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Think Cajun, think spices, for Louisiana night at Loaves and Fishes

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 14, 2008 |

Loaves and Fishes, which serves free meals to 150-200 people a day, six days a week, held its annual fundraiser Saturday evening, offering the community a Louisiana Cajun meal that included Cajun rice, gumbo, beans, jambalaya  and breads, with pecan prawlines for dessert. Admission was $10 per person for the event, which ran from 4-7 p.m.

Volunteers prepare trays of bread for heating and serving

Volunteers garbed in bright purple Loaves and Fishes T-Shirts, decorated the hall on Third Street, and were ready to serve the food that had been “in preparation” for hours.

Susan Chapman, director of the non-profit Loaves and Fishes, said the event “gets better and better each year.” Raising funds is critical to the organization’s success, since “we have had over 200 people to feed on some days,” Chapman added.  The group exists on a mix of grants, public donations and support from local churches and other organizations.

Smart shopping, good networking, and community donations of money and food keep the shelves full, and the day’s menu is often decided at least in part by food donations received.

Chapman credited Janice and David Traxler for spearheading the program and planning Saturday’s Louisiana Cajun event.

From Monday through Saturday, teams of volunteers donate the time from 8-10:30 a.m. preparing the day’s meal, and most shift to a “serving” position, loading up plates, pouring out beverages, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. As an occasional volunteer, I once served meals on day when that Louisiana jambalaya was on the menu, and that was perhaps the most popular meal I’ve ever seen served there.As for Saturday’s meal, I can attest to the amazing aromatic taste of that Cajun rice.

As gas and food prices rise, and budgets seem to shrink proportionately, the lines at this local soup kitchen grow. Saturday’s Cajun night will add a bit more to the budget, which in turn feeds more of Clarksville’s people in need. For  more information on Loaves and Fishes, call 931-645-9020.

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About Christine Anne Piesyk

With 40 years behind me (Huh? What? How did that happen?) as a journalist, feature writer, investigative reporter, editor, and film/theater/arts critic, I brought my liberal New England activism to Tennessee several years ago. having completed a midlife undergraduate degree in community organizing and women's studies, and an MA in Interdisciplinary Arts. I am currently an MFA student at Goddard College. I served on Future Search Commissions for two colleges and an issue-specific commission for the City of Northampton, MA, and did minor undergraduate work in studies in urban planning and community development. I am a community volunteer and a member of FreeThinkers for Peace and Civil Liberties. I am a certified storm spotter. In my spare time (define spare time please?) I am a voracious reader, obsessive movie buff, classical music junkie; I also and design and make sci-fi/fantasy and renaissance costumes. I have an unquenchable interest in just about everything. I see life as an ongoing opportunity for learning and adventure, with the best things still to come. All posts by Christine Anne Piesyk as presented on Clarksville Online are copyright ©2006, 2007 to the author.

Email: womanspeak@yahoo.com