Cooking, Eco Clubs combine for all-natural cookout

After a successful summer, Eco Club members can now boast an edible and fully grown garden. To celebrate the harvest, Eco Club teamed up with Cooking Club for an organic-themed cookout, with fruits and vegetables directly from the garden.

The cookout, held Thursday, Sept. 1, also offered various homemade dishes from participating students’ gardens, ranging from banana and zucchini bread to vegetable kabobs.

“Last year and over the summer, we had a great set of members and their families work really hard at maintaining our garden,” junior and Eco Club leader Alison Meineke said. “It seemed like a good idea to reward their hard work by giving them some awesome and organic food. I’m hoping our garden will continue to grow over the next couple of years, maybe even to the point where we could have an ‘Eco Club Market’ and sell food at lunch.” Meineke said.

In further efforts to keep the event environmentally aware, participants were encouraged to use reusable cups for drinks, bake with natural ingredients, and throw away all decomposable trash into the provided composts.

“I really liked that the cookout was so eco-friendly,” junior Elise Moeller said. “As a member of both Eco Club and Cooking Club, it was cool to see how the two could come together so easily. I definitely hope these groups can work together again this year.”