By Mark Abromaitis

THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

The farms around Delaware County had a great harvest this year, and so did the gardens at Maris Grove.

Maris Grove garden club  recently sponsored “Souper Sunday” in the community’s Coebourn Café.

Members of the garden club and other residents with green thumbs contributed any extra fresh vegetables they grew in their personal gardens during the growing season to help make a hearty vegetable soup.  Then, all proceeds earned from the sale of the meal were donated to the community’s Benevolent Care Fund.

A ‘home-style’ menu

With the assistance of Chef Marvin Wilson, Community Resources Manager Jennifer Allen says residents and staff planned the comfort-food meal together.

“This wasn’t fancy. We wanted this to be a good, home-style meal,” Allen says. “There’s nothing better on a Sunday evening than a warm cup of soup with crusty bread and butter and of course, friends.”

Most of the ingredients including the tomatoes, onions, zucchini and sweet bell peppers came from the Maris Grove gardens. Even the flower arrangements on the tables were fresh cut donations from the residents’ gardens. The local Panera Bread Bakery also pitched in, generously donating 22 loaves of bread for the meal.

“It was most impressive to see the variety of things that our neighbors were growing in their gardens,” says Antoinette Kaufman, who lives at Maris Grove. “We are already discussing next year’s plans and working with the garden club so that we can grow every one of the meal’s ingredients right here at Maris Grove,” Kaufman says.

Food, folks, and fun

But the event was more that just a meal; it turned into a party. Almost 200 guests didn’t leave after the soup was gone. Kaufman got behind the piano, and fellow resident Joe Ennis began playing the drums. Residents danced and enjoyed the rest of the evening together.