While our journey with The Love Kitchen is coming to an end, our blog posts are not! We plan to keep our blogs up and running until the very last day of the campaign. After this post, we plan on posting at least one more time. With that being said, we would like to encourage you to leave some of your favorite recipes with us in the comment section below one last time.

The Love Kitchen connects homeless and homebound families with food, so what better way to make a final connection with you, our audience, over food. Typically we would request recipes that relate to the current holiday, but this time we are asking for your favorite recipes of all time.

Throughout the semester, our group has worked very hard to try and spread awareness about homelessness and gain donations for this non-profit. The way we spread awareness and increase contributions is through our Facebook page and our blogs. We learned that Facebook and blog posts are our successful strategies to reach our targeted age, and so far we have raised $10 for The Love Kitchen!

However, there were some downfalls at the beginning of the campaign. In the beginning, we tried to reach businesses, such as Chick-Fil-A and Insomnia Cookies, to see if they can donate some items for our Indiegogo page but there were no responses from them. Another downfall was our can food drive. One of our group members, Anna Jones, tried to get in touch with The Love Kitchen coordinator, Patrick Riggins to see if we can do our can food drive at their building, but we did not get any responses from him.

Nevertheless, we did not give up on our campaign. Each week, we update our Facebook wall and post individual blogs to connect with you. When we update our Facebook and blogs, we tried to build relationships with you and spread awareness about homelessness within Knox County. We know that The Love Kitchen has helped many individuals who are in need of food and clothes, and we want more people, like you, to continue supporting The Love Kitchen.

In addition, we want to thank you for supporting us throughout the whole semester!

Thank you so much!

Anna Jones

Annie Pan

John Barrentine

In today’s society, homelessness is becoming a major problem in the United States because many homeless people are living on the street and/or under a bridge. One of the reasons why homeless people are living on the street is that they are not financially stable. Another reason why homeless people sleep on the street is that they suffer from a mental illness.

When homeless people are living on the street, they tend to be alone. When homeless people are on the street, they must be cautious because they are at risk of getting rob or worse, killed.

I think that people have no empathy for homeless people because there are some homeless people who would take advantage of the system. For example, some homeless people may beg for money when they are not actually homeless. However, there are many homeless people who are homeless and try to get through the day.

In addition, holidays, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, are approaching quickly, and many people would be celebrating it with their family and friends. However, homeless people tend to be alone when holidays come around because they have no contact with their loved ones. I feel that holidays are important for many people because they can build relationships with their loved ones, but homeless people do not have that chance.

When holidays come, many homeless people are lonely. However, some people would make or buy food for homeless people. In Knox County, an organization called the Love Kitchen have helped many individuals who are in need of food and clothes. Every Wednesday and Thursday, they would provide food and can goods to individuals who are in need.

The start of the Love Kitchen organization began when twin sisters, Ellen Turner, and Helen Ashe served their first 22 customers. When Ellen and Helen served their first customers, they began to help more individuals who are in need of food and clothes. Now, the Love Kitchen serves 3,000 meals per week to individuals who are homeless, homebound, and unemployed people.

I believe the Love Kitchen is a great organization that help individuals who are in need because homeless, homebound, and unemployed people can depend on them. If it was not for the Love Kitchen, I believe that many homeless people would not be able to support themselves. I believe there are some homeless people who do not know about the Love Kitchen, but when people start spreading awareness about the Love Kitchen, they would help many homeless people.

Moreover, many homeless people do not have a voice and the support of other people, but with your help, their voices would be heard. In my English 255 class, my group and I made an Indiegogo page to raise money for the Love Kitchen organization and you can help too!

Some of the ways you can help are by going to our Indiegogo page. Our Indiegogo page, “Money Flows, Hunger Goes,” you can select how much money you want to donate and what perks you want to buy. Our perks include rubber wristbands, stickers, ribbons and when you wear our perks, you can spread awareness and help the homeless people!

Thank you!

Annie Pan

So we already know all about those holiday foods but stop and think, just for a second, and tell me what seems to be missing. That’s right you guessed it (I doubt you actually did but we’re rolling with it) your birthday, you know, that event that pops up every year where people celebrate only you, yeah that thing. Now some might think that the presents are the best part of that day, or that spending time with your family is what it’s really about, but I’m gonna stop you right there and say “no” the best part is all that delicious FREE food that your mom, grandma, aunts, and siblings make just for you.

Picture this, you open your eyes and get out of bed, then out of nowhere a strong, delightful aroma hits you and becomes the only thing in existence. You then walk down the stairs, turn the corner, and there it is…or rather there she is, your mamma pulling not one, but two apple pies out of the oven, steam spewing out of the little folds of the brown, buttery crust.

When I think of birthdays this is what comes to mind first, you see, while some people like cake to place their candles upon, I like pies. Why you ask? Well first off because they are some of the most diverse and mouth-watering foods you can find (If you don’t think so, you’re wrong). Secondly, they are always made with love, and by love I mean that gorgeous filling made from apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, butter, and whatever else my mom puts in there that’s oblivious to me.

Now that we have the setting painted with the dessert, let’s move to the entrees, because as we all know, the entree comes second.

I have two words for you, pot roast, yes that’s right, for my birthdays I like to have pot roasts. If you’ve ever had a proper one than you know that they are tasty and can last for days. For all my meat lovers out there, you know there’s few things better than seeing a gigantic slab of meat that’s been cooking all day alongside some carrot, potatoes, celery, onions and so on, slowly melting away in that crock-pot, and soaking up all sorts of juices from that broth. Then finally you hear that call all throughout the house, “dinners ready, come and eat,” and fortunately it’s your birthday so you get the first chunk of meat and spoonful of veggies, that have been calling your name all day.

