Meal

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- A well-known eatery downtown will close its doors at 2 p.m. Monday after serving its last meal. For the better part of 24 years, Spring House Restaurant owner Laurie Risley has worked with JoAnn Barrett and Becky McDonald at the small establishment on Queen Street. The three of them rotate as cook, waitress, server and dishwasher in the restaurant that is open daily and can seat more than 75 people, Risley said. All three are from Hedgesville, W.Va.

marlob@herald-mail.com SMITHSBURG - Where can you go these days to hang out with friends, learn some new things and eat a satisfying meal for just $1? At the Sunshine Leisure Club meetings in Smithsburg, you get all that and a helping of jokes thrown in for free. The group of about 30 members has been meeting once a month since 1972 and most members agreed they wouldn't miss it for the world. "It started out as a social club. We took bus trips and things like that," said Jean Hierstetter, current secretary of the group.

Catering a meal fit for the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. military started out to be a bit nerve-wracking but turned into the lesson of a lifetime for culinary arts students at Franklin County Career and Technology Center. Colleen Blubaugh of Waynesboro was nervous about serving Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, when he visited the Capitol Theatre on Feb. 10 as part of a public-speaking engagement. "I was in charge of getting all the dining room stuff, so I was pretty nervous trying not to forget anything," Blubaugh said.

Several area agencies will be offering Thanksgiving meals next week. The Salvation Army in Hagerstown will be serving a Thanksgiving meal on Tuesday, complete with turkey and all of the traditional trimmings. The meal will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The Salvation Army headquarters at 534 W. Franklin St. A regular daily meal will be served Wednesday. There will be no meal Thanksgiving Day. Grace United Methodist Church, at Winter and Church streets in Hagerstown, will host its seventh annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. The menu will include turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, sauerkraut, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and other items.

Emeritus of Hagerstown, part of Emeritus Senior Living, will deliver 10,000 meals to senior citizens in 60 days and visit them to ensure they are able to get the nutrition they need every day. “Seniors may not get the nutrition they need for a variety of reasons,” said Christine Ogden, executive director. “For some, it's due to a lack of financial resources; for others, a lack of reliable transportation. And in many cases, isolation and depression have caused seniors to lose interest in cooking and eating healthfully.” Emeritus of Hagerstown has long been providing outreach to seniors who live at home through their home visits program, where senior living professionals visit residents in their home to identify where they could use help and connects them with the services they need.  “We are committed to making sure that every senior in need in this area finds the combination of programs and services that serves them best, even if they do not live with us,” Ogden said.

Making soup is typically easy and economical. Add ingredients to a commercially-prepared soup. For example, dress up classic tomato soup with fresh-cut tomatoes and a little basil, or choose an easy recipe with ingredients family or friends will like. Homemade soup is a good candidate for a slow cooker, but there also are recipes that can be put together to make a meal quickly. If using a recipe for the first time, follow instructions exactly. Once you are familiar with the recipes, consider adding additional ingredients, such as extra vegetables, to suit your taste.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- World Travel Film and Ethnic Dinner Series will present "Canal Adventure in England, Scotland and Wales" presented by Fran Reidelberger. The meal includes Kedgeree (haddock -- Scotland), vegetarian scouse (vegetarian stew -- England), pwdin reis mamgu (rice -- Wales), Welsh vegetable pie and Scottish carrot cake. The film and meal will be Tuesday, Nov. 17. Reservations for the meal are due by Tuesday, Nov. 10, and can be made by calling 717-262-2003. The meal costs $17.75; $10.50 for children younger than 10. The film costs $6.50; $5.50 for seniors and $2.50 for students ages 10 to 18. The buffet dinner begins at 6 p.m. in Laird Hall.

BIG POOL - "Body and Soul" meets at 6 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at Mt. Carmel UMC, Big Pool Road, starting tonight. The program is free. A light dinner of soup and salad or sandwich will be provided at 6 p.m.; a discussion of "Building A Godly Home" by Max Lucado will begin at 7 p.m. The public is welcome. For more information, call 301-842-3749.

What do you do when it's time to eat? a. Stop at a restaurant on your way to wherever you need to be next. b. Pick up food at the grocery store or deli on your way home. c. Pull an "emergency" meal from your freezer and reheat it. d. Serve a meal from your slow cooker. e. Whip up something from your well-stocked pantry. f. Any of the above, depending on how much planning you've done. Fast foods, frozen pizza, carry-out meals, all are popular quick meals; some even have healthy options.

BLUE RIDGE SUMMIT, Pa. - McCleaf Bus Lines, in partnership with the Blue Ridge Fire and Rescue Squad, will host a meal Sunday to benefit Alyssa Austin, a 3-year-old who was struck by a dump truck in September. The meal will be at the fire hall on Monterey Lane. The slippery beef or ham potpie dinner also includes coleslaw, applesauce, roll, dessert and beverage. Tickets for adults are $8 each. Tickets are $4 for children ages 12 and younger.

