STORYCOUNTYSUN.COM • INSIDE: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • VOL. 12, IS. 52 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020
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PAID
AMES, IA 50010 PERMIT NO. 22
AMES BREAKFAST LIONS CLUB
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our members of the Ames Breakfast Lions Club were recently recognized for their community service leadership. Larry Wolters and Judy Stehr (3rd from left) were honored with the Melvin Jones Progressive Award from Lions Clubs International, and Darlene Wolters (2nd from left) and Neta Tosten with the Warren Coleman Progressive Award from the Iowa Lions Foundation. The leadership of these members helps the club achieve the “We Serve” motto of Lions.
DELTA KAPPA GAMMA PRESENTS ‘SCHOOLS FOR AFRICA’ Delta Kappa Gamma International Chapters, Eta, Ames, and Gamma, Boone met the evening of Feb. 27th at City Church in Ames. Delta Kappa Gamma is an international organization of women educators that promotes and supports professional and personal development. (For more info about the group, please call 515-290-6364.) The program for the evening, “Schools for Africa”, was presented by: Angela Pratt, Gamma Pres., Mary Martens, Pres. Eta, and Donna Niday, NW Regional Director, Eta Member.
Schools for Africa, which is a partnership including UNICEF, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Hamburg Society, helps the most disadvantaged children in Africa receive a quality education. Since 2010, DKG members have contributed $419,449.28 to improve access to quality education in 13 Sub-Saharan countries. A silent auction to benefit SFA was held by the local groups. Eta members raised $116 and Gamma Chapter will continue to gather funds through a collection at their next meeting.
DKG members (from left) Mary Martens, Angela Pratt, Donna Niday
Editor’s Note: With how rapidly everything is changing related to COVID-19, please visit the Ames Tribune website, www.amestrib.com, for more information as it becomes available. Follow the Ames Tribune on Facebook as well. Community calendar suspended: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that no gatherings with 50 people or more take place for the next eight weeks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Due to this, and the constantlychanging environment surrounding COVID-19 throughout the county and state, the Ames Tribune will suspend its community calendar until further notice. Thank you for your understanding.
page 2 • Story County Sun • Wednesday, April 1, 2020 The Story County Sun is published weekly on Wednesdays by Gannett Co., Inc., at 317 Fifth St., Ames, IA, 50010. (515) 233-3299 Mary Beth Scott, sales manager, (515) 663-6951, MScott@amestrib.com. Ali Eernisse, RE Weekly, (515) 663-6956, AEernisse@amestrib.com. Kylee Mullen, content coordinator, (515) 663-6901, news@midiowasun.com. General Manager: Kim Fowler Advertising Director: Becky Bjork
© Copyright 2020
AMES STUDENTS NAMED TO ALL-IOWA ACADEMIC TEAM
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MACC Boone Campus students Sara Bergin (left to right), Emily Moe and Sally Schrunk, all of Ames, were named to the All-Iowa Academic Team by the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. Courtney A. Martin of Ames was also named to the All-Iowa Academic Team. They were among the 18 DMACC students named to this prestigious group.
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hi Theta Kappa International Honor Society CEO and President Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner (left) presents a certificate to DMACC Hunziker Center student Courtney A. Martin of Ames for being named a Coca Cola Bronze Medal winner. She is one of only 50 students nationwide to receive this honor. The scholarship is worth $1,000. Martin is enrolled in DMACC’s Nursing program and is President of the DMACC Nursing Club and Vice President of the PTK Chapter.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020 • Story County Sun • Page 3
10 things you can do to improve your home garden right now By Jeanette Maranto Los Angeles Times
Waiting is always hard, but when you’re waiting for an unseen force that could, at any time, sicken or kill you, your family and your friends while devastating the global economy ... OMG OMG OMG ... Well. As we said. Waiting is hard. So take a deep breath, put down the remote and get busy outside. We’ve made a list of 10 garden chores that can help save your sanity now and make the coming months much more pleasant. We guarantee a solid smugness high if you can get even half this list accomplished. A few tips before you start: Stay out of your garden beds if they’re still wet and muddy; walking on wet ground can compact your soil. If you’re shopping for plants, call ahead to your favorite nursery to make sure it’s open. State and local officials have deemed plant nurseries as essential businesses, and many are now offering phone or online orders with curbside pickup or delivery. They will appreciate the business. Don’t have a yard? Get a space in a community garden in your area. And bonus: You might be able to get tips or even leftover plants from other gardeners. Just follow current health guidelines, and keep your distance.
