Spring 2015

Fast Friends:Peggy and Joan are what you would affectionately call char-acters. Credit Friendship Trays divine intervention for bringing the two women together.

Peggy has been getting Friend-ship Trays delivered to her SouthPark home for about 8 months now. Joan delivers the meals to her one day a week.

The two have become fast friends, with each visit a delight-ful revelation as they get to know each other. Peggy knew she’d like Joan right off: “I liked her looks,” said the 86-year-old woman. She would know about nice threads - she used to own the now shut-tered consignment store Penny Pincher.

“She was so dressed up. I said: ‘You don’t have to do that for me!’”

Joan, indeed a snappy dresser, admires how Peggy has been able to live independently for so long. Joan is a woman with an exotic history - she joined the Peace Corps after a career teaching high school. She’s been eyeing Africa - Joan has a taste for adventure. And Peggy is her

The Friendship Kitchen is ready to come to an event near you.

Friendship Kitchen is offering full-service catering. The menu is true to the Friendship Trays mission: healthy and local when possible. And, every catering order raises money for the orga-nization’s core mission: bringing healthy meals to community members who cannot easily pre-pare their own meals.

Check out these delicious cater-ing menu options:- Spring rolls in rice wrappers with crunchy marinated carrots, daikon radishes and a sesame dipping sauce- Grilled pork belly bahn mislider with daikon, carrots,chilies and nac nam aioli- Arugula salad with red and green apple julienne, pine nut brittle, shaved manchego cheese, and berry infused balsamicvinaigrette- Gulf coast shrimp etoufee sim-mered in a mahogany roux and served over steaming white rice.- Summer berry pudding with layers of homemade pound cake, garnet girls seasonal jams,bourbon butter cream and fresh berries in season

kind of people -- she lives fully.

“I don’t get lonely,” Joan says. “I was not allowed to use the word bored.”

Peggy: “I don’t either!”During Joan’s visits, the two often end up chatting about their dogs. When Friendship Trays has dog treats available, Joan usually picks one up for little Bebe.

Joan will heat up Peggy’s lunch for her - it’s hard for her to see the microwave. Plus, that keeps Joan there longer, which Peggy loves. In fact, there’s isn’t any-thing she doesn’t love about her Friendship Trays friend.

“Where else can you go and get your lunch brought to you?” she gushes. “You open the door, they come in, they warm your food, you sit down and have lunch together.”

Joan (left) & Peggy (right), Joan puts Peggy’s meal in the microwave.

704.333.9229

Cater your next event with:

Friendship KitchenA volunteer & recipient have a lot in common.

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Spring 2015

Friendship Market: Each meal pays it forward

So far, most of the catering orders have been for lunches, said catering coordinator Lani Lawrence. And they’ve gotten a lot of those orders -- eight in one week, recently!If you would like to have your next event catered by the Friend-ship Kitchen,contact Lawrence at:llawrence@friendshiptrays.org or call 704-970-4842.

Find the full menu at:friendshiptrays.org/friendship-kitchen/friend-ship-market/

dreams up - and what’s in sea-son. Recent options included a low and slow roasted beef sandwich with bacon, cheddar cheese, smoked tomatoes, and fresh greens; indian-inspired tabouli with local carrots, ca-shews, raisins, cucumbers, and tomatoes over greens; and plenty of pastries.

Coffee from Notorious Coffee out of Asheville is sold, and wi-fi is free. And, of course, all pro-ceeds benefit Friendship Trays.

You can grab a quick lunch or pick something up to take home for dinner.

“We hope people who live around here will stop in for lunch or dinner,” Lawrence said. “You’re not just buying lunch, you’re buying Friendship Trays for people. You’re feeding peo-ple.”

The Friendship Market is open M-F 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check FriendshipTrays.org for the most recent menu.

Here’s an interesting concept to think about the next time you go out for lunch: Is your meal “paying it forward?”

You can answer with a resound-ing yes if you lunch with us at the brand new Friendship Mar-ket, located in the suite right next to Friendship Trays’ head-quarters. The staff has done an absolutely adorable job turning a generic office suite into a cozy market, including repurposing some old, ugly office furniture into display cabinets for market items. Pretty much all the furni-ture and decorations were donat-ed by Friendship Trays’ staff!

