Yellow Pages
MOUNT VERNON — On an otherwise deserted campus Thursday, the students of Skagit Valley College’s culinary arts program cooked for a crowd.
The school’s Culinary Hospitality Education Foundation club, or C.H.E.F., has been making Thanksgiving dinners for area families for nearly two decades, said chef Martin Hahn, co-chair of the Culinary Arts Department.
Hahn arrived at the campus at 4 a.m. to get the turkeys cooking. He was soon joined by a battery of students to finish the feast.
Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society at Skagit Valley College, stood ready to take over once the 20 turkeys and dozens of tubs of cranberry sauce, hot mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes and more came off the stove and out of the ovens. Society members take the meals to 20 families, totaling nearly 150 people, for free.
It’s a community service and a learning opportunity, said student and C.H.E.F president Regina Kalandros.
“Sometimes it’s selfless acts that people need to learn,” said Kalandros, as she affixed labels to boxes that would soon be filled with food for the families.
Hahn has been with the school for 14 years, and his daughter Cecily Hahn, 18, has had gravy duty since she was 5 years old and not much taller than the massive whisk used for the job. On Thursday, Cecily, a senior at La Conner High School, showed 8-year-old Kalilah Dozsa how to pour in the packets of gravy and give it a stir.
Kalilah’s mother, Keri, is a student in the culinary program and took Martin Hahn’s suggestion that the aspiring chefs get their families involved.
The college’s clubs joined service organizations across the area that delivered hot turkey dinners and dessert to hundreds of people Thursday.
The Anacortes Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary No. 249 planned to deliver food to 225 people and feed another 300 at a community dinner. The Skagit Valley Eagles in Burlington and community groups in Sedro-Woolley also hosted meals and delivered them to those who could not get out.
Kelly Heiberg, coordinator of the Anacortes Eagles dinner, said her volunteers cater to the elderly and others who do not leave the house for Thanksgiving dinner.
The delivery volunteers must be prepared to stay a while, she said. Each to-go meal is packed with a place mat and centerpiece made by local children, and volunteers are encouraged to set up the Thanksgiving spread and sit down, as well.
“Don’t just ring the doorbell and drop the meal and then go away,” she said. “It is about spending time with them.”
For the Skagit Valley College students, the meals are dropped off quickly. Their dinners are meant to be served to a crowd, with each home receiving two boxes packed with family-sized portions.
The largest gathering served by the students numbered 11 this year and the smallest was three.
