Students dish out feast
<p>Lake Pend Oreille High School students Danielle Crank, Sarah Burrough and Erin Tompkins take care of the counter at a spaghetti feed Thursday night. (Photo by CAMERON RASMUSSON)</p>
SANDPOINT — Lake Pend Oreille High School seniors spent their entire day slaving over a hot stove Thursday for the benefit of the community.
As a part of their regular round of senior-year community involvement, the students showed up at the Sandpoint United Methodist Church at 8 a.m. to prepare the dining hall for a massive free meal. By 4 p.m., the students began serving attendees spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread, salad, and cupcakes in the culmination of all their efforts.
“Some of us have to leave early, but most of us will have been here 11 hours by the time it’s over,” student Kellie Swor said.
There was plenty to keep the students occupied throughout that time. They decorated the area with plenty of autumn and Halloween motifs, carved pumpkins and got to work cooking tons of spaghetti. They topped that off with plenty of spaghetti sauce and 250 meatballs made from 45 pounds of meat. In addition, students used the day to hold their class elections. After candidates prepared nominations and gave speeches, the students voted Lolisa Kuewa as their class president.
Each student had his or her share of responsibility for the meal. Once serving time drew near, some posted themselves near the door to greet guests as they arrived. Others manned the kitchen, tending to the many pots of spaghetti and sauce. In Kuewa’s case, much of her time was spent decorating elaborately prepared cupcakes for dessert.
“Today has definitely been a lot of fun,” she said.
It was essential that there be enough food for everyone, since according to group supervisors Randy Wilhem and Belinda Wilson, as many as 150 people could show up throughout the evening. They gave all the credit to the students for the event, who even financed the event themselves.
“The fact that they are taking money from their own fundraising to put this on is pretty amazing,” Wilson said.
Lake Pend Oreille High School teachers began their partnership with Sandpoint United Methodist Church last year to host the philanthropic project. Wilhelm said that aside from getting the students out for something different and teaching some valuable cooking skills, the event is an excellent way to introduce them to the community.
“We want to try and expose them to the community and let people see how great they are,” he said.