Christy repaired a necklace for me. Actually, she created a new one! I had received the necklace many years ago from a close friend. When it broke, I collected the beads and put them away in a small box. I recently found the box and gave it to Christy. She ended up designing a whole new necklace that I love. I told my friend that her kind gift was reborn!" --Marjie 3/15/17
Drew Joseph helps Timebank members think creatively about food to prepare appealing bag lunches for kids. He also brings to the work his sensibilities as a therapist.
“I have always loved to cook,” says Silver Spring Timebank member Drew Joseph. “Shopping, cooking, serving, eating – it’s a nice counter-balance to my paid work.” Drew does Marriage and Family Therapy – work that is important to him, but he notes that “that work is never ‘done.’ With cooking, there’s a moment of completion that gives me a feeling of accomplishment I don’t always get in my other work.”
As a father, Drew has ten years' experience preparing school lunches five days a week. He plays with new dishes and transforms leftovers, with a focus on variety and a pleasing presentation. “Putting in this effort is a way to make my family members feel cared for and to remind them that I’m thinking of them. “
Most of Drew’s cooking is vegetarian, but the same principles apply to all kinds of meals. “Garnishes are my hobby,” he says. Leftovers can look unappealing after a day or two in the fridge, but adding “a dollop of sour cream and julienned red peppers – even just those two things cheer it up.” Drew likes to make sure he always has scallions, cherry tomatoes, and parsley on hand. “And toasted sunflower seeds can go on top of just about anything. It only takes moments to make the whole thing feel more special.”
Now he is expanding beyond his own kitchen to provide a lunch consultation service through the Timebank. He first presented this idea at the Timebank’s “Skills Share” in January, handing out a short summary of his offer:
“Prepare school lunches your kids will love! You can receive a 90-minute, in-home consultation on how to prepare delicious, healthy bag lunches for your children to take to school. I will help you review your family's dietary needs and preferences; consider how to make time for regular meal preparation; explore how to make fresh vegetables and fruits appealing; identify useful equipment you can use; and more. To conclude our meeting, I'll help you set some short-term action goals for yourself. We'll plan ways to keep yourself creative and inspired over time.”
“I have a lot of tricks of the trade,” Drew says. He would like to spend time with Timebank members “playing with food and having fun,” while brainstorming and trouble-shooting with them. He wants to show them how to get the results they want for their families’ dietary needs and preferences and how to feel empowered to approach food creatively. He also has many shortcuts to share that save time in preparation. Drew’s offer targets families with children, but really, he says, this is for adults, too.
Timebank member Tina Slater and her adult daughter Jessie were excited by the recipes and other ideas from a session they had with Drew. He offered them many combinations for roasted foods that could go on a pita bread “pizza” of sorts. “Roasted pumpkin and maple syrup?” Tina asks. “I never would have thought of that!” She was inspired by all the possibilities he offered for dressing up leftovers. Yesterday’s apple pie topped with yogurt and raisins would be great in a bagged lunch. Cold pasta or mac and cheese become new and interesting when topped with peas, pumpkin seeds, baked tofu cubes, chopped veggie burger, or avocado. So it’s helpful to keep these ingredients on hand, ready to go.
“By the end of the meeting,” Tina says, “we were riffing off each other,” coming up with even more combinations. He even told her how to use a bento box in a bagged lunch to carry salad ingredients separately, keeping them from becoming soggy. Combining them just before eating makes for a more appetizing presentation. “Everything he talked about was healthy, too.”
Tina says she has been inspired to create a greater variety of creative meals since the session with Drew. For lunch, she has fixed Salad Niçoise and leftover quesadilla wedges, served cold with garnishes. She has made more stir fries for dinner and a frittata for breakfast (onion, kale, and grated sweet potato).
Jessie was also inspired and prepared the acorn squash and red cabbage that had been languishing in the vegetable drawer. (She filled the squash with a sort of cabbage/curry Waldorf salad.) She has also been roasting more vegetables – a good alternative to the typical lunch side of celery and carrots. Jessie makes a large batch to keep in the fridge and use with multiple meals.
Drew had a different kind of meeting with Timebank members Oswaldo Montoya and Rosa Campos, and their 13- and 15-year-old children. Oswaldo had told Drew that he and Rosa had concerns about their children’s diet. Drew had them answer some questions before the meeting. “When we met,” Oswaldo says, “he already had a good notion of our family’s needs.”
They gathered in Oswaldo’s and Rosa’s kitchen. First, Drew popped some prepped cauliflower into the oven to roast. Then they began to discuss family meals. The children talked about their food preferences, and the parents said they’d like to know what might motivate the children to eat more fruits and vegetables. Everyone got to speak, and “it felt good for all to be heard,” Oswaldo says. “Drew was like a mediator, honoring everyone’s perspective and helping to come up with solutions.”
They discussed options for expanding the family’s food repertoire. All vegetables can be roasted, and one can get a ready-made whole wheat dough and top it with a variety of vegetables. “Both kids enjoyed the cauliflower when it was done,” Oswaldo says, “and my daughter asked for more. Now this vegetable is in their diet. It will not be a struggle.”
The kids agreed to take on some of the responsibility for meal preparation, and it turns out that they are enjoying that. They are now more invested in trying new things, including fruits and vegetables, and they are also more motivated to eat the food that they help to make.
Oswaldo appreciates the support he felt from Drew and hopes to have another session in a month or so. He wants Drew to “hold us all accountable” (children and parents alike). They will discuss which of the discussed changes have been made, which haven’t (and why), and what they want their next steps to be. “There’s no overnight solution,” Oswaldo says, “but we feel that now there is a new way forward.”
