How many people can you serve out of your kitchen in a day?
If I work really hard, enlist my event-planning daughter, the stars align and it doesn’t rain, I can serve about 40 people inside and outside and then need a two-day recovery period!
So how about serving 3,000 meals a day? What size kitchen would that take? And who needs to serve that many meals? Mobile Meals does!
Mobile Meals, the volunteer feeding program, packs and delivers 3,000 daily meals to seniors, at-risk youth, people with disabilities and other individuals in Knox and six surrounding counties, all out of one kitchen!
For 20 years the kitchen was 9,600 square feet, which sounds big enough but it was dated and long overdue to be upgraded.
David Decker of Holston Construction bid on the project and was selected. According to Karen Estes, director CAC Transit/Mobile Meals Kitchen, “They did an excellent job.”
(I have insider information on David Decker. He happens to know how to plan cooking for the masses as you can see from the picture as he regularly is also head “grill chef” at Fountain City Presbyterian cookouts.)
The makeover added 2,837 square feet and features added community space, packing room and updated equipment. The community room offers new opportunities to train incoming volunteers, host community meetings and facilitate events.
Mobile Meals received several other upgrades to their program including five new vehicles to help with delivery, and U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett secured $500,000 in community project funding to replace and upgrade specialized kitchen equipment.
The event was attended by government and community leaders, Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel and Fire Chief Stan Sharp. David Decker of Holston Construction is front right.
Say Cheese!
I know I smile when I say “Cheese!”
Everyone smiles when they say Knoxville Cheese Fest is back and the weekend-long event from March 24-25 will give opportunities to sample local, domestic and international cheeses and learn from World Cheese Judge, Michael Landis, on how to pair cheeses with other foods and drink. Connect here for information on how to get tickets to specific events.