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Fairlawn woman is profiled in 'Taste of Home' for feeding parents at Ronald McDonald House
By Lisa Abraham
Published on Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008
It's not every local cook who gets recognized in a national food magazine.
Even fewer are recognized for their charitable works as well as their cooking ability.
Fairlawn resident Amy Geiser wasn't hoping for fame when she submitted her profile to Taste of Home cooking magazine — although her 7-year-old twin daughters, Abigail and Rebecca, are certainly enjoying the fame of having their photo in this month's issue.
The magazine was soliciting information from its readers about ways they cooked to help out in their community, for a feature called Cooks Who Care.
Geiser wrote in to describe her cooking for the Ronald McDonald House at Akron Children's Hospital, hoping that sharing her story would encourage others to volunteer at the houses in their own cities.
Akron's house is one of just a few Ronald McDonald Houses in the country that provide cooked meals for the parents who stay there each night. Others stock food, but parents must prepare their own meals. Ronald McDonald Houses provide low-cost housing to parents of seriously ill children at children's hospitals across the country. If parents are unable to pay, they can stay for free.
Geiser, 39, submitted the information to the magazine last spring, telling how every other month she prepares dinner for 40 people to be served at the house. It wasn't until her phone started ringing that she realized her profile was in the August-September issue.
Geiser is one of hundreds of people, restaurants and other businesses who provide food and donations to the Akron home.
After Rebecca had to have emergency heart surgery at Children's when she was 2, Geiser started thinking about a way she could give back to the many parents who walk the hallways at the hospital.
Then she saw a newspaper article saying the Ronald McDonald House was looking for volunteers to help supply the table of cookies that's always available at the house, along with coffee.
The home goes through about three dozen cookies each day, and Geiser thought baking cookies was something she could do easily.
The problem was, after the article appeared, the house was inundated with cookies. So Geiser was asked if she would consider preparing a meal for the home instead.
The idea of cooking for 40 people was daunting at first. Geiser said she had concerns about not making enough to feed everyone, but the volunteers have told her that no matter who is cooking and no matter what is available, there always seems to be enough to go around.
She also wondered if she could afford to provide such a large meal. But the dinner generally costs her about $40 every other month, a donation which she and her husband, Doug, are able to afford.
Her thoughts of ''I don't know if I can do this,'' quickly changed to ''How can I not do this?''
Geiser quickly came to realize that the parents who stayed at the house weren't interested in fancy meals, just warm comforting foods during their stressful time of dealing with a sick child.
''Sometimes, they don't even know what they're eating,'' she said.
Geiser makes basic, homestyle meals that she would serve to her own family, but on a larger scale. Meatloaf, carrots, baked potatoes and chocolate cake is a standard menu for her. Creamed chicken over biscuits or noodles is another.
''Sometimes I make pies. It really depends on what is on sale at Acme that month. Brownies are a big hit. They go over really well,'' she said, adding that chocolate is always welcome at stressful times — ''Chocolate is practically used for medicinal purposes down there.''
Until next week, have fun in the kitchen, where chocolate and charity are always good medicine.
Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.
It's not every local cook who gets recognized in a national food magazine.
Get the full article here.
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