The sun has barely risen but the Community Kitchen of Monroe County is already bustling with activity. Volunteers are packing 80 bags with bologna sandwiches, milk, juice and an orange. By 9:00, two vans will leave the kitchen to deliver these meals to kids in low-income neighborhoods around the area.
Vicki Pierce is the executive director of the Community Kitchen. She says they looked at the numbers of kids receiving free-or-reduced lunches during the school year to determine which neighborhoods to put on their summer delivery route. But no one is required to prove their need in order to benefit from the Community Kitchen's services:
That's our philosophy across all our programs, even in our dining room for our evening meal. If you need to the food, we're not going to question why you need the food.
On today's show, we ride along with Ben Myers as he delivers bagged lunches around Monroe County, Indiana.
Also, we'll celebrate the beautiful--but brief--blooming of the "Queen of the Night" orchid cactus.
We'll talk to farmers about the pros and cons of having pets in farm country.
And, two recipes for spaghetti squash in anticipation of their debut at farmers markets.