John Tumino

We received a message from Patricia Parzych whos family owns Ace Hardware in Brewerton asking if it were possible for the store to sell our Taste and See Products. The answer was absolutely YES! Community Partnership is a wonderful thing especially in the corporate sector. This partnership will not just bring in finances for our work but it will also bring awareness to the community of Brewerton regarding homelessness in CNY. Big thank you to the TEAM at Ace Hardware for believing in our mission, together we are building hope and changing lives.

Ace Hardware 

9655 Brewerton Rd

Brewerton NY 13029

Year two with Wellwood Middle School was fantastic even in the Middle of a Pandemic. The face to face interaction with the students was greatly missed but being able to send video messages was awesome. The kids and faculty at the school stepped up to the plate once again to show our friends they are not invisible. A $1000 check was hand delivered this week which goes without saying that these Middle School Kids are true Homeless Hero’s! Thank You Wellwood for your big hearts to all those we are serving, we are your hands extended. 

In the mood for some healthy, comfort food that will keep you in fat burn 🔥

Sour Cream Beef Bake 🤤
Makes 6 servings

5 cups cauliflower rice
15 ounces cooked 85-94% lean ground beef
2 Cups In My Fathers Kitchen Taste and See Sauce
1/2 Cup sour cream
1 1/2 Cup 1% cottage cheese
2 Cups reduced fat shredded cheese
1/2 Cup green onion
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350.
Place the cauliflower rice in a 2.5-quart baking dish. Microwave 4-5 minutes or until tender but not mushy.
After cooking, set aside (leave in the casserole dish).
In a large skillet or pot, cook the ground beef over medium-high heat until browned, 7-10 minutes.
Drain and stir in the IMFK Taste and See Sauce, salt, and pepper.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the cottage cheese and sour cream. Mix in the sliced green onions.
Pour the sour cream mixture into the cauliflower rice (that’s in the casserole dish) and mix well.
Pour half of the beef mixture over the cauliflower rice mixture.
Spread with the back of a spoon to even. Top with 1 cup of the cheddar cheese.
Repeat with the remaining beef mixture and cheese, ending with the cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Eating With A Purpose
Taste and See

Collaboration is a big part of what needs to happen to assists our friends outdoors. We received a call from Rescue Mission for assistance with a gentleman they were assisting who needed medical attention. Doctor Lehmann was ready to assist and the connection was made to help this man. The info we received was that he had a leg abscess that had maggots invading the wound. When we arrived Doc looked at the leg cleaned it up and bandaged it, when he was done our new friend said that his foot was worse than his leg. When Doc pulled off the sock we were met by dozens of maggots crawling around a little pinky toe wound. Doc was able to clean out the area disinfect and assess the wound. Our friend had a bone from his pinky exposed and didn’t even realize it. Doc later explained to us that because of our friends severe addiction to alcohol that he now suffers from alcohol neuropathy. What is Alcohol Neuropathy? Alcoholic neuropathy involves coasting caused by damage to nerves that results from long term excessive drinking of alcohol and is characterized by spontaneous burning pain, hyperalgesia and allodynia. Once area was clean and bandaged we were able to provide new socks, sneakers and antibiotics. Doc will be visiting him next week to discuss follow up care with our friend regarding this serious condition. We at IMFK will work with any organization that is willing to assist any of our friends outdoors. Relationship building is important with our friends outdoors but relationship building with organizations is vital as well so we can assist our friends with a higher level of care.

We met Marc in 2019 and have continually engaged him with food and supplies while he’s been sleeping inside of a tent in the woods. We’ve recently been able to connect him with a housing provider and are waiting for a space to open up for Marc to call his own.

During our journey with Marc he expressed to us that the prescription glasses he received several years earlier were no longer meeting his needs and he was having trouble seeing both near and far. Our close partnership with Dr. Lehmann at House Calls for The Homeless allowed us to conduct an initial eye exam for Marc to determine his level of need and refer him appropriately. We transported Marc to a specialist in Auburn who was able to give Marc the proper prescription. Dr. Lehmann paid the bill for the exam and the prescription lenses. With prescription in hand, Marc was on his way to meet with Dr. Morrison at Renken Opticians in Syracuse to pick out his new face! Marc was able to pick out frames, Dr. Morrison affixed the lenses, and graciously gifted them to Marc. What a blessing!

There isn’t one person or organization that can do it all alone. It truly is a team effort, and we are thankful for people like Dr. Lehmann and Dr. Morrison who join us in showing true compassion and love to our friends experiencing homelessness. Our hope now is that Marc will see the road ahead a bit more clearly and be confident in knowing he does not have to make this journey alone.’

“JD”  DiDomenico, Care Manager

In My Fathers Kitchen