10pm. Everyone came away saying how wonderful the food tasted and with a greater understanding of how eating locally can make a global impact. 

Kalen and I were lucky enough to see it through from beginning to end. The day started with picking up produce at the Downtown Growers Market. Our community chef Kathy met me there and we visited each booth from 11am-1pm requesting leftovers. The farmers were incredibly generous and helpful, offering what they didn’t think other growers would have and making sure we came out with what we needed to pull off the meal. We left with watermelons wedged below the seats, baguettes leaned against the doors, and greens draped across the seats. Boxes of cauliflower, squash, and tomatoes called shotgun, paper bags full of potatoes and apples filled the truck, and mini pumpkins spilled out the back.

I have to admit it was a little overwhelming when we laid all the food out on the counter in the church. Then something magical happened. Our community chef Kathy transformed into a contestant on one of those cooking show competitions. Challenge: make food for 100 people using the ingredients in the kitchen with only 6 helpers in under 5 hours. But unlike the people on those shows, everyone seemed to maintain their composition. Every time I glanced over, I saw people hard at work, but smiling.

And then, suddenly, it was dinnertime. Volunteers set out frothy watermelon juice in a glass punch bowl next to pitchers of sun tea. The produce from the counter (plus the donation from the Co-opt) became spicy pumpkin soup, chicken stew, bruschetta, shepherd’s pie, beans with tortillas, squash and greens, green chile bread, baguettes, and half a dozen different salads. The dessert table screamed fall with its peach squares, apple brown betties, dark chocolate covered apple slices and pumpkin pudding.

As I walked around, I heard great things about the food, and was happy to see people using the food icebreaker questions. There’s nothing like food to get strangers talking. 

        

When it came time to pledge GROW, some people said they will try Meatless Mondays, others vowed to chop vegetables and meat into smaller pieces for shorter cook times, and still others promised to buy CSAs and shop at the farmers market. Keynote speaker Greg Gould shared insight into fixing the food system by improving our personal quality of life and health. I liked how Greg acknowledged that each person is an expert as far as their own personal food preferences. We already know what we like to eat, now we just have to think about the best way to go about it. Greg’s talk tied in family food traditions, teaching children to cook, and what we can learn from planting trees. He’s a very engaging speaker, so I recommend hearing his speech, recorded by Peter Gallo at Kimchi Farms.  

At the end of the night the cleaning crew came to the rescue. Right in line with the GROW Method, we didn’t have to throw anything away. With hoards of hungry guests, there weren’t many leftovers. Anything extra was split between volunteers while the kitchen scraps went to the pigs at Kimchi Farms.

I really couldn't have wished for a better event! I owe a great deal to so many people and groups, but I'd especially like to recognize Kalen Olson, who took charge and was a fantastic event director, and Kathy Chavez, our awe-inspiring head chef.

By Jasmine McBeath

THANK YOU!

Donors

Bosque Baking Company

Brown's Family Farm

Clay Trafton Farm

Frost Hill Organics

Granja Para Mañana

Harvest Gifts

La Montanita Co-opt

La Quiche

Macias Farm

Magos Farm

Majestic Valley Farm

Moore Family Farm

St. Thomas of Canterbury Church

Collaborators

Amnesty International

Bread for the World

Community Bricolage

Food Corps

Foodology

Nourish International

Oxfam Action Corps

Community Chef

Kathy Chavez

Guest Speaker

Greg Gould

Photographer

Rene Ronquillo