From Captain Linda Ariel

On March 6, 2018, the MESH Cafe at Shomrei welcomed 23 guests to join us at a sumptuous four course meal. We started with Pasta with Crudites, followed with an Asian Salad. The main course was delicious Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Vegetables, and Bread and Spread on the side. Dessert was plentiful with Fresh Fruit Salad, Home Baked Brownies, and Clementines. Our guests loved the food, especially the meatloaf, and asked for seconds and thirds. As they left, they thanked us all again for the warm welcoming environment and the good food.

Lynne Kurzweil prepared the meatloaf and roasted vegetables.  Merrill Silver made the salad and the brownies and clementines were courtesy of Linda Wieseneck.  Aileen Grossberg carefully orchestrated repurposing of leftover items.  We were ably assisted by Amalia, our veteran Shomrei teen volunteer who knows her way around the kitchen better than most and answered my questions when I was looking for items. Rebecca and Siobhan, our MESH interns from MSU, were upbeat and enthusiastic. Adrienne, Joe , and Mr. Tyson, who staffs overnight respite at MESH, rounded out the people who helped in making the evening a success.

Our guests ate four of the six meatloafs that were prepared. The other two were ‘repurposed” by Adrienne, who knew of some shut-ins who were not able to leave their homes last night. We included whatever other leftovers we had in the care packages. Adrienne seems to know the people in the community well and their backstories.

Behind the scenes, this meal felt quite meaningful for me. It blended the efforts of the community volunteers and professionals of MESH and our congregation who serve people in need. The food allowed us to repurpose all of the leftover food from Shomrei’s recent celebration of Dale Russakoff and our own IHN and Mensch Squad volunteers, which reinforced for me how one good deed leads to another.

A Plea from MESH Co-Chairs Lynne Kurweil & Aileen Grossberg:

Calling all Cooks!!! We need you to sign up for the coming weeks.  The schedule is empty and we need help….

Thank you in advance

To sign up to help, go to shomrei.org/mesh.

Have questions?