Campus Kitchen at Marquette

It’s been a while, and I guess my New Year’s resolution in the kitchen will be to keep the blog a bit more up to date.  Let’s take a quick look back and see what we have done over the past year:

Last year, CKMU served 27,226 meals.  Let me say again, we served 27, 226 meals.  PHENOMENAL!!  I couldn’t be more happy at the work of our nearly 200 volunteers…unless that number was even higher.  Each of those 27, 226 meals represents a guest at the table – a person, who for a variety of reasons, is experiencing food insecurity.  These meals assisted the 326 women who sought treatment for substance abuse at Meta House.  These meals were key for our friends at the Goodwill Senior Meal Program, many of whom are living on a fixed income.   They are more than just meals, more than just a number.

Last summer, CKMU planted its first garden!!  Herbs and beans and tomatoes – oh my!  Our yields were enough to share with Casa Maria, a Catholic Worker Hospitality House just a few blocks from campus.  They were able to add the bit of organically grown goodness to meals for families staying there.  Our garden was small to start, but we have big ideas in the works for our next garden.

Last month, I had the opportunity to finish  my second class of Culinary Job Training in our partnership with HeartLove Place.  In the end, 17 students passed their ServSafe exam to graduate.  For some students, the final test was a big challenge as several students were taking it for the second or third time.  However, with an excellent co-teacher in Chef Dion and some hard work, all of the students experienced personal successes and did a great job.  Many of the students in the class had jobs by graduation, and by completing the class and getting their ServSafe certification, they would have more opportunities in the future.

Last night (I know this isn’t a part of our last year wrap-up, but just go with it), I was at Children’s Hospital with the Families Matter program through The Foundation for Children with Cancer.  I’ve written about our meal at Children’s  before and the life-affirming work that we get to participate in there.  We showed up with homemade burritos, seasoned rice, fresh fruit and veggies and more than a few sweets for dessert  in hand.  Just as we were about to start cleaning up, a woman came by and asked how long we were serving; she had to stop by the room and check in with her daughter and did not know how long it would take.  She looked bone-tired.  We told her that we could make up a couple of plates and bring them to the room.  A weak smile, followed by, ‘Do you need something?  A donation?’ – she wanted to know how to pay us.  Her eyes started to well up a little when we told her that it was free.  When your loved one is sick, especially a child, the last thing you need to think about is where to get dinner and how to pay for it.

For the past two years, I have had the honor to be a part of this awesome work.  I am amazed at the dedication of our Leadership Team and volunteers, and the commitment of our partner agencies.  And every day, I learn so much from our guests and their experiences.  I have my answer to a question posed by the poet Mary Oliver – “What is it you plan to do, with your one wild and precious life?”  As the new semester is about to begin, I hope yours includes the Campus Kitchen at Marquette.

A few months ago, I received an awesome voicemail from Lesley, who runs Jalyn’s Chapter of the Foundation for Children with Cancer.  She was wondering what CKMU did and if we could help with a program they were trying to get going at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.   I wasn’t familiar with Children with Cancer, but I personally have great love and respect for Children’s Hospital and the incredible care they provide.  Marquette University also has a long history of support for the hospital with Al’s Run.  My first thought was, “We have to do this.  We’ll figure out the details later, but we have to do this.”  I love that I work in a position that allows me to give back and support their work.

The main objective of The Foundation for Children with Cancer is to provide financial assistance to the families of children battling cancer.  Children with Cancer pays the mortgage, car payment or other bills that are difficult to keep up on when families are juggling doctors, treatment, insurance companies, home life and work (or time off from work) in the effort to support their children.  Depending on the current course of treatment, children (and their parents) can spend weeks or more at a time in the hospital.

Children with Cancer had a great program idea but they needed a little help – provide a home-cooked meal once a month for the families of the children undergoing cancer treatment at Children’s Hospital.  They called the idea Families Matter.  When the food options are the hospital cafeteria, a quick zip in the drive through (if parents are even able to leave the hospital) or arranging for visiting family members to come with dinner, it can be a challenge for the families of the children to eat healthfully.  A hot meal prepared with love at CKMU was the perfect way to show families at Children’s how important they are, how much they do matter and to help them be at their best for their children.

