Members of the St. Vincent de Paul Parish Catholic Women’s League put a lot of “womanpower” into organizing their Fall Food Fest on Saturday.
“Our ladies are so generous. They work and they’ve been here all week, getting ready, setting up, bringing things in and baking,” said the event’s chair, Irene Pentesco. “It’s been terrific. They’re the backbone of the church.”
In addition to a bake table, there was also a raffle table, as well as vintage items and preserves on sale. Most items were donated by members of the parish and all baked goods were made by women of the church who did a “wonderful job,” Pentesco said.
Money raised will go toward good works, such as sponsoring a foster child in Africa, as well as visiting and giving gifts to people in nursing homes who don’t have families or whose relatives don’t visit them, Pentesco told The Lake Report.
“In town, there could be 30 to 50 people who don’t have anybody coming, so we do that,” she said. “And we have other things we sponsor along the way, different charitable things.”
The parish holds a variety of events and fairs, but this was the first time the focus was on food, Pentesco said.
For lunch, parish members served shepherd’s pie with green beans, frittata with a kale salad and a buffalo chicken chili with cornbread. Fest visitors could choose one of the lunch options as well as a dessert and refreshments.
People could also buy frozen deli goods like chicken pot pies, meatballs with sauce or shepherd’s pies.
“People really like that because they get to take some things home. They can take it and have it a couple of days or a week later,” Pentesco said.
Parishioner Judy Obee said the fest was amazing and she saw many people coming in for lunch, which took a lot of “manpower and womanpower.”