Assistance League Auxiliary and Local Chef to Cook up Comfort Food for Rescue Mission Residents

Las Aletas, an auxiliary of the Assistance League of Santa Barbara, has joined forces with Chef Coco LaForge to provide nourishing chicken minestrone soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and dessert that will be served to residents of the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission, during ACTION! Week.
 
ACTION! Week is an annual program sponsored by the National Assistance League in honor of the birthday of its founder Ann Banning. The event was started in 2012 and continues throughout the U.S. in all 120 Assistance League chapters.

The soup-and-sandwich-making event will take place Wednesday, March 20 at the Rescue Mission under the supervision of Chef LaForge, a local private chef with international culinary experience. LaForge specializes in Mediterranean and California cuisine.

About 30 Assistance League and Las Aletas members will be preparing the meal and serving it that evening to the Rescue Mission residents. A  variety of donated homemade treats from all the members will be served for dessert. This year, Ethnic Breads in Goleta is donating baguettes to add grilled cheese sandwiches to the menu.

“The mission of the Assistance League of Santa Barbara and its auxiliary Las Aletas is to develop and implement programs to benefit children and adults in Santa Barbara County,” said Tara Brown, chair of Las Aletas.

During ACTION! Week, each chapter is encouraged to do a special project for their community. This year the local focus is on helping to address food insecurity, Brown said.

“LaForge, who is donating her time and expertise, will lead us in creating this delicious, nutritious and heartwarming dinner,” Brown said. “Soup, sandwiches and dessert will be served to the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission community, an organization that serves 250 meals per day.”

Along with its auxiliaries, Las Aletas and Assisteens, the Assistance League of Santa Barbara’s 350 members volunteer some 50,000 hours a year to improve the lives of local residents.

The Assistance League Thrift Shop, 1259 Veronica Springs Road, is the major source of funding for these programs.