Share was founded in 1979 to care for the homeless and hungry in the Vancouver area. The organization has four shelters for the homeless, provides daily meals for the homeless and low-income members of the community, and runs several programs: transitional housing, case management, street outreach. It operates a summer meals program for low-income children and a backpack program benefiting students at 44 schools to provide food for weekends to children receiving free or reduced-fee lunches. Share also offers financial programs to help clients.
Share
Metz Studio
More than 300 people turned out Sunday at Skyview High School to support programs for the homeless and the hungry in Clark County.
The 10th Annual Share-a-Bowl event was a fundraiser for Share, an organization now 31 years old.
“I believe in this, so I brought it to the attention of my church,” said Bonnie Caouette of Battle Ground. She attends Cherry Grove Friends Church and noted that her employer, Normandeau Associates, provides help for Share’s program that puts food in schoolchildren’s backpacks on Fridays.
“We thought it would be a good thing to do, and we like to eat,” said Janis Highley of Battle Ground, who with her husband, Dan, was at Caouette’s table.
Adults paid $35 for the meal and an original multihued ceramic bowl created by artist Michael Metz of Vancouver. Metz said it took him two months to complete 500 bowls. He was paid $10 a bowl for bowls that retail for $25.
The proceeds from Sunday’s fundraiser had not yet been calculated at The Columbian’s press time.
Bev Kessler said she was happy to attend because she is a counselor at Orchards Elementary School.
“The Share backpack program serves 75 kids at my school,” said Kessler, who coordinates the effort at Orchards. “It’s such a lifesaver for so many families. We have a lot of homeless kids, so I work closely with Share.”
o The soups: Three chefs gladly donated their talents and offered samples of their creations before the meal.
Muffin Batiste of Le Sous Chef catering offered a vegetarian minestrone.
“It’s healthy. It’s a delicious soup,” she said.
No one argued. This was her third year at the event.
“I’ve been helping Share for a long time,” she said.
She said she often takes food left after her catering jobs to Share.
Chef Stephanie Cerame of Whole Foods Market won raves for her Guatemalan chicken stew with tomatillo sauce.
“This is a Whole Planet recipe,” she said. “I am from Texas and I love Latin American flavors.”
She noted that Whole Foods helps empower poor women in developing countries with loans. The program aids women in more than 30 counties, according to a Whole Planet Foundation brochure. This was the first year for Whole Foods at Share-a-Bowl.
Executive Chef Troy Lucio of Gray’s at the Park said he also was new to the event. He offered a roast garlic tomato basil bisque.
“It’s a crowd-pleaser,” he said.
Turns out the Hilton chef was right: His soup won the People’s Choice award.
o The volunteers: Share had 3,411 volunteers in 2010, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart told the crowd. They gave an estimated 77,258 hours of help to the organization, he said. Their work could be valued at $1.6 million, he added.
o Those helped: According to Share’s website, 1,415 people stayed at the four shelters in 2010 and more than 103,000 hot meals were served. An estimated 630 children were fed in the SummerSLAM program and 900 children were helped in the backpack program.
Share volunteer Becky Parker said those backpacks are filled with nutritious foods and snacks — perhaps a dozen items such as macaroni and cheese, soup, bread and canned vegetables.
So, what kind of comments did the soup chefs receive?
“Everyone loves it,” Cerame said of her chicken stew. “It makes me feel great.”
And many went back for seconds on all three soups.
