Where to start? Ok, last week I was given the opportunity to work out at Roots Farm. It is a small organic farm that sells produce to a community group once a week for a yearly fee. I had so much fun! I got to help support some tomato plants, but mostly I weeded, which was pretty interesting because they informed me of specific weeds to get because of the damage that they do to the crops. I learned so much information about how to grow and to take care of different vegetables. At 12, Marcia and Kris came out along with some other employees that wanted to tour the farm. Sara, one of the farm workers, gave us a tour. Roots farm has a lot to offer. They grow tomatos, squash, beans, berries, carrots, cucumber, along with a lot of others too. It was a great experience. The next day we were invited to tour Sutherlands in Atlanta, which is a distribution center. It was really nice to see the background work and where and how things were packaged and shipped out. We also got to visit a produce processing plant. That was interesting. Marcia was touched so deeply that she cried twice. It was a beautiful experience. We spent the rest of the week picking out 5 star recipes for UGA's 5 star dinner in the fall. Marcia and I are helping go through boxes and books of recipes to contribute to the menu. It was a great week!

I Cried Twice

To kind of recap this past week I spent Monday Shadowing one of the managers of the catering team, that was a lot of fun to see what events they participate in and how they set up.
Tuesday Liza and I helped the dietary specialist plan what is called The Five Star Dinner. It's one of the many special events dinners that the dining halls put on every year and the menu consist of items from restaurants and other organizations that have won the Ivy Award. No two recipes can be from the same person, so Liza and I started picking out all the recipes we wanted to use and will finish this project tomorrow.
Wednesday we toured a local farm called Roots, they growth a large variety of organic fruits and vegetables and are a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). So people buy in at the beginging of the growing season which is 16 weeks long paying about $30 a week , this is how the farm gets the money to buy seed and the equipment that they need with out having to take out loans. The customers that buy in get a weekly basket of produce that they can come and pick up and are not obligated to work on the farm but more than welcome. The farm is set on about 2 acres of land and only has 2 main people that work it, everyone else consist of volunteers both regular and sporadic. Later that afternoon we meet with chefs Brian and Paul to talk about our menu, Liza and I are planning the Freshman Closing Banquet at the end of the summer and we have to come up with decor, a menu,everything. This project is totally ours so we decided to go with a Mexican theme, and after talking with the chefs we have come up with a great menu that won't be too much work for them. Although they are more than willing to do whatever we want and we're meeting again tomorrow with Chef Paul to look at more side dish options, a couple of menu items include: Milanesa, Tamale's, Pork Carnitas, Churros, Flan, Sopapillas, Apple enchiladas, Red beans, Mexican rice, grilled corn, fiesta bowl salad, etc ( this making me hungry :-)

Today we went on a field trip to Sutherland's a distributor of UGA's that is based out of Atlanta; the people are wonderful. I had a wonderful time touring their facility and learning how they got started and operate in this industry today; they even had a nice lunch planned for us and gave us fruit baskets and goodies bags to take home. There was also an amazing processing plant that we toured which is not a part of Sutherland's but a separate entity that also buys direct and all they do is process foods, like cutting vegetables, preparing greens, spinach, beans, etc. We were able to walk through and see this process and I CRIED TWICE!!! Sure they were cutting up carrots, and celery in to 8 different sizes and making cole slaw with another machine, but the tear jerker for me was the onions. I have never cried so hard in my life I'm talking tears streaming down my face, we weren't right next to them but it didn't even matter. From a distance I watched as they put whole onions bulbs through a processor that finely chopped a full bucket (200lbs) in about 30 seconds. Next the onions were dipped in to a water batch with chlorine (100 parts per million) and then put in a spin dryer, this all took about 8 minutes. Finally it was dumped on a table where it got packaged, weighed and vacuumed sealed. He also showed us the blue book and talked to us a little bit about the industry itself and how he has managed to survive and make a reputable name for himself.
So that is a quick recap of my week, I don't have any big plans for this weekend as of right now so..............................................

Cia

Pictures!

Top: Marcia

Bottom: Marcia, Rachel, and Liza.

These photos were taken by orientation host Bobby Edenfield while the interns were working with the orientation team, marketing the meal plan to incoming freshmen and their parents.

