Section D · Page 18
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, August 17, 1998
Restaurants donate leftovers for hungry
Salvation Army reaps benefits from merchants
By Chris Fickett Special to the Kansan
Three days a week, Teresa Corcornar feeds Lawrence's homeless and hungry at the Salvation Army, 946 NewHampshire St..
"This is my life," Corcoran said, as she dished out meat casserole, refried beans, green beans, canned pears, pineapple and fruit cocktail to regular patrons.
"Hi there, Fred. What can I get you, sir?" she asked one of them.
"Can I get some casserole?" Fred asked.
The bread Corcoran used to make the cheese sandwich is among the leftover foods donated from local stores and restaurants.
Lawrence's surplus food is part of the Salvation Army's programs. The organization relies on these donations to help feed the hungry.
Sometimes, though, donations aren't enough. Corcoran said.
She said she used donated food and bought food with money that was collected for the Salvation Army's feeding program to prepare each day's meal. The donations that came in to the Salvation Army usually set the menu for what she cooked.
"If we get a donation of taco seasoning then we'll go out and buy meat and make tacos," she said.
In addition to what Corcoran had prepared, food program patrons also dined on bread and bagels from the St. Louis Bread Company, pastries from Dillon's stores and pizzas from Pizza Hut stores.
Jonn Haughawout, manager of the
Pizza Hut at 834 Massachusetts St., said the donated pizza were part of the company's Harvester's Program. Each store donated leftover pizza from their buffets and from orders that had not been picked up to a selected charity, he said.
Pizza is one food where donations are not enough to feed an entire lunchtime crowd. Corcoran waits at least two or three weeks before she is able to serve the pizzas as a meal.
"Usually we don't get enough to feed everyone who comes in," she said. "So we freeze them until we have enough for a meal."
Other donations are determined by the amount of food remaining at the end of the day at local eateries.
Angela Love, manager of St. Louis Bread Company, 520 W. 23rd St., said that any leflower bread products went to charity at the end of each day, but that donations varied in quantity.
Each charity selected a day to pick up the leftover bread, she said. Participants included the Salvation
Army, First Step House and Clinton Place Apartments.
During lunch, Corcoran filled plates with casserole and vegetables, while plastic bags full of bread sat in the corner, uneaten. Because the Salvation Army accepted donations from whoever was willing to give, some food was scarcity, while other food, like bread, was plentiful.
Corcoran said it was hard to predict when a surplus of bread from Dillon's or St. Louis Bread Company would come.
"It just sits there," Corcoran said. "Hopefully someone can carry one of those bags home."
Corcoran said although Dillon's Stores donated sweet breads and pastries, it did not donate produce that was not up to sales standards.
Dorian White, produce manager at the Massachusetts Street Dillon's, said that the produce was inspected every day. Whatever produce did not meet the store's standards was pulled from the bins and offered at a
Dillon's policy of reducing waste is similar to that at the Union Food Service at the University of Kansas. At the University, leftovers sometimes become part of the next day's main course, rather than a snack for the hungry.
reduced price, he said.
food Service Manager Jay Glatz said they usually tried to recycle leftover food from catering or buffet events. Leftover vegetables were used in soups and stale bread was turned into croutons, he said.
"We try to make use of food in one form or another to try and reduce waste," he said. "Sometimes, if we have a surplus, we'll call a charity to come pick it up."
Glatz said in the past bulk potato chips had been donated to the Salvation Army.
Though potato chips would keep a long time, other food donations were perishable and were difficult to serve. Corcoran said sometimes it was difficult to store a surprise donation long enough to serve at lunch.
"If someone drops by something on Friday night, it has to keep all weekend in order for me to serve it for Monday lunch," she said.
During the winter, when the Salvation Army runs a homeless shelter, random donations find their way straight to hungry mouths. She said that an evening snack was offered to the shelter residents every night, and if a donation came at night, it would be served directly to shelter residents.
"The Masons always donate their leftover sandwiches and potato salad after their meetings," she said. "That's always something we can count on."
while the Masons' leftovers provide a late-night snack for shelter residents and donated pizzas from Pizza Hut can feed a hungry lunchtime crowd every few weeks, leftovers from Lawrence organizations and restaurants are not the answer for Lawrence's hungry. But they can help provide food that other donations cannot, including a cheese sandwich.
