H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S
A H u nge r to
feed thers
Brenda Sears, her husband and her three children have turned their love for cooking into their own community outreach program involving Mansfield Elementary School, the Garden of Gethsemane Shelter and anyone else fortunate enough to fall within their circle of influence. by MICHELLE FLOYD Food serves as far more than a basic energy source for Brenda Sears and her family. “My husband and I love to cook,” the Texas native said, “so if we have anybody who is sick around us, we will cook them dinner and take it over to them. We feed people when we know they are in need.” Because she was raised in a Hispanic household, Sears cooks many traditional Mexican dishes, like chicken and steak fajitas. Her husband Lee, who was raised in Georgia, prepares more homestyle meals, like broccoli casserole and macaroni and cheese. “We just make a meal and take it to their house, and we make sure we make enough so they will have enough for a while or
32 The Newton
some to share,” Sears said, pointing out that having food stocked in the freezer or refrigerator can make life easier when people are ill at home or traveling back and forth to doctor’s visits. The Sears family has on occasion taken its cooking on the road, visiting the Garden of Gethsemane Shelter in Covington to cook for residents. “We serve and fellowship with the people who are in the homeless shelter,” Sears said. “We will load up the grill on our truck and just grill out for them. They would come talk to us and hang out while we were grilling, and once the food was ready, we would serve them and eat with them and fellowship with them.”
