The September “Do a Good Cooking Deed” winner is Barb H. from Cincinnati, Ohio. Her story was sent to me just before Grandparents’ Day and really reminded me of the privilege that many of you have in caring for aging parents. Others of us need to be reminded that there are elderly people in our churches and neighborhoods who could also benefit from our freezer cooking. Here’s what Barb did for her widowed Dad:

I would like to begin by thanking you for such a great program. I went to the bookstore to find a book that would help me know what would freeze well.

My father is in his late 80's and has been alone for the last three years since my Mother passed away. I worry that he doesn't eat very well. He lives in Florida, and doesn't want to come north. I live in Ohio, and can't get down there more than every few months. When I am there, I try to leave lots of leftovers for him to eat. I was hoping to find a book to give me ideas to freeze food so it would last him longer.

I found your book and it seemed to have lots of "normal everyday" recipes that he would like. I took it with me and read it on the drive down (when it wasn't my turn to drive!). By the time we arrived in Florida, I had a grocery list ready for the week. Instead of cooking all day for one day, I picked six meals from your book. I then cooked 2-4 recipes of each, instead of just one each night for supper. Dad didn't notice I was cooking a lot so he didn't complain I was working too hard. It was really no harder to fix a couple batches of the recipe, than it would have been to just cook the evening meal! After supper, I left some food in the fridge, but put the rest in single or double serving sizes in the freezer for later. Before we left, I showed him what all I had put in the freezer and he was so surprised. He didn't even realize what I had been doing during the week. It's so good to talk to him on the phone and hear how much he has enjoyed pulling home cooked food out of the freezer and fixing his dinner.