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Kitchen Angels | 1222 Siler Road Santa Fe, NM 87507 | 505.471.7780
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Thank you for your on-going dedication and support of Kitchen Angels and the community of Santa Fe.
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VOLUNTEER
MILESTONE
ANNIVERSARIES
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1 Year
Carol Curry
Roc Curry
Jammes Crowther
Jonathan Slater
Miles Teng-Levy
Mercedes M-Diener
Paul Diener
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IN MEMORIAM
Celebrating the lives of our volunteers and clients
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 "We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
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Announcements
Feasting with Friends
Feasting with Friends is back, albeit with safety and physical distancing measures taken into consideration.
Feasting with Friends is a community-wide event involving brunch, lunch, and dinner parties held at people's homes. You host the meal, provide the food, and invite your friends, with the understanding that the meal is a benefit for Kitchen Angels. Guests give according to their ability.
Meals will take place anytime during August, and everyone is invited to host a backyard meal. Keep it small so that guests can all remain six feet apart, and dining outdoors is strongly encouraged. Entertain with brunch, lunch or dinner on the patio. Maybe throw a themed party with appetizers & cocktails, dessert & champagne, or tacos & margaritas. Have fun and make it your own!
While there is no fee to attend, donations to Kitchen Angels are encouraged from each event. Click here to sign up or for more information. Feasting with Friends is sponsored by Kaunes Neighborhood Market, US Bank, United Healthcare, and Citizen's Bank.
Kitchen Angels just completed our annual client survey. We learn so much each year by hearing from our clients about how our services affect their lives. Ninety-seven percent of our clients are  either satisfied or extremely satisfied with Kitchen Angels service. Since starting Kitchen Angels' meal service, 74% of clients reported their ability to live independently has increased.
We wouldn't have gotten such great feedback if it weren't for the dedication of staff, volunteers and our new intern! Thank you Jeanette and Tamara for heading up the effort, and Elissa and Stephanie for stepping in and learning the interview process. You all did Kitchen Angels a huge service with your hard work.
Congratulations to us! Kitchen Angels placed second in the Best of Santa Fe contest - as best nonprofit organization. We've been honored to serve the Santa Fe community for the past 28 years. The greatness of our organization comes from our outstanding volunteers. We have risen to the top on your shoulders. Thanks to each and every one of you.
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Tasty Tidbits
Although many of us got a excited about the possibility of indoor restaurant dining again, the renewed shutdown order has sent us all back to our kitchens. During the pandemic, comfort food has seen a renewed popularity. People are eschewing health food and picking up the pot roasts, sourdough breads, and roast chickens. The New York Times has a great article on how eating habits today, during past pandemics, have changed. It's a great exploration of the way that people connect food to emotional and physical comfort.  For a lot of us, corn-based meals fall into the comfort food category. Polenta, grits, and cornbread all warm the soul and fill the stomach. NYTimes food has a great and simple recipe for making polenta. Like many foods, the key is low heat and slow cooking. Saveur has a simple, yet staple, recipe for grits from southern chef Edna Lewis. And of course, the Pioneer Woman, Rhea Drummond, has an  amazing step-by-step recipe (with pictures!) on how to make skillet cornbread. All of these recipes are simple and, most importantly, comforting. Most corn-based dishes can be made all year long. Cornmeal isn't exactly a seasonal food. Yet one great summer treasure is fresh corn-on-the-cob. Luckily for us, The Kitchn made corn-on-the-cob eight different ways to give us the best method for cooking fresh corn. Their verdict? We'll let you read for yourself. Obviously, no New Mexico summer would be complete without the savory, sweet, spicy flavors of elote.
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Volunteer Opportunities
- AM Kitchen Volunteers (10am - 12pm)
- PM Kitchen Volunteers (1pm - 3pm)
- Delivery Prep Substitutes (2pm - 5:30pm)
- Delivery Volunteers (4:30pm - 6:30pm)
Special Volunteer Opportunity...Caring Callers
For the past 28 years, Kitchen Angels has delivered hot meals to people who are isolated due to their life-challenging conditions. We have delivered food and friendship to people who easily go unseen by others in the community. Now we are taking another step in our efforts to alleviate social isolation and its accompanying feelings of loneliness.
Caring Callers looks to decrease loneliness and build connection. We do this by matching homebound clients with volunteers who can call and check in on a scheduled basis. The aim of the program is to build relationships, identify potential issues with which our homebound clients struggle, and offer resources when possible.
This is a pilot project and we are looking for five volunteers who would like to participate. Each volunteer will be assigned no more than two clients. Volunteers will be thoroughly trained and will work closely with Kitchen Angels staff to report any areas of concern. As navigators for the city, staff can draw from a network of resources. You won't be alone - we will be on this journey together.
