Many people put a lot of love into cooking, but do they ever cook for love? A student group attached to the Center of Social Concern is an organization known as "Cooking For Love." A few years ago, a group of students from the Royce dormitory decided to get together and cook for My Sister's Place, a women's shelter for the homeless. The students would drive food over to the shelter each week and deliver it to the women. Eventually the Center for Social Concern decided Cooking for Love should be an official organization.
According to the club's president, Yoo Mee Shin, the club has over 300 members - well, at least 300 are on the email list. Overall, the club has about 15-20 regular members who come each week. Cooking for Love meets every Friday in the basement of the Interfaith Center. They cook a variety of meals ranging from French to Indian food. They have a budget of $40 each week to cook for about 20-30 people at the shelter. The cooking skills of the group vary. Some are very talented, says Shin, while others are just learning. The group usually has a different person each week come in with a recipe to instruct the group on how to cook.
The group raises money by selling Papa John's "mystery cards." You can buy a card for 10 dollars which allows you to buy one pizza and get one free.
They also have a bake sale at both Spring Fair and Fall Festival. No need to fear if you feel like you are missing out on the fun: you can always join.
"We are really flexible; there is no need to keep such a strict regiment. We're nice people," says Shin.
Aaron Tan has been coming on Fridays regularly since last semester. He originally decided to join because he knew a few people involved and he knows how to cook what he calls "the basic stuff," such as Chinese food, stir fry, rice, vegetables and meat.
Recently, instead of cooking,Tan has been delivering the meals in person to the women at My Sister's Place.
"It is quite nice to just talk to the ladies there and see the enjoyment they take from this," says Tan.
Sophomore secretary Ron Benjamin helps cook and serve the food in addition to organizing the different groups of students that come in each week.
Some weeks there are other volunteer organizations that work with Cooking for Love alongside fraternities and sororities.
You can join in the cooking fun at any time as long as you schedule it. Contact Ron Benjamin at hopkinsc4l@yahoo.com.
One major aspect of Cooking for Love is the cultural exchange enjoyed by both the Hopkins students and the women at the shelter. The women at My Sister's Place get to learn about new foods and recipies, while Hopkins students get to experience a different side of life.
"At first it can be intimidating because there are different women each week, and you do not know what to expect," says Benjamin.
Any qualms the students may feel when first approaching the women quickly dissipate as soon as they start serving them.
"They are pretty outgoing once we set all the dishes on the table, asking what it is we are serving," says Benjamin.
Benjamin recalls serving Israeli food, a specialty of his, and he said the women loved it. They especially enjoyed the chicken schnitzel.
As Benjamin shares his culture with the women, the shelter's residents share their own lifestyles, which sometimes revolve around a home that makes the dorms look nice.
The main shelter building has a few rooms to sleep in, but you need to be buzzed into the section containing the beds. The shelter also has a kitchen, but it does not have the facilities neccesary for the Hopkins students to cook there.
Benjamin says that when they first arrive the women seem sad, but when they see the food their faces brighten.
"They always ask what the dessert is and then what we study, what we do at school, etc."
The Cooking for Love group was recently profiled in the Johns Hopkins Magazine as one of the 25 most prominent social welfare groups on campus.
Fame or not, Cooking for Love will continue putting a smile on the faces of those who need it the most for some time to come. For more information, visit their website at http://www.jhu.edu/csc/cooking_4_love.html.
