“I love going to HIP on Fridays to cook with the awesome volunteers and staff. I look forward to those 3 hours every week.” Meet Sue, a faithful member of HIP’s Friday Senior Meals prep crew. Sue stumbled upon Hunger Intervention Program online on VolunteerMatch, where we post many volunteer opportunities. She wanted to spend more time helping in the community now that she is retired and has more time on her hands. She was drawn to HIP because she was interested in the work we do and found that our volunteer opportunities fit well with her schedule.

Sue started out volunteering with HIP’s Summer Eats program but “sort of fell into Senior Meals by default”. Sue tells us, “I really didn’t feel comfortable at first, as I would not consider myself a cook, or even know how to cook.” That is not the case any more! It has been wonderful for us to see her become as confident as anyone else in the kitchen from her first few days in the kitchen last summer to now. In her own words: “what I have gotten from HIP is feeling proud of how far I have come in my ability to read a recipe, suggest different ways to make it better, learning how to use different cooking appliances, like a food processor and immersion blender, and making so many different types of food, from salads, to entrees, to desserts.”

Outside of HIP, Sue finds time to volunteer at the Make-a-Wish Foundation. She has lived in Seattle since 1988 but is originally from the East Coast, and she worked for the State of Washington for nearly 20 years before retiring. Before her move to Seattle she worked as a sales representative for large food companies in California such as Kraft Foods and M&M Mars.

We at HIP are so glad to have Sue on our Friday team. Sue is a hard working, dedicated volunteer, with awesome kitchen intuition that has only improved since she started volunteering with us! “I have met some wonderful people, and enjoy the time spent with them every week. I feel like the Friday group is a real team. We work well together, and truly like each other”.  

Thanks for all you do, Sue!