If you would like to do an exchange with Drew Joseph, you may contact him through the Silver Spring Timebank: https://www.hourworld.org/bank/OneM.php?m=1354.
Thanks to SSTB member Laura Kranis for writing this story.
The Silver Spring Time Bank (SSTB) is hosting a Skills Share Swap on Sunday, January 8, 2017 from 2-5pm at the Silver Spring Civic Center. Best of all – it is FREE to attend! This is entirely volunteer-run and is open to the general public. You can pop in for one or two talks and visit a few ask-the-expert tables or stay for the entire event to absorb it all.
Continuing to build on the success of our swapping event series (Clothing Swap, Book Swap, Tool Swap, etc,), this SSTB event is a showcase to the entire community of the talents and skills that Time Bank members have to offer. We hope you will be inspired to join the SSTB, but no pressure! We just want you to enjoy yourself and learn something new for the New Year!!!
Here is a tentative list of the Skill Share talks and expert tables. (As with all live events, final details may change. Check our web site, Facebook page, Twitter page, or event signage for any last-minute adjustments.) We bet after reading the list below that you will find at least one topic of interest.
TALK SCHEDULE
2:00pm room opening
2:15-2:30pm Pam Holland “Decluttering & Organizing”
2:35-2:50pm Michele Gordon “Use Svaroopa Yoga to Relieve Back Pain the Easy Way”
2:55-3:10pm David Coleman “Resume Writing Tips”
3:15-3:30pm Denny Shaw “How to Find Funding For Your Non-profit”
3:35-3:50pm Mary Duke Smith “Self-defense Skills: Recognizing Early Warning Signs.”
3:55-4:10pm Kathy Carroll “"From Scattered to Calm: A Simple Technique”
4:15-4:30pm Patrick Murphy “Residential Energy Efficiency Tips”
4:35-4:50pm Miriam Mohamed “How to Cut and Sew Reversible Tote Bags”
5:00pm room closes
“Ask the Expert” TABLING ROOM – open from 2-5pm
- Teaching a Child to Read/Supporting a Child Learning to Read ~ Linda Warschoff
- How to Pack School Lunches Your Kids Will Love ~ Drew Joseph
- How do Hypnosis and Meditation Work ~ Desiree Holmes Scherini
- Fitness and Wellness - Figuring out what works for you ~ Mary Duke Smith
- Cooking with Kids and Families ~ Nancy Marucci
- Sewing and Mending Basics ~ Mary Campbell
- Knitting and Crocheting ~ Jodi Bierlair
- Social Media 101: social media marketing on any platform ~ Jennifer Okosun
- Swing Dancing ~ Charlotte Schoeneman
- Using Power Tools: The Basics for Beginners. ~ Jessica Arends
- Thinking of Getting a Parrot? The Mechanics and Ethics of Keeping a Parrot ~ Bob Kirk
- How to dissemble, troubleshoot, & repair Home Electronics ~ Jay KapLon
- Perfect Your Pronunciation of Spanish ~ Emma Muñoz
- How to change your habits and improve your life through Hypnotherapy ~ Tim Hawk
- Krav Maga, a self-defense system. ~ Sandra Elvin and Divya MatheFor more details about the SSTB, see:
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/SSTimebank
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SSTimebank/
WEB SITE: http://www.sstimebank.org/
The Silver Spring Civic Building is at the corner of Fenton St & Ellsworth Dr. It is an eight minute walk north from the Silver Spring Metro Station. Many bus routes can take you to and from the building -- Metrobus F4 and Ride-On #16, #17 and #20 pass by on Fenton St. Metrobus J4 and Ride-On #15 and #19 stop at the corner of Wayne Ave & Fenton St. Metrobus Z6 and Z8 and Ride-On #9 and #12 stop nearby along Colesville Rd. The Metrobus Q and Y lines stop on Georgia Ave and Wayne Ave.
If coming by car, plentiful evening parking is available at the Town Square Garage just across Ellsworth Drive from the Civic Building. Do NOT park in the Whole Foods parking lot or you risk being towed.
My dog's tether kept getting caught between the boards on the edge of our deck. So frustrating! I saw that timebank member Jonathan C. offered home repair, and we exchanged emails about possible solutions. I bought some wooden slats and screws, and he brought his tools. He quickly cut the slats to size and attached them to the edge of the deck to cover the gaps between the boards. Problem solved!
Laura K. 4/13/2016
Years ago Tina found these Japanese zabuton floor cushions in her parents' storage unit. She bought beautiful fabrics 4-5 years ago to fix them up, but the cushions remained in her attic. Tina recently connected with Cynthia, a new SSTB member who had mentioned sewing in her profile bio. Cynthia said YES to Tina's request for help to repair the cushions, and it was no small task to sew seven new covers. Now these gorgeous zabutons are ready for a party! And Cynthia has a nice chunk of hours to use for a service she's been hoping to receive.
Continuing to build on the success of our swapping event series, the SSTB is hosting a Skills Share Swap on Sunday, January 8 from 2-5pm at the Silver Spring Civic Center. We are looking for SSTB members to present 15-minute short sessions on a quick, teachable skill. We will put out a call for presenters soon, so please start thinking about what you might share. This event will act as promotion to the entire community of what talents and skills our Time Bank has to offer. Examples of short, shareable skills would include: knitting a scarf, choppng veggies like a chef, and designing a logo. Most of all, we are looking for skills that people WANT to learn -- think about what will draw a crowd. Please save the date and plan to attend either as a presenter or learner!
Catylator Makerspace hosted the Silver Spring Timebank on October 23 and helped us make our customized t-shirts...”Ask me about the silver spring timebank”. Thanks to SSTB member Christy Batta for organizing this creative event and to Catylator Makerspace for having us!
