The kitchens at Georgian College have been bustling with activity as close to 40 second-year culinary students steamed, stirred, mashed and cooked 200 turkey dinners with all the fixings.
The students, who are part of the college’s culinary programs, spent three days prepping in the labs at the Barrie campus getting ready to serve the special holiday lunch to clients of the David Busby Centre, an initiative that has been taking place for the last 17 years.
“At the beginning, it was just a big community initiative that was planned by the Busby Centre,” said Chef Philip Leach, coordinator of culinary programs at Georgian College.
He said, initially, all food items were donated by local businesses and members of the community and the students would then cook up a big buffet spread that was served out of the church.
Leach said although the program had only planned on participating that first year, it has ended up becoming an annual tradition that not only helps those in need in the community, but also serves as a learning experience for students.
“It was originally based on volunteering, but now we have actually built it into our labs," explained Leach.
"The second-year students, in their final week of classes, get to participate in this event,” he said, noting approximately 40 students between five different classes took part.
This year, due to the pandemic, Leach said they were able to get the food items from their suppliers instead of asking the community to bring in items.
Students made 200 “to-go” meals, which consisted of turkey and gravy, stuffing, vegetables, mashed potatoes, bread, buns and butter - and a berry crumble for dessert.
All of the leftover bulk food, he added, was donated to the local soup kitchen.
Leach, who has been involved in the initiative since the very beginning, said although the last two years have brought some challenges, he and the students felt it was important to keep the initiative going.
“It’s very meaningful for them. Before, we used to go and serve the meals… and the gratification from that was really overwhelming because working in the industry, you don’t get a lot of that feedback and positive energy,” he said.
“This way, (recipients) were really expressing their gratitude directly to the students that were cooking the meal. It really does hit your heart when (people) show their appreciation for what the students have done.”
Busby Centre executive director Sara Peddle told BarrieToday the organization is grateful for the efforts of the college and its students.
“Every year their generosity and hard work shines for the Busby Centre. The students prepare the most amazing meals with such care for the people who are staying within our shelter program and who use our outreach program,” she said.
“It means a great deal to us year after year to see the consistency of this amazing program and the joy that it brings to everyone. Thank you to all the students and faculty involved for making our holidays brighter in a very challenging time," said Peddle.
Leach added the department intends to continue the initiative as part of its curriculum and part of its courses.
“I think this is really important for (students) to understand that sense of community and community service.”
