Community Bite offers meal with side helping of nutrition

Never underestimate the value of dress rehearsal to a well-plated piece of chicken.

With a few minutes left until noon, Rebecca Larsen and the handful of volunteers who had assembled in a kitchen somewhere on the lower level of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church were still learning their marks.

This should not be confused with a lack of preparation — no, Larsen and co-conspirator Jenn Swistock had spent the better part of Sunday working in the kitchen of the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle, laying the foundations for a heart-healthy meal of salad, corn, potato and, of course, chicken.

By Monday, it was on to the more mundane stuff — like who would be distributing what onto the glistening stacks of plates waiting nearby.

“Just the last few minutes, pulling the meal together,” Larsen said.

Community Bite was conceived with the intention of being just that — a meal, pulled together four times a year, made from seasonal fruits and vegetables grown locally — but you can call it lunch for short.

Swistock got the idea from an in-flight magazine and worked with Larson to concoct a healthy menu that would be easy and affordable for people to re-create from the comfort of their own homes.

“Sometimes when you’re operating under a limited budget, it’s more difficult to serve yourself and your family healthier food,” Swistock said.

Community Bite is free and open to the public, intended to teach people how to create healthy and budget-friendly meals.

Alex Betz is a recent graduate of the food science program at Penn State. He volunteered to greet diners at their table and field any nutritional questions that they might have about their food.

“I think that eating healthy really can affect all aspects of your life,” Betz said.

Once the lunch rush concluded, Swistock, Larsen and company were prepared to rebuild the same meal in the service of what they anticipated would be a much larger dinner crowd.

Swistock said that the next Community Bite will probably be held in November.

“The plan is to use as many locally sourced foods as possible,” she said.

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 9:53 PM with the headline "Community Bite offers meal with side helping of nutrition."