Support through food and fellowship

Summit Quest brings families together with food.

Thursday night the kitchen of Doug’s Deli was filled with families working together to prepare a meal and to connect with other families through Summit Quest’s Cooking Matters Program.

The program is a part of the organization’s Circle at the Summit weekly support group which connects families dealing with cancer with each other. This is the group’s fourth Cooking Matters Program, said William James, executive director and founder of Summit Quest.

“The goal is to engage families in healthy cooking habits.”

Cancer can scatter families, said Sarah Grimes, director of development. It can make things like cooking a meal difficult regardless of the financial situation.

“We want to support families getting together to cook and make a meal,” she said. “It’s also a great chance to meet other families.”

Thursday night’s menu consisted of pork tenderloin, chicken Ritz, mashed potato casserole, salad and chocolate chip Doozies. Families were assigned stations where they worked with other families to prepare the food.

The meals were made under the instruction of Doug’s Deli employees who were on hand to make sure things ran smoothly. Doug Bowen, owner of the deli, spoke about the day-to-day operations of the downtown restaurant.

The event was completely free to the families, like all programs hosted by Summit Quest, James said. The night was sponsored by the Northwest Georgia Regional Cancer Coalition and Doug’s Deli was a first-time partner.

“They have been amazing to work with,” said James.

/ John Popham Above: Alan Lopez (center) grabs some strawberries while working the salad station with his family at Thursday night’s Cooking Matters Program at Doug’s Deli. The Lopez’s worked with other Summit Quest families to create a full meal everyone shared by the end of the night. Below: Siblings Isabel (from left) and Omarion Martinez prepare chicken Ritz along with their cousin Isaiah and his sister Analieze Gonzales. The four took turns with other families making the chicken

/ John Popham Doug’s Deli staff including Doug Bowen himself showed families how to safely prepare a meal Thursday night during Summit Quest’s Cooking Matters Program. Bowen talked to the families about the day-to-day operations of the deli.

/ John Popham William James, executive director and founder of Summit Quest, gives the cooking station assignments to the families participating in Thursday night’s Cooking Matters Program hosted by Doug’s Deli in downtown Rome. The program was designed to bring families dealing with cancer together to learn how to cook healthy meals and to fellowship.

John Popham Jordan Moreno makes Doozies for dessert in the kitchen at Doug’s Deli. Moreno and others worked the dessert counter Thursday night during Summit Quest’s Cooking Matters Program.