Way Down Yonder on the Chatahoochie

This past week we got an opportunity to go to the regional hospital in Athens and tour their foodservice facility. It was neat to see some of the same equipment and to inquire about the patients diets and how they cater to each patient's needs. Every patient is on the theraputic diet. The Manager we talked to was very nice and gave us some sound advice on Foodservice Management. We also spent some time planning the Banquet that is in July that we will be in charge of. It was fun to come up with a theme and the menu items. We have decided on a Mexican theme and we are excited to finalize some decor decisions this week. The weekend was fun! Athfest was interesting. There were a lot of eccentric bands and cute tents that were set up to sell things from wood carvings to hammocks and clothes. Its a very artsy place, downtown Athens. Today we went tubing down the Chatahoochie River. I think that was the biggest experience of the weekend. Only because it rained, thundered, lightened, oh and lets not forget HAILED! but dont worry, Marcia and I trekked on. So I cant wait until next week when I can write about my experience as a worker on a local organic farm. Stay tuned!

Tubing

Today we went tubing down the Chattahoochee river in Helen,GA. It was tons of fun but could not have been more full of surprises, we checked the weather and it said a high of 86 partly cloudy and no chance of rain. The weather man couldn't have been more wrong, a high of 76, a down pour of rain accompanied by some occasional hail, thunder and lightening would have been more accurate. As soon as we got on the river the rain began and continued for a good 30minutes, at first I was apprehensive to get in the water but i figured i was going to get wet anyway. It takes about an hour to an hour and a half to tube the hooch, the sun finally came out and the last 45 minutes of the ride was wonderful. It was a really good time and looking back tubing half the way in the rain wasn't so bad either.
Oh yea Athfest was fun as well, there was definitely alot of people downtown and a lot of interesting bands playing along with some street vender's.
Until my next weekend adventure.......
Cia

A Shadow

This last week or so has been filled with lots of job shadowing, I've had the opportunity to shadow student management and management at various dining halls on campus. I really enjoyed this because it gave me a chance to see how the different managers manage and interact with their staff. Today I was given the opportunity to shadow the executive director of food service at UGA and that was very interesting. He has a great presence about him and was able to share some useful information with us about the importance of being different and how that can impact ones success. I also went on a mock health inspection with one of the managers earlier this week, He totally kept me involved and explained what everything meant when we filled out the sheet and gave them a score. I can definitely say that after this past week and a half I have learned a lot about how food service is ran from a management stand point, as well as a worker . I spent sometime serving and also working with the cooks and chef in production, i actually enjoyed it because it showed me how important their jobs are and helps me understand how they feel and what their days consist of.
I also shadowed the freshman orientation team this week showing me how they interact with parents and sell the meal plan. Since freshman( and any other students) are not required to have a meal plan they speak with the parents and even let them eat in the cafe to help with decision making. I enjoyed listening to the executive director and chef give presentations to the parents and students. They are very into what they are saying no matter how many times they've done it and really grab the audiences attention especially when they mention their 24hr dining hall on campus and encourage school spirit.
I've been working out on campus and had so much fun this weekend when I climbed the rock wall at their workout facility!! I took a class and can now climb it whenever i want!! This weekend I look forward to going downtown and experiencing Athfest (a live music concert downtown) and going to Helen to go tubing down the river.
Cia

LeT tHe BIG DaWg eAt!!!

Hey! So much has happened since our last post. We have experienced so much in only a week in a half. Last week we got the opportunity to shadow the managers from the different dining halls. We also shadowed the student management, which I think is a wonderful program for the students here at UGA. It gives them an opportunity while they are still in school to experience management positions. It was also a great way for us to get to know some of the students and people that are around our age. I think my highlight of last week was when one of the managers let me walk around with him while he did a mock health inspection. He was so informative on what to check and the proper procedures for everything. It was very interesting and I was able to learn a lot. This week, so far, we have been working with the orientation team. We have learned a lot about the meal plan and the marketing strategies of the meal plan and the services that the foodservices here at UGA have to offer.

This weekend has some exciting things to offer. Athfest is this weekend, which is a local music festival in Athens. I think we are going to check that out, and on Sunday a group of us are going to Helen, Georgia to go tubing!!!