April Newsletter

Ketchup with Cultivate

Three years ago, Penn High School teacher, Amy Zimmer, had the idea to bring her Exceptional Education students to Cultivate and volunteer. With the goal of learning life skills such as following directions and teamwork, she leads them in processing backpack meals each month. This past month, as a group, they packaged their 10,000th meal with us!

Another goal is for the students to gain confidence in themselves and boy is this paying off! The first time Amy brought the students, one young lady was so afraid that she hid. Now, volunteering is a favorite activity of hers. In fact, she’s so confident, she did what would be considered terrifying to many of us; she spoke to the news crews here to cover the story!

Learn more by watching the stories on WSBT and WNDU.

Golf Outing at McCormick Creek

We’ve added a second golf outing this year! Go to our website to register a team for our July 27th outing in Nappanee!

Full/Part Time Position Available

Do you know anyone who is interested in being a dishwasher for Cultivate? This could be a great position for high school or college students. Extremely flexible hours! Email [email protected] if you are interested!

Feed Your Knowledge!

  • Learn about how Disney World redirects excess food in this article
  • Trying to instill good eating habits your children? Read some tips on how.

Monthly Program Statistics

  • Total Pounds of Food Rescued: 80,792
  • Number of Meals Distributed: 29,366
  • Pounds of Food Redirected to Pantries: 56,444
  • Volunteer Hours Served: 1960
  • Unique Volunteers: 516

All the Right Ingredients

Here’s a vegetarian recipe to get you ready for grilling season!

  • Grilled Vegetable Tacos with Bloody Mary Sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. Smoked Chili Powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Ground Cumin Seed
  • 1/4 tsp. Garlic Granules
  • 2 tsp. Avocado Oil
  • 1 Cup Diced Asparagus
  • 1 1/2 Cup Sugar Snap Peas
  • 3/4 Cup Sliced Mini Sweet Peppers
  • 1/2 Vidalia Onion, sliced thin
  • 1/2 Pint Grape Tomatoes halved the long way
  • 1 Ripe Avocado sliced in thin wedges
  • Bloody Mary Mix
  • Queso Fresco (Mexican Style Fresh Farmers Crumbling Cheese)
  • Flour Tortillas
  1. Get your grill up to high temperature and place a grilling grid or wire mesh on grates
  2. Place asparagus, sugar peas, mini sweet peppers, and onions in a large bowl and toss with avocado oil add spices and toss to coat.
  3. Grill vegetables until colors are bold and heated through without becoming soft by over cooking. (A little black charring is normal and adds flavor)
  4. Quickly toss the tortillas on the grill to warm (about 15 to 20 seconds a side)
  5. Remove tortillas and vegetables from grill and place vegetable in bowl

Assemble Tacos with Vegetables, Avocado wedges, Tomato Halves, a drizzle of Bloody Mary Mix and top with cheese.