Community MVPs Coating Ceremony 2016 !!!!!

Caitlin O'Connell — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 17:43:25 +0000

Two weeks ago the Community MVP students were celebrated during the annual MVPs Coating Ceremony. “What is Coating Ceremony?” you ask. It is a way to acknowledge the amount of time the students put into classes and workshops. During Coating Ceremony, MVP students who have completed 70 or more community service hours through Community MVPs receive their very own chef coats. Along with receiving chef coats, the celebration gives the students a chance to show off their cooking skills by cooking all the food for the ceremony. The students are encouraged to invite family and friends to the ceremony so that they can join in on the fun, and eat the delicious homemade food.

I had no idea what Coating Ceremony was when I first started interning at Brainfood. I figured there would be a graduation, but I never thought there would be more than that. Once they explained to me the reason behind the Coating Ceremony, I started to understand its significance. Graduation is about celebrating the end of the program, while Coating Ceremony is about showing our appreciation of the students and all the hard work they have put into Community MVPs.

A broke college senior learns the importance of a food budget

Caitlin O'Connell — Mon, 29 Feb 2016 16:52:52 +0000

As a senior in college at UMD you would think I might have a slight handle on how to be budget conscious when it comes to food and grocery shopping, but unfortunately that is not totally true. When I lived at home I would go to the grocery store with my mom, but I never really paid attention to the prices or good deals because I was too busy picking out the food that I wanted. Once I started college I had a meal plan which allowed me to get food from the dining halls on campus, so I still was not buying food from the grocery store. So when I finally moved to an off campus apartment and started going grocery shopping I didn’t really know how to shop on a budget. Sure I would try and buy the cheaper brands, but that was the extent of my frugal ways. In addition to my cluelessness in regards to budget, I also was not much of a cook. I could make the standard college fare; pasta, quesadillas, salads, etc., but other than the basics I was a work in progress. So when I started working at Brainfood I had a lot to learn about food budgeting and cooking.

Caitlin O'Connell's blog

Community MVPs Coating Ceremony 2016 !!!!!

A broke college senior learns the importance of a food budget