Looking for Alternatives

[Guest guest]

On Wed. of this week, I am meeting with the staff person from my church who

is in charge of the coffee and donuts or sometimes cookies (and apple juice, I

think) that are served every Sunday. Years ago, this was really a sore point

with me because I used to have to argue with my kids about whether (or not)

they could have any each week. Eventually, they just gave up and it is no

longer an issue. Anyway, it still bothers me that although we nurture people

spiritually, we are not nourishing their bodies with all that junk. I happened

to

ask the guy who actually serves the food how he feels about it. He said that

he has had a heart attack and can't eat the stuff himself. He told me to talk to

the staff person in charge. She said she is watching her weight and never

touches it herself. We just serve coffee and donuts because that is the

tradition! I guess the idea behind it is that people (especially parents) can

bribe those members of their families who don't particularly care to come

(their kids for example) with a donut or cookie to make the trip worthwhile.

Now, I would like to think that we have more to offer than that, but that is

what I

am told-some people look forward to the " treat " . How did the donut industry

get themselves so ingrained with religion in the 1st place? What a marketing

success for them!

Anyway, I know she is going to ask me what we should be serving instead.

I had originally thought of cheese and crackers along with the apple juice and

coffee, but I personally would not eat any of the standard commercial kind of

crackers with hydrogenated fat and am myself getting more picky about the

kind of cheese I eat. Is it raw, grass-fed, hormone free, non-homogenized?

You know the concerns... Do I want to be responsible for starting something

that I can't ultimately feel good about? I had also considered Great Harvest

bread. It would be similar to the baked goods, but a " step up " from what they

currently get from Cub. Might be more expensive, but possibly we could serve

smaller portions. Who needs a whole donut or cinnamon roll for a snack? The

food needs to be self-supporting. In other words, there is no money in the

budget to fund this, it needs to be covered by free will donations. Great

Harvest is not open on Sunday mornings here, but I thought maybe we could

get a deal on their leftovers on Saturday eve. Of course, in that case, we could

not be guaranteed on type of product or quantity that we would receive and

it's not like I have even approached them yet to see if it is at all feasible.

My vision would be to serve something different every week or month- have a

display of seasonal vegetables or fruits (berries in the summer), maybe hard-

boiled eggs on Easter (maybe people get enough of eggs around that time-

but you get the idea). Of course the cost and preparation seem prohibitive.

And honestly, I have too many projects going to volunteer to take that on

myself.

Anyone have any practical ideas? I am open to taking steps in the right

direction in order to reach an ultimate goal. Maybe even just marginally

improving the nutrition but getting people to THINK about it is enough. . .

Thanks,

Kathy