Gateway Technical College has donated nearly 400 pounds of food from its Culinary Arts program to an area non-profit to help feed those who may be struggling during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Culinary Arts instructor Adam Larkin collected the food from the college’s facilities and dropped it off to the Shalom Center in Kenosha, an organization that serves the low income population of Kenosha County. It included about 100 pounds of assorted cheeses, 15 dozen eggs, 20 pounds of deli ham, 50 pounds of deli turkey, 50 pounds of potatoes and 25 pounds of onions, in addition to other items.

“We understand that, during this time, there are people in our communities in need,” said Terry Simmons, Gateway dean of Protective and Human Services. “We knew that we had food that could not be used for the rest of this semester and started to brainstorm on what the best use for that specific food would be to help others.

“We already had connections with the Shalom Center and the great work they do to serve families in need and realized that donating it to them would be a way for us to support others at this critical time.”

Larkin noted that all the food was in its original packaging and was being stored at a safe temperature, which allowed the college to be able to donate it to the center.