1. WEED, WEED, WEED!
If your yard is like mine, the muddy ground is thick with sprouting weeds that will only get thicker as the sun starts to shine. Any weeding you do now will save you tons of misery later this year, when it’s hot and the weeds are threatening to take over your yard. If you haven’t got one, invest in a hula hoe (also known as an oscillating or looped action hoe) or diamond hoe to quickly and relatively easily eliminate those weeds while you’re standing. (Diamond hoes are particularly effective but super sharp, so keep them away from small children.) These handy tools will save your back and tons of weeding time while leaving the roots of the weeds behind to slowly decompose and nourish the soil. And if the weeds haven’t gone to seed, throw them in your compost pile.
2. START A COMPOST PILE
Collect dried leaves, twigs, grass clippings, stable bedding or straw, kitchen scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells, shredded newspapers, even old potting soil, and get composting. Check out your municipal websites to see if they have guides or offer deals on low-cost composting bins (most do). Aim for a balance of carbon items, such as dried leaves and shredded newspapers, with nitrogen “green” items such as kitchen scraps and lawn clippings. Moisten the layers as you add them (the pile should be damp, like a wrung-out sponge, not dripping), and keep it turned. The more often you turn the pile, the faster it will transform to a rich, crumbly, sweet-smelling amendment.
3. INVENTORY YOUR TOOLS AND SUPPLIES Does your wheelbarrow have a flat tire? Is your hand trowel
Inventory your tools and suppliesDoes your wheelbarrow have a flat tire? Is your hand trowel bent or blunt from hacking at roots or rocks? Are there holes in the fingers of your garden gloves? Now is a great time to check out your garden gear and get it ready for a busy spring. PHOTO BY DREAMSTIME/TNS
bent or blunt from hacking at roots or rocks? Are there holes in the fingers of your garden gloves? Now is a great time to check out your garden gear and get it ready for a busy spring. Buy a flat-free replacement tire for your wheelbarrow (much cheaper than a new barrow) or indulge yourself with a new pair of goatskin gloves. If you check all of this now, you will have what you need as the season progresses.
4. CREATE YOUR OWN PLANT SWAP
Ask your neighbors if they’re interested in a plant swap. If they’ve been to the nursery, they may have more vegetable plants than they need (Do you really need six eggplants?), and perhaps they’d like to swap you for some onion starts or that lion’s tail, marjoram or cilantro that came up on its own.
5. TRY LASAGNA MULCHING
Maybe you’re not ready to rip out your lawn, but here’s a chance to start slow and easy by converting a section of lawn into a garden bed via lasagna mulching. All you need is a pile of corrugated cardboard (flattened boxes are best), about double what you think you’ll need to create your space. The cardboard is candy to beneficial mycorrhizal fungi that help plant roots find the nutrients and water they need, according to interpretive horticulturist Leigh Adams, who created the Los Angeles County
Arboretum’s Crescent Farm, lush with edible trees, plants and wildflowers. With increased home deliveries, you might be able to collect enough cardboard from your neighbors’ recycle bins (ask first — it’s a little creepy to dig through other people’s discards without permission). Lay down the cardboard thickly, water it well, tamping it against the ground, then add at least 8 inches of compost, organic potting soil, dried leaves, vegetable trimmings, garden waste (minus weed seeds), lawn clippings (in moderation to avoid matting) and/or wood chips from local tree trimmers. Water each layer and cover with at least 4 inches of mulch. If all you have is wood chips, make them at least 8 inches deep, and when you plant, fill your holes with potting soil to give seedlings a base to get started as the pile breaks down, ultimately becoming excellent soil.