If you believe in the healing power of connection and would like to volunteer with this new initiative, please contact Lauren at 505-471-7780 X 202.
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Continuing Education
It is no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic has completely upended our lives and schedules. Where once we worked in an office for eight hours a day, now we work from home with gaps and breaks throughout the day. Some of us have developed the occasional bad habit: sleeping late or snacking too much. Others, though, have managed to implement new exercise routines and cooking practices. The New York Times has a great article on how to create new good habits and kick those bad ones. Our favorite piece of advice: "allow yourself to adapt, and be realistic." None of us is perfect.  This summer also doesn't look or feel like any summer we've experienced before. Without summer vacations, July 4th fireworks, or trips to the beach how are we even supposed to have a summer? Slate.com has an entertainingly array of suggestions for a pandemic summer, including how to maximize outdoor space and new ways to explore your neighborhood. Should we break lockdown and quarantine for some summer fun? Health professionals obviously say no, but people are starting to venture out more although the cases haven't slowed down. Some people have traveled to isolated cabins or vacation homes for a change of scenery. Other have started dining on patios or having socially-distant get-togethers. What's safe and what's not? The New York Times has a great article highlighting some of the tough decisions people are making in order to survive a summer in lockdown. Is it safe to visit family in another state? Can we go to the farmers market? What about church services? Take a look at what other people are doing. For better or for worse, summer in Santa Fe won't be the same either. Since the canceling of many summer festivals and markets and the canceling of the opera, the tourism forecast is grim. For those living in Santa Fe, there is a small amount of summer programming for families and children. Check out the reopening guidelines here. Better yet, host a back yard cookout, brunch, lunch, dinner, or themed food party (small, socially distanced party) to benefit Kitchen Angels. What better way to help keep your community fed during these trying times than with culinary support. Share your kitchen skills with friends and neighbors, and they, in turn, can donate to us. Feasting with Friends!
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Community Connections
 Kitchen Angels is partnering with other organizations to cover nutrition-related service gaps during COVID.
For example, St. Elizabeth's Shelters is referring people for meal delivery services who are experiencing homelessness and who need to quarantine. Potential shelter residents are tested for the virus and then safely housed at local motels until test results come in. If they test positive, they continue quarantining in a safe, long term space and Kitchen Angels continues to provide them with meals. If they test negative, they are moved into the shelter where they receive case management and help finding permanent housing.
We are also working with the V.A. in Albuquerque and Santa Fe through their rapid response program to rehouse homeless vets, making sure they receive meals during the pendency of any COVID test results.
We're coordinating with The Food Depot to get food pantry boxes to clients through their Hope for the Homebound program. Individuals who need to quarantine are also provided meals during their quarantine. In addition, KITCHENALITY has donated some non-food items including a small microwave and fridge for use as needed for longer term motel stays. If clients qualify, we provide them with meal service once they're successfully housed.
By keeping homeless individuals safe and fed during the pandemic, we're helping minimize community spread and keeping all of Santa Fe as safe as possible.
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Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!
A shout of thanks to our neighbor Urban Rebel Farms. Urban Rebel Farms produces living mocrogreens, starts, and superfood powders with their vertical farm. They also help people get set up to grow their own herb and vegetable garden.
Since March when many restaurants shuttered, Urban Rebel Farms has had an overabundance of product that they can't sell in time. Kitchen Angels is now purchasing (for a very deeply discounted rate) delicious microgreens for client salads. Our salads have been out of this world thanks to these new sprout-topped salads. Thanks neighbors!
Thank you all around to the volunteers who are being so diligent with their COVID-cautious best practices! Very few individuals are describing risky-behaviors. We have had many more conversations lately with volunteers reaching out to discuss potentially risky situations. Most of the time, the risk is very slight, and we are able to approve their return. Once in a while we ask the volunteer to step back for two-weeks to be on the safe side.
John F. called to let us know that one of his friends was being tested for COVID. The families had been having happy hour every other Friday outside and ten feet apart. Both families were maintaining best practices. The risk was low and John was allowed to stay on his delivery route that week. Greg W. was working at a gallery and had to move a large object with another person. Greg offered the person a mask but they refused to wear it. Although the person wasn't experiencing any symptoms, Greg took it upon himself to get tested. We asked Greg to step back until his test results came back negative. Theses are just two examples of our volunteers being extra cautious and coming forward to talk about their circumstances. We can't always control what happens to us, but we can control how we choose to act.
We are more than happy to have these conversations, and are glad that volunteers feel safe to have these talks. We remain non-judgmental and accepting of our volunteers as they navigate the tricky landscape of our times. Let's keep those honest conversations flowing so that everyone can remain safe and healthy.
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Copyright © 2012. All Rights Reserved.
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