Cuesta students help with The People’s Kitchen

Cuesta students help with The People’s Kitchen
Ben Clark, Features/Opinion Editor

Everyday at noon without fail, a free hot meal is served at the Prado Day Center by The People’s Kitchen, a 100 percent volunteer run organization started in 1984 by a group of citizens concerned about the local needy dumpster diving for food.

Their mission is “To provide a hot meal everyday to whoever wants it and offer it with justice and love.”

42 different volunteer groups from local churches, restaurants, and other community organizations take turns preparing and serving the daily meal. Cuesta College students have been contributing every second Thursday of each month “since the 90’s” according to Mary Parker, the president of The People’s Kitchen and Cuesta faculty member.

“Our mission is to feed the hungry, not just the homeless,” Parker added.

The disabled, elderly, and even a few college students also come to enjoy the roughly 30,000 meals served each year.

Students or faculty wanting to be part of this community outreach by either donating food, cash, or their time, please contact Mary Parker, mparker@cuesta.edu. For more information go to www.slopeopleskitchen.org or www.pradodaycenter.org.