6. ENRICH YOUR GARDEN SOIL
Feed your garden bed with bags of organic potting soil, compost, aged steer manure or other organic amendments. Water it well, then let it sit for a week or two while the organisms break down the ingredients and “cook.” Give this mix a week or two to cool down, since planting right away could “burn” or kill tender seedlings.
7. SET UP SOME DEEP WATERING STATIONS Prepare deep watering
stations in your vegetable garden. Master gardener Yvonne Savio, creator of the GardeninginLA.net blog, suggests burying 5-gallon nursery buckets (the kind with the holes in the bottom) until the top rises just 4 inches above the ground (to keep scampering lizards from falling into the buckets and provide ample room for moisture-preserving mulch). Plant around those buckets this spring, and as the heat rises, fill the buckets once or twice a week with water. Deep watering will send roots deeper into the ground, where they’re more likely to thrive when the weather gets hot.
8. CREATE A HANDY HERB GARDEN
Find a sunny spot as close as possible to your kitchen door and plant an herb garden, either in a large pot or tub (with plenty of drainage) or in a garden bed. Keep drought-loving herbs like rosemary, sage and lavender separate from more water-hungry herbs like basil, and water with a lighter hand. Add a variety of mint to your herb collection (if only for the mojitos), but consider planting it in pots, since many mint plants are invasive and will take over your bed. Do keep the herbs handy, though, so you can easily run your hands through their fragrant leaves as you walk outside and get an instant pick-me-up.
9. FINALLY GET THOSE
PROJECTS DONE ...
If your garage is like mine, it’s littered with cobweb-covered yard projects, like the super-cool patio lights that never got hung, the deluxe smoker still in its box or the raised bed boxes gathering dust. With everyone home, set a time to get the family (or at least your fellow adults) involved in finally installing those wellintentioned purchases that never got out the box.
10. ... LIKE CREATING A SHADE GARDEN
A shade garden can be a nice place to sit during the summer, but it can also shelter your vegetable garden from the sun’s harshest rays in the afternoon. Tomatoes, for instance, stop setting fruit when they get too hot, so set up a way to shade your vegetable garden when the temperatures start exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit. One of the easiest solutions is to build a simple PVC-pipe frame you can place over your veggies and then drape with shade cloth, or create a shade cloth frame you can prop up to shield your garden in the afternoon. Urban farmer Eric Tomassini of Avenue 33 Farm in Lincoln Heights uses 45%-50% shade cloth (meaning it filters out 45%-50% of the sun’s rays) to grow out-of-season crops like lettuce and 25%-30% shade cloth to protect tomatoes against the harshest rays. Save 90% shade cloths to create areas in your yard for reading and sipping iced tea.
page 4 • Story County Sun • Wednesday, April 1, 2020
PEOPLE
Alyssa Zheng
Amaya Amelia Luo Dassanayake
Ashley Xu
Chloe Lu
Claire Lu
David Dong
Devon Tsia-Olson
Drake Wang
Emma Zheng
Gretchen MIzerak
Helen Mao
Jiewen Luo
Joy Zhang
Jumuyao Wu
Laura Chen
Leanna Kim
Lindy Chen
Lizzie Deng
Lucas Du
Maia Westort
Masha Kovnir
Natalie Westort
Sarah Yao
Tanya Fan
Vienna Rossmanith
Vitalina Zwingelberg
Ames District Pre-College IMTA Piano Auditions held at ISU Jan. 25 One hundred and two talented and highly committed piano students from 12 central Iowa piano studios performed in the annual Ames District Iowa Music Teachers Association (IMTA) Pre-College Piano Auditions on Saturday, Jan. 25, in the Iowa State University Music Hall. Students performed three to four pieces of varying musical styles and took written and aural theory exams to receive a written evaluation and I-to-IV rating from a certified IMTA adjudicator. Ninety-five students received I (top) ratings; 57 students also received further honors. Sixty-four students received a combined Music Theory and Ear Training score of 90 percent or above and were
named to the IMTA Theory Honor Roll. Fifteen performers were chosen as winners and 15 more as alternates. An honors recital was on Sunday, Feb. 23, in the Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall in the Music Hall on the ISU campus. The winners advanced to the IMTA State Auditions on Saturday, March 14 at Iowa State University in Ames . The following teachers organized and entered students in the event: Janci Bronson, Mindy DeVries, Paula Forrest, Mei-Hsuan Huang, Larisa Kanevski (cochair), Nai-Ying Liao (cochair), Cindy Lin, Donita McCoy (Co-chair), Michiyo Nakatani, Rachel Roling, and Ann Wong, all of Ames; and John Devlin (co-chair), Le Grand.