We weren’t sure exactly how it would go.  How many families would be there?  What should we make?  If the children in treatment were able to eat, what would they like?  Sharon, our super volunteer, helped cook up meat and potatoes, accompanied by green salad with a few fixings, lots of fruit, juice, pie and mini brownies.  For service at Children’s Hospital, we had a table by the nurses station in the HOT Unit (Hemotology, Ocology and Transplant).  As families were able, they joined us.  Some guests took a plate back in the room to be with their child.  Others were able to sit at the tables set up near our service table and enjoy a moment of nourishment, catching up with their own families members who were visiting, chatting with other parents and their children.  It was a chance to connect over food.  One little girl in fluffy white slippers and a sequined hat was excited about the apple pie; her mother was excited that she wanted to eat.  Later, they came back around, and the little girl gave us each a sticker.  My heart melted.

Last week, we had our third meal with Children with Cancer at Children’s Hospital.  There were so many beautiful moments of hope that I would like to share, but I’ll narrow it down to the top three.  The first was that one of the patients who was in seclusion the first two times we came for meal was able to join everyone in the hall, though he was too busy strolling around in his little wheelie-walker to notice that anything else was going on.  Another wonderful moment was when one of the mothers asked Lesley about her experience being the mother of a child who battled cancer.  There was a sense of calm and comfort that came over her face as she listened, a feeling that the next step in their journey was going to be okay.  However, the most amazing moment of our meal was by far the laughter.  A small boy and an even smaller girl were filling the unit with peals of laughter throughout the entire meal.  They were making faces at each other, holding hands and bouncing around on the floor.  It seemed as though they had made a game out of giggles.  Laughter like that is life-giving, soul-filling.  You can’t help but smile when pure joy bursts forth in belly laughs.  I’m not sure about anyone else, but the sound of their laughter made me feel that everything was going to be alright.

Many many many thanks to Lesley from Children with Cancer for helping coordinate this awesome program and to the doctors and nurses of the HOT Unit who are providing such amazing care to all of the children.  And if you have a moment, send a prayer, love, good juju or whatever you believe in to the children and families we serve.  I’m already looking forward to next month…

A little background to today’s note – Sometimes, I cry during the news.  I fully embrace my role as a softie who sometimes cries during the news.  An additional note – I’m not always home in time to watch the 6 o’clock national news, so I podcast it and listen as I get ready in the morning.  But I usually don’t cry at the sad news.  No, I reserve my news-tears for the segments that make me overwhelmingly happy to be on this planet.  So this morning, I got a little teary-eyed about Tunisians.

During the final segment, the news team went to a refuge camp near the Tunisia-Libya border where Tunisians, on the heels of their own uprising, are helping Libyan refugees.  One man put it best by asking the reporter, “You are human?”  She answered yes.  He continued, “We are also humans.  So we are helping humans.  That’s all.”  Let that sink in for a second.

What a beautifully simple way to explain why we serve!  People helping people.  That’s all it is.  This ordinary Tunisian man travelled for over 6 hours from Tunis to the border with produce and canned goods to help other humans.  No question of tribe.  No question of political affiliation.  No question of age or gender.  No question of economic background or former employment.  The only question is, “Are you human?”  In an instant there is a connection – humanity – and a call to service.

At CKMU, we are also humans.  Just regular people in service for and with other people.  We are students of Marquette from all over the country and students of all ages from the School of Compassionate Living.  CKMU guests are of all ages, races, ethnicities and backgrounds.  Our worldviews may be different.  Our life experiences may be different.  Our political viewpoints and affiliations may be different.  Our connection is our common humanity, and that, I believe, is much more important than any of those other things.  It is what makes strangers at the table into brothers and sisters sharing a meal.

(Quick sidenote – My inner nerd is telling me that humanity isn’t just for humans only – think of all the interesting creatures in Star Wars and other sci-fi.  We aren’t talking about them.  Since there aren’t any hungry Ewoks in Riverwest, we won’t even touch that one in this post.  On the other side of that coin, humanity isn’t always very present in some humans)

And this is your challenge – be a human in service to other humans.  There are many ways to go about doing this.  One way is to email ckmu@campuskitchens.org to see how you can serve with us (or one of our agency partners).  If food is not your thing, call the Marquette University Center for Community Service (414-288-4327) to find a volunteer site fits your interests; they have contact with hundreds of service and non-profit organizations throughout Milwaukee.  Just get out there and serve.