Kitchen Angels   |    1222 Siler Road  Santa Fe, NM  87507   |    505.471.7780
Halo Headlines w/ Clouds
FEBRUARY 2020
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Thank you for your on-going dedication and support of Kitchen Angels and the community of Santa Fe.

  KA Color Logo
VOLUNTEER
MILESTONE
ANNIVERSARIES

1 Year
Jennie Sparks
Maarten Korringa
Marti Burt 
 
 5 Years
Judy Nix

10 Years

MaryAnn Hart
 
25 Years 
Jill Markstein 

IN MEMORIAM


Celebrating the lives of our volunteers and clients


Sheila T.
 

"There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow.  It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance." 
          ~William Sharp 

AnnouncementsAnnouncements

Volunteer Appreciation Movies!

We're excited to announce our next volunteer appreciation event. Our friends at Violet Crown have offered several private screenings for our volunteers. Space is limited, so you will need to be the first 100 to RSVP. Here are the details:


Tuesday, February 25th at 10:00 am - Private, free viewing of  the movie Julie & Julia. Frustrated with a soul-killing job, New Yorker Julie Powell (Amy Adams) embarks on a daring project: she vows to prepare all 524 recipes in Julia Childs' landmark cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Intertwined with Julie's story is the true tale of how Julia Child herself (Meryl Streep) conquered French cuisine with passion, fearlessness, and plenty of butter.


Thursday, February 27th at 10:00 am - Private, free viewing of  the movie The 100 Foot Journey. Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is an extraordinarily talented and largely self-taught culinary novice. When he and his family are displaced from their native India and settle in a quaint French village, they decide to open an Indian eatery. However, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), the proprietress of an acclaimed restaurant just 100 feet away, strongly objects. War erupts between the two establishments, until Mallory recognizes Kadam's impressive epicurean gifts and takes him under her wing.

Following both movies will be a complimentary reception with snack platters and pizzas. Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.

Sign up to attend one of the movies by contacting Lauren or putting your name down on the sign-up sheet in the volunteer room. Please sign up for only one of the two movies.


Save the Date...

Angels Dine Out will be  Thursday, April 23, 2020. As soon as all contracts are in, we will post a list of the participating restaurants . Stay tuned for the March Halo Headlines with a complete list. We are seeking volunteer ambassadors for the event. Grab a buddy and contact Lauren to sign up as a volunteer ambassador!
Tasty TidbitsTastyTidbits

February 26th is National Pistachio Day, so why not celebrate one of our state's best nut crops. Did you know that California produces 99% of our county's pistachios, with Arizona & New Mexico making up the final 1%?

If you want a cool pistachio photo-op, then drive down to Alamogordo to McGinn's Pistachioland. Their gift shop has every variety of pistachio you can imagine.

Pistachios are cholesterol-free and packed with vitamins and minerals including manganese, phosphorous, copper, vitamin B6, and potassium. The little green nut is a great source of fiber, protein, unsaturated fatty acids, and it has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory traits. The pistachio is rumored to be an aphrodisiac, as it stimulates better blood flow and helps
We can't wait until spring to try this Minestrone Verde with
Pistachio Pesto!
reduce symptoms of erectile dysfunction! Yup . . . you heard it here first folks.

How about incorporating pistachios into your Valentine's Day dinner? We love Bon Appetit for delicious recipes that are elegant and easy to make. They have a great collection of 48 Pistachio Recipes for Every Occasion. This versatile little green nut tastes right at home on desserts and in crusts, salads, sauces and soups. Here's Lauren's favorite dessert recipe (to date) featuring pistachios. It takes enough time that she only made it once for her partner's birthday. He truly loved it. Pistachio Creme Brulee with Sour Cherry Sauce.


 

February is American Heart Month and Kitchen Angels prides itself on serving food that is heart-healthy. The leading cause of death in the United States, coronary heart disease, can be mitigated and even prevented with proper nutrition. And a heart-healthy diet can be quite tasty. Here's a list of 77 Delicious Heart-Healthy Dinner Ideas to Try Tonight.

New research keeps coming out about the health benefits of plant-based diets. Here's a new study that shows a 31% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease in people who eat fruit and vegetable dense diets. Replacing animal protein with plant protein also reduces the rates of certain cancers. There's not one diet that works for every person, but doubling up on your vegetable consumption is always a good idea! Click here for the article.
Volunteer OpportunitiesVolunteerOpportunities 

We always welcome new volunteers! Here are our current opportunities:

Delivery Drivers (4:30 - 6:30pm)
  • Tuesday driver, route #17 (Sawmill Dr.)
Substitute Volunteers
  • Kitchen Subs M-F (10-12) 
  • Kitchen Subs M-F (1-3)
  • Delivery Prep M-F (2pm - 3:30pm)
  • Delivery Coordinators (3:30 - 5:30pm)
  • Delivery Subs M-F (4:30-6:30pm)
 
Upcoming Volunteer Orientations
 
Monday, February 17th from 11:30 - 1:00

Special Volunteer Opportunity...
 
Doris picking up her Angels Dine Out materials last year

As you read above, we've begun to recruit volunteer ambassadors for Angels Dine Out. We will need well over 100 volunteers this year to get the job done. Last year, our ambassadors brought in 61% of the $95,000 we earned for Angels Dine Out! It's a fun (and important) way to contribute your volunteer services to our organization.

Ambassadors welcome diners to the restaurant, talk to folks who don't already know about Kitchen Angels, and distribute donation envelopes that double as prize drawing entry forms. Before the event, ambassadors invite their friends and family to dine out, and have a chance to sit and enjoy a meal during their shift.