But the best part is the menu, which changes weekly according to what Chef Thomas Landers

Friendship Kitchen Asian Bahn Mi Salad

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Fun Fact:Friendship Trays recieved 17,000 pounds of fresh produce from Friendship Gardens last year!Fun Fact:

After you purchase 5 meals at our Friendship Market, you would provide someone with their lunch for the week!

Need Lunch Plans? Head toour new Market!

Slow roasted pork sandwich with provolone cheese, and fresh garden greens on brioche roll

Jessica (left) & Roschelle (right) pre-pare meals for delivery.

Jean (left) & Walter (right) are the Wednesday meal distributors.

Volunteer FocusWe love our volunteers and we depend on 120 of them each week day to

complete our mission; meet a few of our great volunteers.

Spring 2015

A note of thanks: We would like to thank Jen Rothaker, staff writer for the Charlotte Observer and long-time Friendship Trays volunteer, for writing this newsletter for us. Jen is the Innovations Editor for the Charlotte Observer and is the brains behind CharlotteFive, a source for the top 5 most interesting local Charlotte stories each day. Read more of Jen’s work at ww.charlottefive.com or www.charlotteobserver.com.

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Roshelle McDuffie & Jessica AlexanderVolunteer duty: Prepare trays in the kitchen and drive a route, Monday-Thursday.Started at Friendship Trays: About two years ago through Therapeutic Services Group. Roshelle works with Jessica to help her become more independent.Why they love it: Roshelle loves how pleasant everybody is - from the kitchen staff to the re-cipients. One recipient always asks her about her nail polish or hair.Jessica’s favorite part: Putting the stickers on the food trays.

Did you know?We have a few types of volunteer opportunities: - Kitchen Volunteers (8am-10am) - Route Drivers (10am-12pm) - Afternoon Meal Packing (12pm-1:30pm) - Special Event (occasionally)Learn more at our website, friendshiptrays.org

Jean SperowVolunteer duty: Distributes meals to volunteers on Wednesdays.Started at Friendship Trays: About 20 years ago, de-livering weekend meals (when those were offered). She’s been doing Wednesday duty for the past 5 years.Why she helps: When Jean was a kid, her parents delivered Meals on Wheels in Pennsylvania. She knew “it’s always been a good thing to do.”Quick thinking: Once the freezer went down and all the meals had to be moved to a back cooler. That day, Jean probably logged a few miles going back and forth to fetch meals.

Walter HandVolunteer duty: Distributes meals to volunteers on Wednesdays.Started at Friendship Trays: In 1996 doing two jobs: preparing food in the kitchen and driving a route. Why he helps: “It’s one of those things of giving back. My whole family does that.”What’s changed in the last 19 years: The technology. Walter remembers individually sealing each meal in the kitchen with a hand press. Now, a machine just rolls the meals through - “One of the best inven-tions that’s come across here!”

May 18: 21st annual Drive Away Hunger Golf Tournament - Teams of four play the gorgeous Ballantyne Golf Course and Resort in Friendship Tray’s biggest fundraiser of the year. It’s a whole-day affair, beginning with a shotgun noon start and ending with a buffet dinner. Participants also get a boxed lunch and an opportunity to enter into raffle drawings.

There are only 100 spots before the field is full -- and this event always sells out! Register at friendshiptrays.wix.com/drivingawayhunger. We’re also still looking for sponsors. Find more information at the same website.

Aug. 22nd: Tour de Turns

Every Monday & Thursday: Friendship Gardens sets up a Mobile Market out-side of the Simmons YMCA every Monday and at the CATS Transit Center every Thursday.

Spring 2015

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We had a beautiful day and a great turnout for our annual golf tournament last year.

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Want to Help?Donations are greatly appreciated. Friendship Trays receives no gov-ernment or United Way funding. Here’s what your donation can provide:

$1,742: 1 Year of Meals$871: 6 Months$145: 1 Month$33.50: 1 Week$6.70: 1 Day

Make your secure on-line do-nation at www.FriendshipTrays.org. Or Scan this QR code to go

straight there!

Ride through the tree-shaded streets of Charlotte in this charity event for Friendship Trays. You can pick from 15-, 25-, 37-, or 62-mile routes that will bring you through some of Charlotte’s most gracious neighborhoods, starting in Foxcroft in the SouthPark area.

Friendship Trays has been a beneficiary of Tour de Turns for the past three years, but this year, it will be the sole recipient. Reg-ister for this great opportunity at tourdeturns.org.