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The Oregonian FOODDAY
Honor Roll
The Oregonian FOODday takes pleasure in awarding this Certificate of Appreciation to Tom Ohling for enhancing the food scene in Oregon through his willingness to serve, his focus on children and his commitment to more nutritious food for all.
Ginger Johnston, Editor
Nurturing souls and bodies of the needy — TOM OHLING
Tom Ohling, 51, has worn many hats in the past 30 years: record store owner, bartender, nightclub manager, Loaves & Fishes community resources director, chairman of the Chef and the Child Committee for the American Culinary Federation Chefs de Cuisine Society of Oregon, board member, consultant, chef.
But nurturing is his first love.
As the Nutrition Magician for the past five years, he has taught at least 75,000 K-8 students the magic of healthy food choices.
His most recent magic act is articulating a vision, bringing to life and raising money to open the Community Kitchen Care and Career Program for homeless youth in Northwest Portland. This project is operated by the Salvation Army Greenhouse.
It was his work at Loaves and Fishes that set the stage for his continued dedication to community service. “I got to touch people’s lives,” he say’s.
He hopes to help Portland’s homeless youth well beyond their years at Greenhouse. “The program is not just teaching kids to flip burgers, and it’s not just giving them job skills. It’s not just a culinary school,” he emphasizes.
The program was born out of the concept that people - Greenhouse kids included - gain meaning in their lives by helping and connecting withothers. One way to achieve that is through feeding each other.
“I try to help others find their way in community service, too. I try to act as a shepherd to goodwill in the community.”
He also wants to open the door to a more intimate communication through mealtime.
“It’s not just about nutrition, but about the root word, nurture, and what happens when people come to the dining table with a need for nutrition and a deeper need for community.”
“This is a way to bring kids into the experience. Dining, that is the first thing that homeless people lose,” he says. “When we break bread together, we break barriers and suspicions.”
“Everything we really need to know we could learn at the family dinner table.”
from The Oregonian FOODday Honor Roll article
Dear Tom:
Congratulations on your being named to FOODday’s very first Honor Roll of passionate achievers who have enhanced the Oregon food scene.
We are very proud to honor you in this way and hope that you will be pleased with our article, to be published in FOODday on Tuesday, June 12.
One of our eight award recipients, chef Pascal Sauton, has generously offered to host a cocktail reception for Honor Roll recipients and FOODday staff members at 6 pm, Friday, June 15 at his restaurant, Esplanade at RiverPlace Hotel, Portland.
We hope that you will come and bring a guest. Please let me know as soon as possible, so I can tell Pascal how many to expect.
Sincerely,
— Amy Starke, FOODday Staff Writer, The Oregonian
I am still shaking my head to have been included amongst these innovative and selfless community leaders (from left to right): Doc and Connie Hatfield, Tom Ohling, Amy Starke (Oregonian Writer), Genny Nelson, Cassandra Garrison, Alan Kapuler, Pascal Sauton, Arden Sheets and Amelia Hard.
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