Contracts are still trickling in, so we won't have the official list until March, but you can still get your foot in the door of your favorite restaurant. Here is a preliminary list of restaurants we anticipate will participate in the event:

Breakfast:    Café Fina, Dolina Café & Bakery, Joe's Dining
 
Lunch:    Andiamo!, Café Fina, Dolina Café & Bakery, Hervé Wine Bar, Izanami, La Casa Sena, Museum Hill Café, Pecos Trail Café, Piccolino Italian Restaurant, Second Street Brewery - Rufina Taproom, The Ranch House, TerraCotta Wine Bistro    
 
Dinner:    315 Bistro & Wine Bar, Amaya, Andiamo!, Arable, Arroyo Vino, Bouche Bistro, Bourbon Grill, Café Castro, Café Fina, Café Pasqual's, Counter Culture, Cowgirl BBQ, El Meson, El Nido, Estevan Restaurant, Fire & Hops, Hervé Wine Bar, India House, Izanami, Jambo Café, La Casa Sena, La Fogata Grill, L'Olivier, Mariscos Costa Azul, Osteria d'Assisi, Paloma, Paper Dosa, Pecos Trail Café, Piccolino Italian Restaurant, Plaza Café Southside, Radish & Rye, Santa Fe Bite, Second Street Brewery - Rufina Taproom, Tecolote Café, TerraCotta Wine Bistro, The Ranch House, The Shed, The Teahouse, Trattoria A Mano, Tune Up Café, Vinaigrette

Please tell people who may be interested to call Lauren at 471-7780 
Continuing EducationContinuingEducation  


Valentine's Day is thought to have evolved from a spring holiday celebrated in the days of ancient Rome. The feast of Lupercalia was actually celebrated on February 15 and honored the god Lupercus, who protected the people and their herds from wolves. On this day, dances were held for all the single young men and women. A man would draw his partner's name from a piece of papyrus placed in a bowl. The man not only danced with his partner but was also obligated to protect her throughout the new year, which began in March. In many cases, the partners became sweethearts and were soon married. When the tradition of these dances was later revived in the Middle Ages, a man would wear his sweetheart's name on his sleeve. Even today we refer to someone quick to show feeling as "wearing his heart on his sleeve."
                                                                                     ~ from Valentine's Day Legends


Cybersecurity Training for Volunteers...
   
Kitchen Angels is excited to announce a special one-hour training on how to identify and protect yourself from phishing. Phishing is the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. Jonathan Sandmel of Steady Networks & Dotfoil Computers will be presenting important information on the topic, and teaching us how to avoid being taken advantage of. If you would like to sign up for this free training & lunch, please contact Lauren. The training is scheduled for Friday, February 28th from 12-1 in the volunteer room. Lunch will be served to the participants. Please RSVP to Lauren by 2/21 if you would like to attend.
Community Connections...   Connections 

In December 2016, Tony and Jeanette began attending Accountable Healthcare Commission meetings to help design a platform that supported clients needing to access various social support services from other agencies in an intra-agency friendly manner.  The initiative was modeled after a federally-funded pilot program, Accountable Care Communities, that sought to create linkages between health care providers and social service agencies in an effort to improve patients' health and health outcomes.
 
In December 2019, the Santa Fe Connect program began using the UniteUs platform. Over 100 navigators, staff working in each agency, now screen clients for social determinant needs, then refer in and out of network in a HIPPA and 42-CRF compliant manner.
 
Someone walking in to Kitchen Angels asking for a food box can choose to be screened, then referred to multiple agencies. Every new Kitchen Angels client is also screened and can opt in to receive referral help. Navigators will be able to see who gets services and where.
 
620 individual clients have already been screened and 1,044 unique "service episodes" have been tracked by 37 partner agencies in the city and county of Santa Fe . The program is ultimately intended to be replicable statewide.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! Thanks 
 
Client & Volunteer Spotlight...

Client SL has been on Kitchen Angels service for different illnesses episodically since 2007.
 
When she turned 60, SL transitioned to Meals on Wheels as she had no specialized dietary needs. After a hospital stay for bowel obstruction surgery, a hospice agency that was helping to stabilize SL referred her to Kitchen Angels again because he needed a specialized diet.

Once back on service with us, it became clear that SL was
Tina  Hille  - a volunteer who
truly cares
having serious memory issues. She called frequently telling us she didn't receive her meals when she actually had.

Jeanette and Lauren contacted the volunteer delivery drivers to piece together a picture of what was going on with SL. Jeanette determined that she needed more services than Kitchen Angels alone could provide. She called Adult Protective Services who has taken it from there. In the meantime, we reached out to SL's route drivers, asking them to give her a bit more attention.

Volunteer delivery driver Tina Hille went above and beyond to make sure SL was aware her meal had arrived. She talked with the client for 15 minutes, fed her cat, sat her down and placed the meal in front of her. We think Tina should be commended for her kindness and care in helping this woman who is struggling with memory issues. Thank you Tina, for being such an kind and thoughtful angel.


Lyndi & Karen with a tray of
expertly prepared client meals
We are very fortunate to have Karen Price-Coberly, who fills in for chef Joe when he is out of the kitchen. Karen has been working with us since 2014 and has seen the kitchen process change dramatically over those six years. 

Karen adapts well to the changing environment and  deals with challenging circumstances in a calm and accepting way. On Thursday, January 16th, we had a storm that delivered a fair amount of snow. We made the call to get meals out as quickly as possible so drivers wouldn't be delivering in the dark on icy roads. Karen didn't miss a beat - she rolled up her sleeves and worked tirelessly, getting the meals done early for the drivers and our clients. We rarely hear a negative word coming from Karen, and that is a rare quality.  
 
Thank you, Karen, for being such a reliable and positive force here in the kitchen!
 
Kitchen Angels | 505-471-7780 | info@kitchenangels.org | http://www.kitchenangels.org
1222 Siler Road
Santa Fe, NM 87507