At the Newark Street School in northeastern Vermont, fourth and fifth graders meet after school every Wednesday to prepare meals for six local seniors. In the school’s tiny kitchen, they learn how to cook and bake and do less fun things, such as clean up.
Laura “Mrs. Ro” Robichaud and Sue “Miss Sue” Winsor help the culinary rookies read recipes and prepare the food. Robichaud and Winsor then deliver the meals to seniors in the community; parents occasionally help, too.
This club is part of the Kingdom East Afterschool Program and is funded by the Friends of Newark Street School, a group of caregivers, staff and community members that builds relationships between the school and the community. The school educates about 60 students from kindergarten to eighth grade, and the cooking club is open to all students in the fourth grade and up.
In her latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger traveled to Newark to watch six students make mini meatloaves, mashed potatoes, peas and cookies. Then she met a 91-year-old recipient of the weekly meals.
Sollberger spoke with Seven Days about filming the episode.
How did you hear about this program?
I put out a call on Facebook, as I sometimes do to find “Stuck” ideas outside my bubble: “ISO heartwarming stories about people doing good in their community and helping others.” I got a lot of great responses, which I will save for future stories. A comment from Sue Winsor about students making meals for seniors caught my eye. It sounded like a win-win: students learning to cook and give back; citizens receiving “home-cooked” meals. I got in touch and started planning my trip to Newark.
It looks like students work in a very small kitchen.
Yes, and when I heard someone say “Excuse me, I have a knife” behind me, I froze. The students have good kitchen etiquette, and that includes warning people when they have sharp or hot objects. I would describe the scene as organized chaos. Making a meal in an hour and a half with young people who are learning to read recipes is frenetic and elicited a flurry of questions: What does “lb” mean? Is this a tablespoon or a teaspoon? Where is the baking sheet? Am I turning the oven up or down? The students broke up into teams and were very focused on their tasks.
How was the food?
The chocolate chip cookies were warm and delicious — a big hit. The extras got passed out to the kids, parents and teachers. And there was much excitement about the mashed potatoes, which inspired a happy dance.
Who gets the meals?
The students don’t get to meet the six community members who eat the meals. I followed Miss Sue to one of their houses to see a meal delivery on a beautiful, cold night. A recipient named Joan has been eating the meals for 10 or 11 years, with a two-year break during the pandemic. To quote spunky Joan: “It’s good. Too bad you can’t have any.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Bake My Day | Students at Newark Street School make meals for seniors”
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2025.
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