Newest HIPster loves to cook

by hungerintervention | Aug 6, 2020 | Blog, Healthy Eating, Senior Community Meals | 0 comments

HIP welcomes Shaili Parekh as the new Senior Meals Coordinator for HIP. Shaili brings a wealth of food experience to the position. She was a line cook at Tilth, a farm-to-table fine dining restaurant. In addition, Shaili served with AmeriCorps and FoodCorps in Oregon, doing nutrition education, cooking classes and farm-to-school work. She is a recent graduate of Seattle Culinary Academy. Shaili also has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, with minors in nutrition and communications.

Shaili loves the creative side of cooking and menu planning. Recently she graced Lake City Seniors with some scrumptious meals, including slow cooked pork, green goddess quesadillas and quinoa feta salad. Future culinary delights in August include sesame shrimp noodles, grilled eggplant salami sandwiches, and Indian style cauliflower and potatoes.

In her spare time, Shaili loves foraging, hiking, camping, and taking in as much sunshine as she can in this rainy city. Please give Shaili a warm HIP welcome if you can.

As the first spotlight of the year, we would like to highlight Nick and his immeasurable contribution to our Senior Community Meal program! Nick has helped with check-in for meal service for about 8 years.

Nick found out about HIP through Jerry Berger, one of the founders of HIP, at his local church. What began as a new volunteering experience became a routine part of Nick’s life as a retiree. “Volunteering keeps me busy and is one way for me to socialize.”

As a front-facing volunteer, Nick’s unique position allows him to engage with the people around him as well as observe budding relationships grow. He likes seeing “how seniors grow in their [inter]actions with each other.” and appreciates the camaraderie he sees between HIP staff and volunteers. He also found a physical benefit by getting in some exercise while putting up and taking down tables.

We hope his story will inspire others to volunteer in their communities. In his own words: “Yes I would recommend volunteering at HIP for those that have the time, are looking for a way to help the community, or just need something to do while looking for a job. They could be like me, retired and need to keep busy.”

As a pivotal part of the Senior Meals crew, we are so happy to see Nick’s familiar face every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Thank you Nick for all that you do!