November 19th, 2011: Chicago Health Corps Share-A-Meal (SAM) Event at Interfaith House

Post by CHC member, Neerja Joshi

After much coordination, much soliciting of donations, and much potato-boiling, the Chicago Health Corps was finally ready on Saturday, November 19^th to prepare and serve a three-course Thanksgiving-themed dinner to the sixty-four residents of Interfaith House, a facility that provides residential care for homeless men and women in medical recovery. Upon arriving at the facility, the CHC Members dove into preparing the following dishes for the residents:

Appetizer: Green bean casserole

Entrée: Split pea soup with ham and mashed potatoes

Dessert: Pumpkin pie

Accompanied by a refreshing bottle of mango juice



James and Lisa-Sun worked tirelessly to cook a massive amount of split pea soup while Farmer Sydney and Jessica showed the potatoes who was boss





Thankfully, after having prepared the soup, pumpkin pies, and boiling forty pounds of potatoes the night before, the CHC members mainly had to focus on preparing the casserole and potatoes. 

Or so they thought. 

It turned out that some of the residents had dietary restrictions, and would not be able to eat the pre-set menu items. Nevertheless, the CHC Members rose to the occasion and prepared separate dishes to accommodate these residents. Jessica even made an entire pot of delicious vegetable soup! 

While all of the cooking was happening in the kitchen some of the CHC Members relaxed with the residents in the dining area:

Matt, Robert, Sana, and Shermaine played a spirited game of Uno in the dining room while the dinner was being prepared

At 4:45, it was finally time to serve the meal to the residents. After all of our hard work, it was encouraging to see residents return for second helpings of casserole, soup, and pie. When we had finally finished cleaning the kitchen and were ready to depart for the evening, we were rewarded by a sincere chorus of thanks from the residents.  The CHC not only got this service project done, but we got it done extremely well. 

But wait! 

The CHC members would NEVER have been able to pull off such a successful dinner without the generous support of the following organizations: