The Kutztown Patroit - Opinion________________

A Look Back in History: Sunday kitchen meal at Trinity

Published: Saturday, January 28, 2012, by Richard Shaner

Trinity volunteers harvesting potatoes.

It was a cold, windy day when my wife and I decided to attend the free church meal at Trinity Church across from our home, having previously been asked by Rev. Keith Rohrbach to attend. One of our community’s civic minded congregations, my wife pulled up a chair alongside Mr. and Mrs. Walt Zawaski who unbeknownst to me were friends of my brother-in-law, Roger Trout, who is on the Old Time Plow Boys board of directors supporting organizations growing food for the Berks County food bank.

I recall my brother-in-law boasting about the bumper crop of potatoes the Plow Boys had just harvested for the food bank with the aid of church volunteers, picking up the freshly harvested rows of homegrown potatoes, a true grit experience where citizens help neighbors in need. This year’s yield of potatoes for the Plow Boys amounted to 9,343 pounds at a market value of 6000 dollars for the Berks County food bank. Whereby, the Plow Boys paid out of their own pockets costs to pay for needed fertilizer and seed potatoes, besides gasoline for tractors. A native Berks vegetable, a number of farmers assisted Walter Zawaski, Executive Director of the Potato Project, and owner of the potato planter used by the Old Time Plow Boys club with the assistance of others.

Since my brother-in-law grew up in the Oley Valley, he asked Solomon Hartline, who used to plant potatoes for Eli Deturk to come up to the Plow Boys grounds at Kutztown University to insure them of an excellent one acre crop. In total, 13.2 acres were planted in Berks County to benefit the Berks food bank to alleviate hungry in 2011. Realizing that the greatest asset of Berks County is its agricultural wealth and expertise, churches in people who own any farmable land have banded together to wage war on poverty. Their individual labor and resources have made a difference, including church “kitchen meals,” by a number of local congregations.

Thus, many local church groups would rather use their expertise at raising potatoes for needy people, via, in kind service, than an outright cash hand out. Besides, the cooperative spirit of the Potato Project made the community stronger much the same way President Franklin Roosevelt’s turned the Depression around (PWA) people helping people. However, the people in attendance at Trinity’s third Sunday kitchen meal already knew people helping people, like the “kitchen meal,” which is the essence of true democracy.

My wife and I were delighted with our Sunday meal of spaghetti, served by the Girl Scouts of Trinity Church, with a wonderful tasty salad, topped off with a good variety of desserts. The American Folklife Institute congratulate all the individuals who have taken their time and resources to wage this current war on hunger. For further details on the Potato Project visit http://IHartHarvest.dyndns.org or contact Rev. Keith Rohrbach at Trinity Lutheran Church Kutztown, and Walt Zawaski at IHartHarvest@gmail.com 610-944-9316