Odds n' Ends

MY HIATUS of blogging came from way too many things happening here at the Knoll these days. On top of all this, during my three-day shift on the Medical Emergency Team (MET, formerly EAT) two Maryknollers had to be accompanied while being taken by ambulance to Phelps Hospital. Both are in stable condition and should be back here soon.

Some things that have gone down:

• The Chinese priests and Sisters completed another successful winter-break seminar under the guidance of Father Larry Lewis. Given that no less than eight are studying at Fordham University, I asked why none was staying with us here at Mother Knoll. Larry whispered, "They like visiting here but would find it too depressing to live here." Ouch.

• Yesterday's Memorial for our late Maryknoll brother Father Doug Venne was an inspiring tribute to both the man and to mission. In fact, it merits a much longer posting which I hope to get to early next week after...

• A week-end retreat by forty Sunday School Teachers from St. Paul Chong Ha-Sang Korean Catholic Church in Flushing, NY beginning tonight at 8 p.m. I pray for a less drama-filled experience than the one two months ago with 60 high school students!

• But I would be remiss without singling out Father Ernie Brunelle whose cell phone went off not once but twice during the Mass yesterday. Normally I would be more forgiving, but this was at least the fifth time Ernie's phone has interrupted one of our Masses. Perhaps if we threatened future offenders with public exposure on this blog they might have the courtesy to shut it off in advance or at least have the common sense to withdraw from the assembly and not let it ring for over a minute. Twice.

• Sodexo Food Service has had to take the unusual but necessary step of wrapping in individual waxpaper bags all the cookies, bread and sandwich meats in our kitchenettes. The problem arose at St. Teresa's where a resident had a habit of taking several slices of bread to his room, then after several days had passed, returning the unused portions back to the refrigerator. Also, in these days of H1N1 precautions, it is better not to have all these hands in the cookie jar, as it were. And the problem is not limited to the men at St. T's. Sodexo Manager Margie Sheehan reports that on more than one occasion, a resident has gone to the kitchenette and taken a bite out of the leftover entrees and returned the uneaten, though bitten, portion. Ew.

A modest proposal

BR. VIANNY FLICK suggested to Sodexo that perhaps instead of Civil War trivia or the invention of the sewing machine by Elias Howe in 1846, it might be good to post pertinent events in Maryknoll's 98 year history at the entrance to the food line.

According to Flick, he got his head handed to him from "people upstairs." Fr. Ernie Lukaschek? Inquiring minds want to know, especially since, IMHO, this is a great idea. Certainly our archives can provide a steady supply of Maryknoll historical facts such as when certain "giants" joined or first set foot overseas, when certain new regions were added, and when exactly was Fr. Price's heart enshrined at the tomb of St. Bernadette in Navarre. (OK, maybe this is not the greatest thing to read just before lunch. Then again, it could be the start of a new Maryknoll diet: "Suppress your appetite! Read a disturbing factoid from our history!")

Seriously, as we await ideas and plans from our Centenary Committee, here is one that could be implemented immediately without endless meetings and minimal expense. Visitors, especially, would be edified to learn more about our history as they wait in the food line, the Battle of Antietem or the pedal-powered chain stitcher notwithstanding. Mayhaps as a member of the all-important Food Committee, I can revisit this proposal at next week's meeting.

When worlds collide, Part 3 (Updated!)

WASTING FOOD gets in our collective, metaphorical craw, so to speak, so it was only a matter of time before our ingrained mission proclivities clashed with the Sodexo practice of throwing away leftovers.

Fr. Paul O'Brien approached this member of the all-important Food Committee and asked if it were true that kitchen staff would be fired if they took home leftover food. I asked head chef Mike McLoughlin and he assured me they would not be fired but would, per Sodexo policy, be written up. While it sounds harsh, a rational mind sees this as the only way to avoid legal, not to mention serious health issues.

Sodexo must follow strict guidelines for the quality, cooking and preparation of foods. This is why they do not allow outside foods to be brought in and cooked in our kitchen nor will they supply uncooked foods (hamburgers, for example) to be cooked outside our kitchen at employee or Maryknoll cook-outs.

The question of leftovers is stickier. Technically speaking they should not even be putting leftovers in our kitchenettes, according to Ms. Margaret Sheehan, Sodexo general manager. We asked, and they complied, with our request to offer leftover entrees one more time in our food line. After that, state law requires whatever remains be thrown out.

"Could not this have been given to the poor?" resonates from the gospel. (OK, so it was spoken by Judas but the sentiment is valid.) The answer is, "No. Not unless you want the poor to get sick from food poisoning."

What is envisioned, I think, is some adaption of the Second Harvest program in NYC and other cities where upscale restaurants donate leftover food at the end of the day to local food pantries. According to Sheehan, City (or Second) Harvest allows food pantries to pick up leftovers at the end of the business day by employing special trucks equipped with "Flash Freeze" technology that keeps the food frozen until needed.

Plus, restaurants cannot re-serve leftovers and such things as bread and rolls are not an issue with us. The solution, Sheehan says, is to plan and cook accordingly, minimizing the amount of overproduction and, subsequently, waste.