Winners, with their teacher’s name in parentheses, are as follows: Level A1: Lucas Du (Kanevski) and Amelia Luo (Liao); Level A2: Masha Kovnir (Kanevski) and Jumuyao Wu (Lin); Level B: Natalie Westort (Kanevski) and Alyssa Zheng (Kanevski); Level C1: Raylene Chen (Liao) and Vienna Rossmanith (Kanevski); Level C2: Gretchen Mizerak (Bronson); Level D1: Amaya Dassanayake (Kanevski); Level D2: David Dong (Liao); Level E: Lizzie Deng (Kanevski) and Devon TsiaOlson (Kanevski); Level F: Ashley Xu (Huang) and Lucy Gannon (Kanevski). Fifteen performers were named as alternates: Level A1: Drake Wang (Liao) and Vitalina Zwingelberg (Liao); Level A2: Emma Ke (Liao) and Chloe Lu (Liao); Level B: Claire Lu (Liao) and Joy Zhang (Kanevski) (Liao); Level C1: Leanna Kim (Kanevski) and Sarah Yao (Wong); Level C2: Maia Westort (Kanevski); Level D1: Emma Zheng (Kanevski); Level D2: Jiewen Luo (Lin); Level E: Laura Chen (Kanevski) and Lindy Chen (Liao); Level F: Helen Mao (Kanevski) and Tanya Fan (Kanevski). Twenty-Seven students received Honorable Mention ratings, indicating highly competent, musical performances. These students are as follows: Level A1: William Glasnapp, Jennifer Ji, Grace
Li, and James Remes; Level A2: Daniel Carlson and Isaac Wang; Level B: Ethan Wang, Harry Wang and Joshua Wo; Level C1: Sophia Kyveryga, Lynda Sun, Sherry Wang, and Mick Wu; Level C2: Brayden DeVries, Sevilin Gul, Nathan Lee, and Grace Wu; Level D1: Minerva Cao, Fyona Shi, and Siray Zhu; Level D2: Mengze Li; Level E: Raychie Chen, Nikolay Silkin, Claire Smith, and Steven Tian,; Level F: Lawrence Deng and Eddie Wei. The following students also participated: Level A1: Emma Chen, Daniel Hassall, Arron Singh, Emersyn Werstein, and Kevin Xiao; Level A2: Anika Banerjee, Elliott Coffey, James Huang, Taryn Mason, Apollonia Plastina, Asher Reuel, and Tiffany Zhou; Level B: Aadi Ghosh, Millie Heitmann, Chloe Lee, Qimeng Li, Adeline Mund, Anneka Singh, Mira Starobin, Annabelle Wen, and Theo Westort; Level C1: Taylor Dolezal, Claire Wang, and James Xing; Level C2: Miles Britt, Emily Carnahan, Elizabeth Duncan, and Anna Mussig; Level D1: Tiffany Fang, Jenna Kim, Timothy Lee, and Adam Zhu; Level D2: Chloe Berns-Schweingruber, Amelia Gogerty, John Higgins, Laurel Mizerak, and Akshay Sarda; Level E: Arunadee Fernando, Katie Gu, Catherine Merchant, and Henry Tang; Level F: Lydia Berns-Schweingruber, Angelina Chen, and
Yuer Zhu. The adjudicators for the event were Iowa Music Teachers Association Master Teachers Cyndie Caruth of Ankeny, Timothy LaFleur of Des Moines, Charles Schmidt of Rock Island, Ill., and Marian Lee, of Davenport. Lucas Du Level A1 Winner Amelia Luo Level A1 Winner Masha Kovnir Level A2 Winner Jumuyao Wu Level A2 Winner Natalie Westort Level B Winner Alyssa Zheng Level B Winner Alyssa Zheng Level B Winner Raylene Chen Level C1 Winner Raylene Chen Level C1 Winner Vienna Rossmanith Level C1 Winner Vienna Rossmanith Level C1 Winner Drake Wang Level A1 1st Alternate Vitalina Zwingelberg Level A1 2nd Alternate Emma Ke Level A2 1st Alternate Chloe Lu Level A2 2nd Alternate Claire Lu Level B 1st Alternate Claire Lu Level B 1st Alternate Joy Zhang Level B 2nd Alternate Joy Zhang Level B 2nd Alternate Leanna Kim Level C1
