Cobb Galleria Centre Partners with the YMCA to Feed Neighbors in Need

The COVID-19 Pandemic has brought career challenges and shifts for many, not the least of which are banquet chefs. Culinary Director / Executive Chef Nicholas Walker has done very little banquet cooking at Cobb Galleria Centre since March, but he has kept busy with projects that he would never have had the opportunity to fit into his previously packed workload.

One example is the Centre’s partnership with the YMCA of Atlanta. A longtime client of the Cobb Galleria Centre, the YMCA is hosting its Days of Service volunteer event here on Sept. 11. The team of volunteers will pack 1,500 food boxes to provide ingredients for 18,000 meals to neighbors in need. Chef Walker played a big part behind the scenes for this community effort, curating the items and creating the recipes for the food boxes.

Each box contains 10 ingredients that can be used to prepare breakfast, lunch, a snack, and dinner for a family of four. All of the ingredients are fresh but don’t require refrigeration. Chef Walker provides recipe cards in the box for each meal, and the recipients use the ingredients to prepare the meals at home.

“It’s like our version of Hello Fresh,” Walker said.

Here are the meals:

Breakfast
Overnight Oatmeal with Apples
Whole Fruit – Bananas

Lunch
Summer Vegetable Tacos with Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Bell Peppers – Serve with Sliced Apples for a complete nutritious lunch!

Snacks / Healthy Desserts
Banana Oatmeal Cookie

Dinner
Pasta Primavera with Summer Vegetables

Meal packaging on Sept. 11 at Cobb Galleria Centre will be held in small, socially distanced shifts inside the exhibition hall, with required safety measures including masks and temperature checks to ensure the health and safety of staff and volunteers.

More information: ymcaatlanta.org/volunteer-opportunities/days-of-service.php.