As you’re chowing down on that roast, you look to the side and see another marvelous sight, more sides. Yeah, we already know about the veggies but what about some good ole mac n’ cheese, dripping with creamy, savory umm cheese and crusted with whatever makes that crust. Then you look above that and see those mashed potatoes (Yeah, I know we already have potatoes in the crock-pot too, who cares) and while you’re looking at that wondrous thing, some smooth, warm gravy falls like a waterfall and splashes right into those potatoes.

While you’re eating the food your family has been working on all day, overly contempt with all this majesty and the time you looked forward to eating it, you lean back, plate empty, and think to yourself, this is it, this is why you really celebrate your birthday….the food.

Thanks for reading,

John Barrentine

In today’s society, food is an important aspect in our lives because if we did not have food in our system, we would not function properly. Every day, food is prepared differently for special occasions, such as Thanksgiving. When people are cooking for Thanksgiving, they are cooking many varieties of dishes, and people can choose their favorite dishes to prepare.

During Thanksgiving, families and friends are gathered around to enjoy a meal together. I believe that sharing a meal together is very important in today’s society because people can build their relationships and stay connected with their loved ones.

Personally, my father and grandmother cooked many dishes during Thanksgiving. Some of my favorite dishes include mashed potato, stuffing, and roast turkey. One of the reasons why I like to eat mashed potatoes is because it has a soft and creamy texture. Furthermore, when I eat the stuffing and the roast turkey together, the texture and taste is delicious, due to different spices and ingredients that goes into it.

Moreover, many people have recipes that are passed down generation after generation. Currently, I have two favorite recipes that were passed down to my family. One of them was chicken noodle soup. When the weather is cold or if someone is sick, my mother tends to cook chicken noodle soup because the soup is very healthy. The soup includes chicken meats, chicken bones, carrots, celeries, and potatoes. Whenever my mother cooks chicken noodles soup, it always reminds me of home, especially when I have not been home for a couple of weeks.

My second favorite recipe is homemade eggs and tomatoes. The recipe was passed down by my grandfather. When I was young, my mother would cook eggs and tomatoes on many occasions. The egg and tomatoes recipes is very easy because the main ingredients include eggs, tomatoes, green onion, sugar, and garlic.

During middle school, my mother taught me how to cook chicken noodles soup and eggs and tomatoes. When I cook with my mother, I believe it helped me build a stronger bond and relationship with my mother because I can talk to her about anything when I have something on my chest.

Furthermore, in Knox County, there are many people who are homeless, homebound, and, unemployed, due to having no income or being disabled. However, the Love Kitchen organization has helped many individuals who are in need of food and clothes, and continues to help these individuals and families.

In the Love Kitchen organization, one way they help individuals is by providing food boxes. The process includes staff or volunteers calling out numbers to the individuals who are waiting in line. When a person calls out the numbers, some of the individuals in line would go into the building and receive their food in boxes. I feel that helping individuals who are in need is inspiring because in today’s society, everyone should give back to their community.

In conclusion, please consider sharing your favorite recipe or recipes with us! In addition, our Indiegogo page is also up and running! Right now, my group and I are ordering and receiving our perks within the next week. The perks include Chick-Fil-A gift cards, homemade ribbons, bracelets, and stickers. We hope that our Indiegogo page becomes successful because it would help many individuals who are in need.

Thank you,

Annie Pan

Hello!

We are a group of students who go to the University of Knoxville. In our group, we have Annie Pan, Anna Jones, John Barrentine, and Chase Clemmer. For our campaign, we are raising money to help the homeless, homebound, and unemployed people of Knoxville, and the Love Kitchen organization with their much-needed building renovations. Also, we are trying to raise awareness for the people in need because many there are many people who can not support themselves, due to no income.

During our campaign, we are focus on doing a canned food drive at the University of Knoxville. We believe that people can donate a can or two to help the people who are in need of food because most canned food are only a dollar. When people donate their cans to us, all of the cans would go straight to the Love Kitchen organization.

In today’s society, there are still many people who are struggling day to day to make ends meet. However, with the organization Love Kitchen, they have helped many people who are in need. In 1984, Helen and Ellen Ashe served their first 22 customers in East Knoxville, and they have grown to now regularly provide 3,000 meals each week to support the needy. However, the place at which meals are provided at is in need of dire renovation. The outside building of the Love Kitchen is currently impaired, due to old paint coming off. We believe that people who donate money to the people in need and the building renovation would help the Love Kitchen organization because all of the funds would go straight to them.

Our blog’s main goal is to get personal with our audience. As the popular saying goes, “…the key to someone’s heart is through their stomach,” (anonymous) and what better way to connect with our audience than by sharing personal recipes with you. In addition, the blogs for our campaign would consist of our favorite and least favorite dishes and our recipes. We believe that many people have a favorite dish that they would like to share, and we think that sharing our favorite and least favorite dishes would be relatable to those who have similar tastes.

Moreover, recipes are important to many individuals because these are recipes that have been passed down generation after generation. During holidays, recipes are used in homes and many families tend to cook large meals for their loved ones. For instance, many families frequently roast a turkey for Thanksgiving to share a nice family meal with blessing and thanks. These turkeys are carefully prepped and recipes oftentimes take hours of preparation. We believe that cooking from a recipe comes from the heart because family members are taking their time to cook their loved ones’ favorite meals.

In conclusion, when we write about our favorite and least favorite dishes, we hope there is a relatable connection with the audience because they can agree on the things we say when we write our blogs. When we write and post our blog online, we believe that it is important to communicate with the audience because the audiences’ feedback is our way of communicating with them.