Before Cacio opened back up this year, Katie asked if I’d like to work with her. She knew there would be a staffing shortage. ’You’re a natural, she said. It will be fun.’
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Let me introduce you to Kelly Siefkin. She’s vice president of communications and marketing for Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services. She talks fast, and is quick with numbers and statistics, so I’m struggling to keep up. Today, she’s wearing a green patterned dress, with green earrings and black flats, and carrying her cell phone. We’re touring the food bank campus on Bell Avenue—110,000 square feet on 12 acres. It’s a big facility, but the food bank feeds a lot of hungry people in and around the farm-to-fork capital.
Cooperative Cooking
Frank Sinatra is singing “The Way You Look Tonight.” At least I think it’s Sinatra. The music has a decided Italian vibe, which makes sense since I’m here this evening to learn how to make an Italian veggie burger dinner. What makes this meal Italian? It could be the dried oregano or fresh parsley in the veggie burgers. Then again it could be the homemade basil buns, herb and rice stuffed tomatoes, or raspberry Italian soda. It could be the instructor—Lucia Oliverio—as her parents are Italian immigrants. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
For those who haven’t taken a class at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, I’ll set the scene. The school is upstairs in a light-filled space that could double as a set for a cooking show. In front of the kitchen island, with its large commercial stoves, there are rows of tables holding bottles of cold water, along with cubed cheese and crunchy breadsticks. Monitors above project images of the wooden cutting boards below, in preparation for the cooking demonstration to come. For $5 you can purchase a glass of wine. Sip it while you read through the recipes and the shopping list. Imagine how you’ll spend the $5 coupon after class (no, you can’t use it to purchase another glass of wine). There’s a complimentary glass offered with your meal, so pace yourself. You haven’t started cooking yet.