1st Alternate Leanna Kim Level C1 1st Alternate Leanna Kim Level C1 1st Alternate Sarah Yao Level C1 2nd Alternate Sarah Yao Level C1 2nd Alternate Sarah Yao Level C1 2nd Alternate Gretchen Mizerak Level C2 Winner Maia Westort Level C2 Alternate Amaya Dassanayake Level D1 Winner Emma Zheng Level D1 Alternate David Dong Level D2 Winner Jiewen Luo Level D2 Alternate Lizzie Deng Level E Winner Devon Tsia-Olson Level E Winner Laura Chen Level E 1st Alternate Laura Chen Level E 1st Alternate Lindy Chen Level E 2nd Alternate Ashley Xu Level F Winner Ashley Xu Level F Winner Lucy Gannon Level F Winner Lucy Gannon Level F Winner Helen Mao Level F 1st Alternate Helen Mao Level F 1st Alternate Helen Mao Level F 1st Alternate Tanya Fan Level F 2nd Alternate
Wednesday, April 1, 2020 • Story County Sun • Page 5
PEOPLE
10 ways to bond with your houseplants while you’re at home By Lisa Boone
Los Angeles Times
Now that we’ve been ordered to stay home, the surrealness of the global pandemic has set in. While many people are coming together virtually, now is a good time to tend to your houseplants. Does your Dracaena ‘lemon lime’ need dusting? Is your Chinese evergreen getting too much sun? Are you watering your plants too much? Or not enough? Below, we offer some ways to cultivate your indoor garden, while helping you stay sane in the process. (Note: We know it’s hard, but try to resist the urge to overwater your plants while you are stuck at home).
1. START STYLING WITH PLANTS
You know that table next to your bed? The one littered with bills, change and receipts for your income taxes? The first thing you see when you wake up in the morning and wonder what day it is in this ongoing pandemic? Put a plant on it. Trust us, it’ll make you feel better. Take this time to tap into your inner Justina Blakeney or Hilton Carter. Try hanging plants from a curtain rod. Create a lush vignette on a bench or table top. Add a plant to your home office, whatever that might be right now. Plants add warmth and beauty to our interiors and can soothe our spirits as we ride out this quarantine.
2. RESEARCH A NEW PLANT
Treat yourself to a new houseplant. You deserve it. But before you do, make the most of your newfound time at home by doing some research to find the plant that’s right for you. What kind of lighting conditions do you have at home? Do you normally travel, or do you spend a lot of time at home? You may need a lowmaintenance houseplant.
3. BUILD A #PLANTSHELF
Look it up on Instagram and Pinterest and you’ll get the idea. Plant shelves
are an aesthetically pleasing way to add life to your interiors while calming your nerves. Many retailers offer creative and inexpensive ways to display plants such as the Satsumas bamboo and powder-coated metal stands from Ikea, an assortment that works well in small spaces and allows you to display multiple plants at once. (Remember, humidity-loving plants do better in groups.) Etsy also offers a variety of fun plant shelves and if you’re feeling inspired, you can use this time to build your own.
