Heavy rains on Thursday evening left parts of Valparaiso still without power following Tuesday’s storm and subsequent disturbances. Yet, inside Nana Clare’s Kitchen, the lights remained on and the kitchen was bustling with action. Volunteers worked diligently, chopping vegetables, preparing tomato-topped ‘ugly bread’, and packing green mac and cheese into containers for distribution. Michelle Danielewicz from Portage used her mobile phone to ensure she spelled ‘ratatouille’ correctly while labeling food containers, drawing inspiration from the 2007 film’s title on Thursday, August 13, 2026.
Steph Talarek from Porter launched Feed the Region in January, offering free meals since February. She relies on donations and aims to attain nonprofit status. Talarek’s current focus is providing free meals irrespective of recipients’ income or residency. She is contemplating expanding services into Lake County, hoping to cover the entire six-county region. For this mission, over 300 meals were distributed, including deliveries. More than 20 volunteers gathered at Nana Clare’s Kitchen to aid with meal preparation and distribution. Beneficiaries also received small floral vases donated from Chesterton’s community garden.
“This has always been in the back of our head,”
Talarek, adorned in a brown Feed the Region T-shirt, stated. She and her husband, Adam Stranc, who schedules for Cleveland Cliffs, have faced past struggles but remained optimistic. Talarek highlighted their commitment to giving back once they found stability.
“And everything seems to have gotten harder in the past year, so it seemed like the time.”
Feed the Region serves free meals every Thursday evening, with six to eight volunteers assembling around 100 meals. Following an April tornado in Wheatfield, Talarek provided sandwiches and drinks to the area locals. However, Valparaiso’s post-storm scenario stood out.
“This is the first one where it’s all about the storm. No one has power,”
she remarked.
Brenden Hess aided his mother Amy and Kelly Enderson in preparing ‘ugly bread’, increasing the meal count due to recent storms. In social media interactions, Talarek motivated people to pick up meals for others, witnessing some individuals planning to collect numerous meals for redistribution.
Jody Gawthrop from Hobart learned about the initiative via Facebook, appreciating its mission and joined to support efforts. Amy Hess and her son Brenden prepared the bread for transport, with Brenden sharing his eagerness to set up a lemonade stand for fundraising upon better weather conditions.
Other volunteers like Carol Presdorf of Hobart contributed to the effort, focusing on dish cleaning and vegetable preparation duties, expressing her support for Talarek’s vision.
The collective efforts led to a diverse menu including pasta, bread, and potentially chili. Canned beans lined the kitchen counter ready for use. With freezing capabilities unaffected by the storm, food preservation allowed flexibility in meal offerings.
More details about Feed the Region can be found at www.feedtheregion.org.
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