The food bank was abuzz with excitement last Thursday when MagNoodles Pasta Founder and CEO Aileen Magnotto and PBS Chef George Hirsch dropped by to deliver 23,000 servings of multi-grain, vegetable-based pasta. The donation was the first official cooking event in our new, state-of-the-art Mildred J. Brooks Learning Center.
Chef Hirsch showed the crowd, which included more than 40 Kids Cafe® participants from the Seat Pleasant Activity Center, how to make a healthier version of macaroni and cheese. A few lucky children were plucked from the crowd and chosen to serve as the chef’s assistants.
Food Bank Dietician Jodi Balis revved up the crowd with a healthy eating chant “Eating is knowing, eating is seeing, eating is tasting and eating is feeling,” which reinforced the importance of healthy eating.
Magnotto shared the importance of ensuring that nutritious food gets into the bellies of children and said the food bank was a natural place for the donation. By the end of the event, everyone devoured Chef Hirsch’s nutritious remake of the classic comfort food.
The CAFB is grateful for the generous donation and without support from community partners like MagNoodles Pasta, we would not be able to nourish our neighbors in need. Thank you MagNoodles Pasta!