4. PROPAGATE
Propagating houseplants, such as Epipremnum aureum, or pothos, is one of the easiest ways to clone your favorite houseplants. Simply cut the vine just below the node (where the leaf joins the stem), leaving two to three leafs at the top, and place several stems in water, or around the rim of a 3-inch pot. Allow the stems to stand in a warm area of the house and, eventually, rooting will occur. After three months, move each individual plant to a 3- or 4-inch pot. Pilea peperomioides, known as “the friendship plant” is another popular houseplant that is easy to propagate. Cut the “babies” that pop up at the base of the plant with a clean, sharp knife and place them in water. When new roots and leaves materialize, transfer the cutting to a small pot with well-drained potting soil. (These make great homemade hostess gifts when the time comes to socialize again).
5. START AN INDOOR HERB GARDEN
Now that you’re spending a lot more time cooking, why not plant some of your favorite culinary herbs, such as parsley, thyme and basil? Plant them in pots that are at least 8 inches in diameter, and place them in a southfacing kitchen window. You can propagate store-bought basil too. Cut below the leaf node, and place the stems in water. After several weeks, you should have a good root structure. Transfer the
cuttings to a pot, or outdoors, and before long you will be in pesto heaven.
6. TRY A NEW LOCATION
Is your plant thriving in its current location? Does it need more sun, or less? Is it getting enough humidity? Now is a good time to observe what’s going on with your houseplant. Are leaves turning brown or yellow, or falling off? Your plant may be unhappy. Try a new location and watch what happens.
7. DUST YOUR PLANTS
Houseplants collect a surprising amount of dust at home, especially if they live in the kitchen where they are exposed to cooking grease. Some experts advise wiping leaves clean with a damp cloth and giving them a bath in the sink or outdoors in the rain. Keeping plants clean helps with their overall health as it is a preventative measure against pests and insects.
8. GET CREATIVE WITH PRESENTATION
Find creative ways to have fun with your houseplants. Make a macrame plant hanger. Create a terrarium or fairy garden in a glass container — fishbowls, globes, pitchers or water glasses. You can add some lushness to your interiors by hanging a kokedama string garden — the Japanese art of growing plants in a moss-covered ball of soil wrapped with
string or fishing line. You can even transform one of your empty candle containers into an up-cycled planter.
9. IS IT TIME TO REPOT?
Most plants need to be repotted at some point. To determine if your plant needs a new home, look to see if the roots are growing through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. If it’s a large plant, lay it on its side and tap the rim before running a knife around the inside. Water the plant before removing it and then transfer it to a pot that is about 2 inches larger than the previous planter.
10. ELEVATE YOUR PLANTER GAME
Invest in some beautiful handmade ceramic planters by local artists who may be struggling right now. Many planters can be purchased directly from artists as well as at online retailers Individual Medley, Potted, Big Red Sun and Poketo, among others.
Ames RE/MAX welcomes new agent We are excited to add Melissa Pearson to the Ames RE/MAX office of agents! She joins her family’s team, Bock Real Estate Group, where she developed a love for real estate. Melissa will be working as an Exclusive Buyer Agent, focusing on home buyers’ needs. Her passion for
people fuels her desire to help clients find not only a house, but a home that fulfills needs and dreams. Melissa and her husband Bryan have 3 kids and are in the process of adopting a 4th. They’re very active in their church, local nonprofits and the north Ames/Gilbert community.