Concerned about hungry children and their families in Washington County, a group of Hagerstown Sunrise Rotary members and many other volunteers prepared more than 500 spring break meal bags for distribution around the area. Support from donors at the Community Foundation of Washington County, Weiss Market in Boonsboro, the Maryland Food Bank-Western Branch, and Cutting Edge Ministries/Raven House made the project possible. Each bag included a ham slice, canned vegetables and fruits, macaroni and cheese, rice, gravy, boxed juice and brownie mix.  Eligible children were identified by the Washington County Public Schools system.  Volunteers distributed the bags on March 30 at 22 sites in Hagerstown, Hancock, Clear Spring, Smithsburg, Boonsboro, and elsewhere in the county.  Bags not picked up that morning were delivered to area food pantries for later distribution to those in need.  Thanks go to the Community Action Council, which served as fiscal agent for the project and to Kathy Powderly and Carol Brashears for their advice and counsel.

Eating a variety of foods is recommended for health, but trying to overhaul family's eating habits can be a challenge. You will be most successful if you aim for gradual changes, rather than making an issue of food. Strive to plan and provide regular meals and snacks. Involve the whole family in healthful habits at snack and mealtime.  At snack and mealtime, limit low-nutrient foods, such as chips or cookies, because these foods have little nutrition and are high in calories, sugar and fat. Replace them with a variety of fruits and vegetables as a part of snacks or meals each day. By keeping healthful foods on hand, it will be easier to offer your child healthful options.

Meal prices for Washington County Public Schools' students and staff will increase for the third consecutive year, due mainly to cost increases such as food and paper supplies, Food and Nutrition Services Supervisor Jeff Proulx said. The Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the $10.7 million Food and Nutrition Services operating budget, which includes a 10-cent increase for school breakfasts and lunches for the new school year. Meal prices increased 5 cents for this school year, and went up 10 cents for the 2011-12 school year.

Emeritus of Hagerstown, part of Emeritus Senior Living, will deliver 10,000 meals to senior citizens in 60 days and visit them to ensure they are able to get the nutrition they need every day. “Seniors may not get the nutrition they need for a variety of reasons,” said Christine Ogden, executive director. “For some, it's due to a lack of financial resources; for others, a lack of reliable transportation. And in many cases, isolation and depression have caused seniors to lose interest in cooking and eating healthfully.” Emeritus of Hagerstown has long been providing outreach to seniors who live at home through their home visits program, where senior living professionals visit residents in their home to identify where they could use help and connects them with the services they need.  “We are committed to making sure that every senior in need in this area finds the combination of programs and services that serves them best, even if they do not live with us,” Ogden said.

What do you do when it's "time to eat"? a. Stop at a restaurant on your way to wherever you need to be next. b. Pick up food at the grocery store or deli on your way home. c. Pull an "emergency" meal from your freezer and reheat it. d. Serve a meal from your slow cooker. e. Whip up something from your well-stocked pantry. f. Any of the above, depending on how much planning you've done. Fast foods, frozen pizza, carry-out meals, all are popular quick meals; some even have healthful options.

Two health care professionals -   moonlighting as Hagerstown's answer to Emeril Lagasee and Mario Batali - served an Italian-themed meal to ten lucky houseguests on Saturday, Feb. 2. Joseph Ross, president and CEO of Meritus Health, and pathologist Dr. John Newby cooked a multi-course culinary meal at the home of Dr. David Solberg. The dinner was an auction item donated by Dr. Newby and Mr. Ross as part of the Crystal Ball, Meritus Medical Center's biggest fundraising event. Newby has donated his culinary expertise to the event for the past three years while Mr. Ross' talents are a new addition.

Lew Thomas used part of his Christmas morning to help a neighboring family have a nicer holiday. Thomas, a Fayetteville, Pa., resident, was one of close to 100 drivers who took hot, freshly prepared turkey dinners Tuesday morning from The Salvation Army in Chambersburg, Pa., and delivered them to shut-ins and less-fortunate people all across Franklin County. Thomas said it was his first time volunteering as a driver for the event. He said the family to whom he took meals lives in a schoolhouse in the Duffield, Pa., area, with “eight or nine” disabled children, many requiring extensive care.

This year, more than 2,200 Christmas Day meals will go to area families from the caring hands of the Meritus Medical Center emergency department and staff in the 10th annual Lend-A-Hand project for the Tri-State area. More than 150 volunteers, including doctors and nurses from the Meritus Medical Center emergency department, which sponsors the annual Christmas Eve project, will prepare holiday meals for delivery in a conference room-turned-distribution point at Robinwood Professional Center.

Thursday evening at LJ's & The Kat Lounge was both a reward for a year of participation and a lesson in etiquette for a group of young women and a young man from the Boys & Girls Club at Noland Village. The group arrived at LJ's in style, pulling up in a limousine provided by E.G. Specialized Limo Service. Once inside, they sat down for their seven-course meal with each setting having a dozen knives, forks and spoons on a wine-colored linen tablecloth. As each course is served, LJ's owner Alex Tiches told them before dinner, the diner goes from the outside utensil inward as the meal progresses.

Michelle McDonald, who has attended Easter Seals Adult Day Services of Hagerstown for three years, attended the program's Christmas meal Wednesday with people she said were like her family. “You're with people that you love and care about here,” said McDonald, 46, of Hagerstown. “I'm very happy and grateful. Easter Seals has been very helpful to me in being with people and making friends.” Easter Seals local adult daycare program, which serves adults with disabilities, provided a Christmas lunch for its participants along with The Good Shepherd Ministries on Wednesday at the church on Longmeadow Road.