JAG-K club members Atticus Lauer, Gwen Lamer and Griffin VandeWeerd have initiated their new “Utensils for Unity” project to help those in need by providing them with boxes of kitchen utensils and supplies.
“Our mission is just to create these boxes of cookingware and other things to help people who are in need, like people who go to the food pantry,” Lauer said. “If you go to the food pantry, but you don’t have anything to cook with, then all of this can just be something that you don’t have to spend extra money on.”
The goal is to have a box of general utensils and other boxes geared toward specific meals that people might prepare. The FACS class has helped them create pasta and soup recipes to be included in the boxes, providing people with ideas on what to cook with their new cookware, Lauer said.
A “generic” box for families with four bowls, four plates, cutlery, a pot, a pan, and a can opener is also a main part of their project, allowing them to have various options for those who pick up a box, Lauer said.
The three students are in the process of making the boxes and will deliver them to the food pantry, with which they are partnered with for the project, Lauer said.
Jeff Holton, director of the Eudora Food Pantry, said their role was to listen to and support the students throughout their project.
“Specifically, we allowed the students to volunteer at the pantry and showed them what we do and how we do it,” Holton said.
They also offered the students nonperishable food items for the project if needed and volunteered to distribute the utensil boxes.
The students are responsible for creating the boxes, while the food pantry handles distributing them to those in need and accepting monetary donations. They hope to have the distributions done before the start of next year, VandeWeerd said.
For cash or check donations, donors should direct those to the food pantry, as JAG-K can’t accept those donations, Lamer said.
They’ve already begun accepting kitchen utensil donations, which can be dropped off at the high school front office any time during school hours until December.
Donation items can include: can openers, pots with lids, plastic cups, cereal bowls, dish towels, plates, tupperware with lids, knives, spoons, forks, baking sheets, measuring cups and spoons, and spatulas. The donations should be either clean and lightly used or bought new.
