Fresh Blackberries

Volunteers Mary and Leah with the best blackberries.

Guests at today's Wednesday Community Meal were treated to the best blackberries I have ever tasted, and I mean it. They were biggest, sweetest and juiciest blackberries and amazingly they were free thanks to our wonderful volunteer gleaners Ed, Joe and Bill who found them for us at The Oregon Food Bank.

The blackberries were in perfect condition.

Usually the gleaned produce we receive is good but in all honesty needs to be eaten ASAP. I seriously don't know these blackberries ended up at the food bank because they weren't even close to going bad. They were in their prime and we had four flats of them!  We used them to garnish the salads and also served them as a dessert option along with homemade marble cake made by volunteer Cheryl. 

The beautiful salads we served today were made by volunteers John, Leah and Craig.

Our main entree today was pigs in a blanket made with all beef hotdogs and homemade crescent dough. We also served crispy tater tots which thrilled our guests. There were quite a few special requests for "another plate of tots," and we happily obliged. We had plenty of food and we weren't too busy with it being the first Wednesday of the month.

We served 215 meals today.

A pig in a blanket with tater tots and a tomato cucumber salad.

We were lucky to have the help of Isla Blue in the dining room. She worked with volunteer Mary Ann, serving the desserts.

Volunteer Linda who besides working in the kitchen, gleans for us each week from Good Samaritan Hospital and Phil's Uptown Meat Market, dished up every single bowl of the soup we served today.