St. Armands volunteers put their cooking skills to good use

The smell of fresh-chopped peppers and onions wafted through the kitchen of St. Armands Key Lutheran Church. Volunteers chatted while chopping away, their work punctuated by a call from Ernie Smith. 

"Hot tray coming through!" Smith called out as he brought a sheet pan of chocolate chip cookies from the oven to the counter. 

Th smell of chocolate chips quickly overtook that of the savory vegetables. The cookies remained on the counter, cooling until fellow volunteers later packed them away to be transported to Resurrection House.

Every month, community members get together to help cook a meal for the Sarasota-based organization. Resurrection House provides food, clothing, laundry services, court assistance, hygiene products and more for those who need it in the local area.

The menu the morning of July 23 included sloppy Joes, vegetables with butter sauce, tater tots, cookies and, as a fitting summer treat, ice cream.

As Karyn Smith cheerfully noted, many hands make light work. The team of 10, who arrived from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., finished dicing and sweating onions, slicing sweet peppers, browning ground beef, and baking hashbrowns and cookies in less than 30 minutes. 

Gayle Galloway, chair of the SAKLC Community Service Ministry, said many of the volunteers helping cook meals over the summer have been doing so for years. 

It is a well-established tradition at the church, but no one can quite say how long. The monthly meetups have occurred longer than any of the current volunteers even remember — at least for five years.

"It makes everyone feel good," she said of the get-togethers.

That morning, every volunteer wore two things in common — a hand-embroidered blue apron and a smile.

Before the ice cream could melt, a few of the volunteers packed the food in aluminum trays. They put everything in two cars and drove it over to Chef Pete Wallace, the kitchen manager at Resurrection House. 

The one-story building, located on Kumquat Court, already had people trickling into the cafeteria by the time the food delivery arrived. 

Wallace said the organization is grateful to the area churches that contribute such meals. They include St. Boniface Episcopal Church, St. Patrick Catholic Church, First Congregational Church of Sarasota, and Bayside Community Church's Fruitville Campus.

With their help, he can pop the food in warmers and line up plates for quick service, ensuring everyone gets to enjoy a piping hot meal.

"I do breakfast and lunch five days a week," he said. "It's normally for about 60 people. We do anywhere from about 45 to 75, depending on the day. The end of the month tends to be busier."

The kitchen has a monthly food budget for the majority of the food it provides, but he said contributions from the churches and pantry donations from fellow charitable groups, like All Faiths Food Bank, help cover costs and ingredients.

Balancing operating costs is imperative, especially considering the breadth of services Resurrection House offers, but he was happy to note the 501(c)(3) has been able to navigate current economic challenges.

Wallace formerly worked in several country club kitchens. While the experience feeding large groups at once has proved useful, he said he appreciates working in a position he finds particularly fulfilling.

Coming up with the menu can be a balancing act, but the chef said he always aims to offer something nutritious, calorie-dense and comforting, like lasagna, roasted chicken or potatoes au gratin.

One of his favorite days of the year is the Friday before Christmas, when organizers put together a holiday party and prize raffle.

Volunteer opportunities

While cooking skills are useful for the volunteers at St. Armands Key Lutheran Church, Galloway noted anyone is welcome to volunteer, especially those willing to help transport the food to Resurrection House. 

SAKLC works with several other local nonprofits, including the Safe Children Coalition, Second Chance Last Opportunity, Second Heart Homes, Pines of Sarasota Health Care Senior Care Facility and Harvest House.

On a bigger stage, organizers are looking for plenty of volunteers in November. That's when the church will pack nutritious meals to be sent out to those in need through Kids Against Hunger.

Last year, volunteers packed more than 20,000 meals, some of which were earmarked for families in Jamaica after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Melissa.

This year, with the support of donors, the church anticipates it will prep 50,000 packs.