Helpful Reminders from the Kitchen
Our community is currently in the high “yellow” risk category indicating a moderate risk of COVID-19 spread. Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department has issued a Directed Health Measure (DHM) effective August 26, 2021 which states “Any individual or entity which owns or operated any building, business, or premises, other than a residence shall require all individuals to wear a face covering over their mouth and nose while indoors.” Therefore all Matt Talbot staff, volunteers, and guests are once again required to wear masks when in the facility. Guests dining in will be allowed to remove their masks when “seated to eat or drink, or while immediately consuming food or beverage” as per the new DHM.
This is the only change to our COVID protocol at this time.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Sydne (sydne.wirrick-knox@mtko.org or 402-817-0622).
Thank you for the additional support and help through these unusual times. Because of dedicated volunteers like you, our meal service has been uninterrupted during the pandemic. This is amazing! We appreciate your dedication and so do our guests.
Special Notes for Weekend Teams
- You are welcome to unlock the front doors early when the weather conditions are extreme. Just remember that each team will need to supervise the guests in the dining room if the off-duty officer is not yet present. You must remember that YOUR safety is of OUR greatest concern, so use your best judgement. The officers have also been notified that they are welcome to let our guests enjoy the comforts of the dining room.
- We will go back to our pre-pandemic weekend coverage plan and no longer have a staff member in the dining room for weekend meals. Staff will still rotate a weekend on-call shift and be available to teams should the need arise. Please remember to call our on-call pager number (402-473-0447). Follow the prompts and leave the best phone number where you can be reached. Wait for a call back from our on-call staff member.
- Additional volunteers (outside of your team) will be recruited to take care of the meal count, sanitize tables and chairs in the dining room, and empty the outside trash containers. Please continue to do a manual count of trays and takeout containers in case there is an error in the volunteer's count.
- Weekend teams are still responsible for removing the dining room trash, kitchen trash, and taking out the recycling. Don’t forget to put new liners in the trash containers and recycle bins.
- As always, please remember to complete the Daily Report form to help us track how many meals were served.
- In July we made several updates including reverting back to the east-west direction of the serving line, asking the "dine in or takeout" question, adding trays and silverware, and updating the Monday - Friday meal times. If you have questions, please refer to our July 2021 Newsletter or contact Sydne (402-817-0622 or sydne.wirrick-knox@mtko.org).
STRIVE COOKBOOK NOW AVAILABLE
This cookbook was inspired by our STRIVE Program (which started in 2014) and includes recipes for main course, soup, side dish, salad, dessert, and dressing & seasonings - all to serve 150 people! We hope these recipes encourage and inspire you to prepare healthy meals. All recipes follow the STRIVE Guidelines:
· Seasonal (or frozen) fruits and vegetables make up half the plate
· Only lean meats are used
· At least 1/2 of the grains are whole grains
· Fat-free or low-fat calcium-rich foods are offered
· Foods served are low in sodium
There is a laminated copy of the cookbook in the Matt Talbot kitchen for anyone to use. Since we would like to keep this copy in the kitchen, we would be happy to produce a copy for your individual teams. If you would like your own copy, please contact Sydne at sydne.wirrick-knox@mtko.org or 402-817-0622.
We have many of the recipes available below. Happy meal planning!
Selected STRIVE Recipes
-
Ground Beef Vegetable Soup (serves 150)
45 pounds ground beef
90 celery ribs, chopped
22 medium onions, chopped
90 medium potatoes, large dice
22 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
22 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 (72 ounce) bags of frozen mixed vegetables
2 3/4 teaspoon ground thyme
22 bay leaves
6 cups water, as needed
ground pepper to tasteDirections:
1. Cook and stir ground beef until crumbly and evenly browned. Drain off excess fat.2. Stir carrots, celery, and onion into ground beef, cook and stir until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, frozen mixed vegetables; season with black pepper. Stir mixture until evenly mixed. Add thyme and bay leaf. Add water, replenishing as needed while cooking.
3. Bring soup to a simmer, place a cover on, and cook, stirring regularly, until potatoes are tender, about 1 hour. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Calories: 451
Sodium: 550 mg
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
