Welcome to the Elkhart Rotary Club Meeting on August 26, 2019; Today we welcomed Todd Zeltwanger, Director of Fund Development for Cultivate Culinary, from South Bend.
President Candy Yoder opened the meeting and introduced Dawn Fisher who offered thoughtful words, led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Four Way Test.
Today we welcomed several guests, introduced by Moe Jacobson, including visiting Rotarians Christine Tenpo and Hugh Johnson of the South Bend Club. Guests of Rotarians included: Larry Podogi (Andy McCaskey), Jessica Benko (Susan King), Tim Tahara (Scott Puckett), Lexie Fisher (Randy Foster), and Jonathan LeVan (Steve Thalheimer). Welcome to ALL, we hope you can all join us again some other time!
Announcements for August 26:
- Eric Garton thanked club members, whether actively volunteering at Taste of the Gardens, helping with its coordination, sponsoring, or simply helping spread the word about this great event. In total, nearly 3500 attended Taste of the Gardens on Sunday; more financial reporting to follow. It was a fantastic event and your help is appreciated!!
- Doug Risser announced the upcoming Costa Rica Trip and that Rotarians that are interested should contact Doug directly.
- Mick Faloon announced on behalf of the Fun and Entertainment Committee, that there will be a 'Pre-Dionne Warwick' gathering at Artisan before the concert on October 4. If you're interested please contact Mick or Julie Cotton; cost will be approximately $25, billable through your account.
- On Monday, September 30 - -the FIFTH MONDAY of September, we will be having a Rotary Dinner at Matterhorn, a special fifth Monday event. This evening will feature a special dinner in lieu of our regular luncheon. Musical entertainment provided generously by Steve Gruber, featuring songs of remembrance from our past. RSVP to Julie Cotton, along with your song requests and photos from the past for a special slideshow.
- Tony Warning reminded club members of the placemat advertising campaign that supports our Interact Club members' trip to Costa Rica each summer. Please help support their service trip by purchasing your ad from Tony directly. Thanks!
Today's Sergeant was Eric Garton, who offered valuable information about important - - but often forgotten - - National Days in the month of August, including National Tell-a-Joke Day, National Mustard Day, National Zucchini Day, and National Night Out. Club members were asked to pay for this valuable - -and fun - -information to raise funds. Rotary fines are collected weekly and are pooled into a fund throughout the year. In the spring more than $10,000 is distributed as grants to not for profit organizations around our county. Thanks, All, for your contributions!
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Today's speaker, Todd Zeltwanger is the Director of Fund Development for Cultivate Culinary located in South Bend. Prior to coming to Cultivate, Todd served as the Vice President for Development at Ancilla College for over 10 years. He is a graduate of Purdue University and has worked in a variety of sales and fundraising positions in his career. Todd lives in Bremen with his wife of 31 years, Marty.
As a 501c3 not-for-profit organization, Cultivate is devoted to ending the cycle of hunger in the local communities of northern Indiana by providing a food rescue service. Their mission is to build a local network of food suppliers with the goal of providing wholesome meals so no one in our community goes hungry.
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Todd gave an overview of their Food Rescue and developing Backpack Program - - here's how it works
What is food rescue?
Food rescue, also called food recovery, is the practice of gathering edible food that would otherwise go to waste from places such as restaurants, grocery stores, produce markets, or dining facilities and repurposing that food. With the help of our volunteers we take that food and turn it into frozen meals. Those meals are then used in our backpack program which provides 6 meals over the weekend to a child in need!
Food rescue, also called food recovery, is the practice of gathering edible food that would otherwise go to waste from places such as restaurants, grocery stores, produce markets, or dining facilities and repurposing that food. With the help of our volunteers we take that food and turn it into frozen meals. Those meals are then used in our backpack program which provides 6 meals over the weekend to a child in need!
The process looks a little something like this:
- PARTNER: We cultivate a partnership with local companies like restaurants, grocery stores, or dining facilities.
- RESCUE: We visit these places on a weekly basis to collect any unserved food that would otherwise be thrown away.
- PROCESS: With the help of volunteers, we process the rescued food into frozen meals.
- DISTRIBUTE: The frozen meals are used in our backpack program for children who may go hungry on the weekends.
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Help Cultivate to provide food to the most vulnerable in our community. Donations and volunteer time are invaluable to changing lives in northern Indiana. Cultivate's partnership with Notre Dame and other local food suppliers provides a great opportunity to feed members of our community who are food-insecure. Their food rescue program fills the gap between potentially wasted food and the people and organizations that need food the most.
For a quick video about Cultivate and what they do, CLICK HERE
To learn more about Cultivate, visit their website: https://cultivateculinary.com/
About Rotary:
Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, community leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and act to create lasting change – across the globe, in our local communities, and in ourselves. The Elkhart Rotary Club was founded in 1917 and serves its community through volunteerism, providing grants to not-for-profit organizations, sponsoring, and participating in service projects such as ringing bells for the Salvation Army, roadside trash collection, and are the originators and sustainers of Wellfield Botanic Gardens. Elkhart Rotary Club’s membership consists of approximately 150 dedicated individuals from various professional backgrounds and diverse interests. Membership in the Elkhart Rotary Club is by invitation. We welcome guests to attend any of our meetings and hear from our great lineup of weekly presenters.
For more information on the Elkhart Rotary Club, visit elkhartrotary.org or email elkhartnoonrotary@gmail.com. Like and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook/ElkhartRotaryClub to stay current on meetings, upcoming events or speakers, and initiatives in the community.
Upcoming Meetings and Programs:
- September 2: Labor Day, no meeting
- September 9: Jason Williams, Director of Information Security & Compliance, M.S., CISSP at Notre Dame
- September 16: Richard Pfeil, Co-founder of the Pfeil Innovation Center
- September 23: Gregg Fore, C&G Media Group, The State of the RV Industry
- September 30: Rotary Dinner at Matterhorn, **A special fifth Monday dinner event**, RSVP to Julie Cotton
Join us for our next meeting:
All meetings are at noon on Mondays at the Matterhorn Banquet and Conference Center, 2041 Cassopolis St. in Elkhart IN, 46514. In months that include a FIFTH Monday, the Elkhart Rotary Club holds an alternative meeting or activity.