Gastrophilanthropy Demonstrations Daily in EECM Soup Kitchen

Written by: Tim Brown, Community Relations Coordinator

Stephen Henderson is a free-lance journalist based in New York City. He is in the process of traveling the globe doing research for a book on GASTROPHILANTHROPY - the giving away of food to those in need. He recently chose East End Cooperative Ministry in Pittsburgh's East End to see what we do, how we do it and who we serve.

Mr. Henderson spent two days at EECM to pick the brains of various staff members, volunteers and EECM clients to find out how many we serve, how much food we give away, why volunteers do what they do and spoke with some clients to learn their stories. During his travels, Mr. Henderson likes to practice what he researches so he did a little GASTROPHILANTHROPY of his own.

In addition to being a journalist/writer, Mr. Henderson is also a food and cooking enthusiast. Day one was spent seeing how our kitchen operates. Day two was go time and the kitchen was his to prepare the lunchtime meal at EECM's Soup Kitchen.

Stephen (left) and his niece Amy are joined by volunteers Erika and Larissa with Kenny, EECM staffer in the background as they begin to prepare the meal.

Mr. Henderson went shopping at Whole Foods Market, an EECM supporter, to do his shopping for the freshest and tastiest ingredients for his menu. In the picture above, fresh fruit with sour cream and brown sugar is given the final touches for lunch.

The menu also consisted of penne pasta with sweet sausage, fresh peppers and basil. A fresh cut romaine salad with tossed by hand with a homemade olive oil viniagrette. As per usual, desserts and pastries were provided by the daily donations we receive from Giant Eagle Market District in Shadyside and Whole Foods Market.



Lunchtime! The meal was delicious and close to 100 were served on this day. The soup kitchen serves between 70 and 125 on average with numbers increasing towards the end of the month regardless of the time of the year.

Are you a GASTROPHILANTHROPIST? Become one and volunteer today at EECM!

'Chilly' in August

Written by: Tim Brown, Community Relations Coordinator

Not the brrr it is cold kind of chilly, but rather the kind that heats you up. Engine and Truck Co. No. 8 in East Liberty challenged the chefs at Giant Eagle Market District to a Chili Cook-Off! This epic battle took place last week at the Citiparks East Liberty Farmers' Market with the proceeds to be divided between East End Cooperative Ministry and the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

The firemen at No. 8 and the chefs at Market District each made two different kinds of chili with the winner to be declared by those in attendance after they sampled each chili. Many were in attendance because 30 gallons of chili was eaten in just over two hours!

And the winner was... Dragon Breath Chili from Engine and Truck Co. No 8! Congratulations to the firemen and to the chefs for making such great chili! The true winners were the kids that are helped through the MDA and EECM's Children & Youth Programs!

Special THANKS to...

Chef David Kukasky, Chef Mike Bond and Josh Borgese from Market District for choosing EECM as their beneficiary!

Dan Barr, Jim McGinley, Dan Doyle, Matt Bachner, Matt Schmitt, Mike Skruch and all the men from Engine and Truck Co. No. 8!

ROCKin' Day Camp

Written By: Dominique Dobson, Education Program Coordinator


As EECM's ROCK Campaign, which helps fund our Children & Youth Programs, continues through August 31st, Summer Day Camp is in the final week and we are sad to see it come to an end. Last week's playground lesson for campers focused on perseverance. Today's children and youth deal with a tremendous amount of pressure, not only from their peers, but society as a whole. Learning how to persevere through the 'tough stuff' will prepare them for life's unpredictable journey.

This week in camp we are preparing for our end of camp production. Campers will use song, dance and drama to recap all of the playground lessons and put them into action on Thursday, August 4th at East Liberty Presbyterian Church's Social Hall. At 6:00PM, all campers will take the stage to perform for family and friends. (116 N. Highland Ave., 15206)

Camp concludes on August 5th when all campers will relax and unwind with a roller skating extravaganza!

Last week at camp...

Lions and tigers and bears. Oh My! All campers went to the Pittsburgh Zoo.

The 5-8s saw birds they had never seen at the National Aviary and planted flowers at Phipps Conservatory.

The 5-10s finished their week at Idlewild Park.

The 11-12s went to Fun Fore All and took a trip to Kennywood Park.

The 13-16s conquered the Wave Pool and completed their week with a great trip to Cedar Point in Ohio.

And of course, everyone took a dip in the pool to stay cool at Highland Park!

This has been a truly amazing Day Camp! As camp closes, we hope all of our campers enjoy the remainder of their summer and the upcoming school year. Many thanks to those of you who support our programs throughout the year and through our ROCK Campaign.