Students work in homes to help serve clients
By Melody Ard Special to the Kansan
House rule No. 15 says that Andi has to eat before she goes home. Andi Nyhoff, Hays senior, obediently fills her clients' plates and her own with the spaghetti she just cooked for dinner.
Nyhoff works 30 hours each week providing home health care to a 24 year-old Lawrence woman who has cerebral palsy and the woman's husband. Nyhoff's patients' identity is protected by confidentiality agreements, but she will willingly may say she has become part of the Lawrence family.
The rules that Nyhoff write help hang prominently on a wall in the living room. They cover things such as discipline of the cat, visiting hours and household behavior.
While they are not paid much more than minimum wage, students who worked regularly as caregivers said there were greater rewards than money, as well as some downsides to the job.
About 25 students, including Nyhoff, work as caregivers for Trinity Respite Care, 2400 W. 31st St., a Lawrence health care agency that provides caregivers for clients with disabilities or other special needs.
Lisa Ellis, a social worker for Trinity Respite Care, said the job was ideal for students majoring in physical or occupational therapy. One of the primary benefits of the job for students is the hands-on training it provides.
"This job lends itself well to people learning and working with others." Ellis said.
MORE INFO
Nyhoff began working for the family as one of her first jobs when she was hired by the agency in October.
Nyhoff's job description said she was supposed to spend four hours with the family each weekday evening cooking dinner, running errands and doing light housework such as cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming.
"They usually like me to stay the full four hours each night," she said. "Sometimes we use the time,
Working for Trinity Respite Care:
Applications can be picked up at 2400 W. 31st St.
- Applicants will have background and mobile records checked
and police records checked.
Six hours of training is required
Six hours of training is required and provided by the agency.
and provided by Starting wages are $5.50 to $6.25 per hour.
and other times I am just someone to talk to."
Because of the commitment she had chosen to make to this family, Nyhoff did not see any other clients on a regular basis.
"It used to have more regular clients, but I had to cut back. I really am a part of the clients' lives when I go to someone's house. You can lose yourself in all of it," she said.
Nyhoff takes six hours of classes at the University of Kansas but spends most of her time working for the agency. She said that the wage depended on whether the client had outside funding, but that
new caregivers usually average between $5.50 and $6.25 an hour.
She said her experience with home health care had convinced her that occupational therapy was a good choice for her career.
Nyhoff said she felt comfortable with her clients, but was aware that she was a guest in their home.
"I completely respect their opinions and their ideas and decisions," she said. "I expect to be treated with respect, but if differences in opinion happen, I have to remember it is their house."
Nyhoff had previous work experience at a nursing home; nonetheless, much of what she learned in the hiring process was new, as well as the hands-on training she received
Ellis said that all Trinity employees were hired on an as-needed basis, especially when the agency accepted additional clients. Employees also must complete six hours of classroom instruction about care for people with disabilities, an interview and a background check before they are sent out to care for clients.
with her clients.
"People have so many different needs, there is no way that I could ever know how to do everything without their help," she said. "The first time I worked with my client, I was completely honest with her and said I had absolutely no clue how to give her a bath, but she was great about teaching me."
Nyhoff mastered giving baths and moving her client into and out of her wheelchair in the last few months. She still was getting used to the problems created by a city that was not well adapted to people with disabilities.
She had managed to cram a wheelchair into the trunk of her two-seat Fiero, but because of obstacles at stores, her destinations with her clients are limited.
"Wal-Mart is the only place I can take her," she said.
While Nyhoff concentrated her care on two clients, Janne Ouellette, Clay Center senior, had fewer regular clients and preferred to select people from the list of those who need care.
Social worker Lisa Ellis said
employees checked a list of clients needing caregivers and determined their hours and clients. Last year, 500 people in the Lawrence area were cared for by the 50 employees working for the agency.
One client for whom Ouillette cared regularly died a few months after Ouillette met her.
"The down part of this job is that people can become very ill. Just as I meet new friends, I loose them," she said.
Ouletle worked between 12 and 20 hours each week, so she could choose the people who could adapt to her schedule instead of adapting her schedule to a set of regular clients as Nvhoff does.
Consequently, Ouellette said she often walked into unfamiliar situations.
"It can be stressful because I don't know what I'll be getting into," Ouellette said. "One client had a restraining order against her boyfriend that I didn't know about. He came over and she called the police before I knew what was going on."
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