page 6 • Story County Sun • Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Sibling duo use their soul food restaurant to churn out free meals for seniors housebound by coronavirus By Heidi Stevens Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO — Jennifer Eason and her brother William run Jennifer’s Edibles, an American soul food restaurant in Evanston, Ill., where, in normal times, Jennifer spends her days cooking jerk chicken with rice and peas, grits with cajun shrimp and oxtails with butter beans. William serves as manager. But these aren’t normal times. The dining room, where folks usually gather to eat Jennifer’s food and hold E-Town Sister Circle meetings and chat about community affairs, is closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Their business has shifted to carryout and delivery only. Last week, when state officials were starting to order mass closures and other distancing measures, an out-of-state friend called the Easons and asked them to bring some meals to his elderly mother. He was worried about her leaving her Evanston apartment, and he wasn’t sure whether she had enough groceries to get by. “We went by there, and she wasn’t really in the best shape and didn’t have much support,” Jennifer Eason said. “We decided then to see if we could afford to feed five people a day for as long as we could.” The next day, they prepared five extra meals and brought them around to senior citizens who needed food. Word got out. People started to call and request one of Jennifer’s meals for themselves or their elderly relatives, neighbors or friends. On the second day, they prepared and delivered 18 meals. By the third day, it was up to 24. This week, they prepared and delivered 52 meals a day. Sixteen of their friends and customers have volunteered to be drivers. Restaurant regulars and good-hearted Evanstonians are calling the restaurant with their credit card numbers handy, offering to cover a few meals. People have stopped by with checks made out to the Easons. “Jennifer has established herself in the community as somebody that looks out for folk,” William Eason said of his
(From left) Kevin Murray, Larry Washington, Jennifer Eason, and William Eason prepare 55 meals to be dropped off to needy seniors in Evanston during the coronavirus pandemic on March 25, 2020. Wednesday’s dinner consisted of tomato basil soup, grilled chicken, green beans, and sweet potato pie. PHOTO BY CHRIS SWEDA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS
baby sister. “Adversity breeds leaders, and she’s been a lighthouse. She’s been a beacon to people. That’s why this has grown exponentially.” The meals they deliver, William Eason said, are often the only food the recipients are eating all day. So the Easons make sure that one meal counts. “Yesterday we did garlic- and rosemary-crusted pork roast with baked beans and cabbage,” Jennifer Eason told me on Tuesday. “Today they got meatloaf with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Of course, all the seniors tell me they don’t have any dietary restrictions. They’re like, ‘No, no. I don’t have any restrictions.’” William laughed. “They’re like, ‘And I’ve got a note from my doctor,’” he said. (Best not to mess with
Jennifer’s tried-and-true recipes.) The Easons were born and raised in Evanston. Jennifer Eason has been cooking since she was 7. Feeding their neighbors is who they are and what they do. “And it’s a pleasure to do it,” Jennifer Eason said. “We are working with a couple people to try to get more of the word out. I think our capacity will be about 100 people a day, depending on the amount of donations we get. And we’re going to do it as long as we can.” Each meal, they estimate, costs about $7 to shop for and prepare. Nina Kavin runs Dear Evanston, a community group that works to connect and unify Evanston residents around issues of race and social justice and antiviolence. On Tuesday evening, she shared a post on the group’s Facebook page listing local businesses
and organizations providing food assistance for people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. She mentioned Jennifer’s Edibles. “Twenty-five more people have emailed me to volunteer,” Kavin told me Wednesday. “Shop, drive, donate. People are amazing. I’m hearing things like, ‘I just got laid off so I’ve got some time on my hands.’ People’s generosity always amazes me, but now I’m seeing generosity and kindness almost exclusively.” The Easons, she said, are woven into the fabric of Evanston. “Jennifer started really small and with very little and that’s why, to me, this is particularly generous,” Kavin said. “They’re doing this incredibly good work from their hearts.” But they’re not doing it alone, Jennifer Eason reminds me. “This is a great effort by
everybody,” she said. “No one person can take credit for anything. All the different cooks and restaurants are sharing ideas. All the people donating and driving. It’s a shared effort. I just want to tell them thank you because we couldn’t do it without them.” “It’s satisfying,” she continued, “to know when I get calls from seniors that I can help them. Some people are almost in tears they’re so grateful. I just really want to make sure that they’re OK.” When this nightmare is behind us, let’s remember who led us through it with grace and generosity. We are all better for their example and their work. You can donate to Jennifer’s Edibles efforts through their GoFundMe page, titled “Covid19: Support meals for Evanston’s seniors.”