By Amy Dell and Hannah Greene, VRG Interns

Our Daily Bread Employment Center’s Hot Meal Program, run by Catholic Charities in Baltimore, Maryland provides lunch for up to 1000 people every day of the year. This program helps those in need find a consistent source of nutritious, hot food, regardless of snowstorms, hurricanes, and other weather events.

In order to support the Program, we (VRG interns) decided to prepare three Sweet Potato and Black Bean Casseroles and one Creamy Bean and Potato Casserole with Carrots (both recipes created by VRG Food Service Advisor Chef Nancy Berkoff, EdD, RD). These recipes, along with the Brunswick Stew are all vegan, and allow the clientele to receive hearty, vegetarian meals.

Our Daily Bread patrons have expressed gratitude for vegan casseroles since 1 in 3 patrons usually requests vegetarian options. Additionally, these vegetable-rich meals are a great option even for patrons that aren’t vegan. Previous interns said that the Sweet Potato and Black Bean casseroles were the most popular, so we purposely planned to make most of that variety.

First, we went shopping at a local grocery store to find all the necessary ingredients. We had to do some quick math to ensure that we had enough of every ingredient to make all four casseroles, including several cans of beans and tomatoes, and lots of sweet potatoes. We found the appropriately sized pans in the grocery store and returned home to begin cooking.

We prepped the ingredients and took turns peeling the sweet potatoes and chopping the rest of the vegetables. Once we gathered all of the ingredients, we realized we had enough to make two extra Sweet Potato and Black Bean Casseroles!

We began the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Casseroles first, fitting as many batches as we could in two large pots. While they were simmering, we prepared the second variety, Creamy Bean and Potato Casserole. This was much simpler to make since most ingredients came from a can and just had to be layered in a pan and baked for 20 minutes. This would probably be a fun recipe for young children to help with!

The process of cooking food for those in need was a really rewarding experience. It was also a great bonding exercise and will bring any group closer together as a result. We encourage everyone to donate to your local food program, and if you’re in Baltimore, to try cooking a casserole for Our Daily Bread.

Some helpful tips when you make your own casseroles for donation:
-Pick one recipe and multiply it. It is easier to make a large batch of one variety than to follow multiple distinct processes and make a few different types of casserole.
-Buy a 10-pack of casserole pans, since you might end up with more ingredients than expected! Plus, you’ll have extra to make more donations in the future. Be sure to follow the recipes exactly, since many kitchens mix all the donated casseroles of a certain variety together.
-Wash your hands often!
-Get ingredients from a wholesale retailer, where you can buy extra-large cans and packages.
-Figure out where you’ll freeze the casseroles ahead of time. For many meal programs, casserole donations must be completely frozen before delivery. Be sure your freezer will accommodate the required casserole pan size, and make sure you have enough room for all the casseroles once completed (or have a neighbor willing to share extra freezer space).
-Make these casseroles at least one day before you plan to deliver them because they must have time to freeze fully.
-Get the entire family involved! This is a great way to teach young children about cooking and to engage them in meaningful community service.
-Invite all your friends to participate! Have a casserole-making marathon, in which you work together in a few kitchens to make casseroles, then reunite to celebrate and deliver the donations.

If you would like to make casseroles to donate to Our Daily Bread or another local food program, the recipes can be found here (scroll down to the last 3 recipes):
http://www.catholiccharities-md.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/casserolerecipes.pdf

Information on Our Daily Bread’s Hot Meal Program in Baltimore City: https://www.catholiccharities-md.org/services/our-daily-bread-hot-meal-program/

Blog posting on previous VRG interns preparing food for Our Daily Bread.
http://www.vrg.org/blog/2016/03/10/vegan-casseroles-for-our-daily-bread/