Libertyville student chef takes top prize in Food Pantry Challenge

Dillon Sandberg of Libertyville is one of three student chefs from Robert Morris University to win a Food Pantry Challenge sponsored by Together We Cope on Nov. 23.

Challenged to come up with interesting ways to make meals using only food pantry-supplied staples, meat and produce, the students created nearly 100 recipes that call for ingredients the Tinley Park-based organization is packing up for clients this month.

“Everyone who’s worked in the pantry has, at some point, come across a donation — it could be something packaged, or a vegetable, or meat — and we’ve asked each other, ‘What would you do with this?’” said Kathryn Straniero, executive director at Together We Cope.

To generate recipes, the agency hosted the Food Pantry Challenge, a contest that drew 28 student chefs from Robert Morris. They had 24 hours to come up with recipes and four hours to cook the food for a panel of judges to sample at the university’s Orland Park campus.

The winning menu included 14 dishes ranging from sausage/Ramen stroganoff, which includes a novel use for Ramen noodles, to a pork-and-bean dish featuring braised pig’s feet, an item that many cooks might find difficult to use.

“You’ve made so many wonderful dishes using our food,” Straniero said before announcing the winners. “Your creativity is just amazing, and we are so grateful.”

Grand prize winners were student chefs Timothy Beutel of Joliet, Grant Duncan of Joliet and Sandberg of Libertyville. They were chosen by judges Nicholas Kapellas, managing partner at Bonefish Grill in Orland Park; Donna Lorent-Migliorese, local store marketer at Texas Roadhouse in Tinley Park; and José Torres, executive chef at Rock Bottom Brewery in Orland Park.

Recipes will be distributed to clients and also available at TogetherWeCope.org.

Ingredients for the Food Pantry Challenge: enough to feed a family of 8 for a week:

Ÿ Produce (available to all groups) spring mix, mushrooms, carrots, lemons, grapefruit, oranges, onions, potatoes, limes, zucchini, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers (red, green, yellow and orange).

Ÿ Proteins (differed slightly between groups): whole cutup chicken, Italian sausage, pig’s feet, cheddar brats, beef shanks, smoked turkey sausage, beef femur bones, turkey neck bones.

Ÿ Dry goods (all groups): Wheat Chex, spaghetti sauce, canned sweet potatoes, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, canned green beans, canned soup, Jell-O, barbecue sauce, stock, black olives, brown rice, apple sauce, tuna, sliced bread, pasta, canned corn, canned spaghetti, cake mix, spicy mustard, canned pumpkin, pork rinds, sloppy joe mix, peanut butter, tea, ramen noodles, canned black beans, canned mandarin oranges, Miracle Whip, tomato sauce, cornbread mix, snack pack.

Ÿ Pantry items provided by Robert Morris kitchen: flour, eggs, mayonnaise, sugar, milk, vinegar, canola oil, ketchup, soy sauce, yellow mustard, butter, salt and pepper.

Together We Cope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Tinley Park that serves families in crisis from 22 South suburban communities through its food pantry, resale shop and funding for some needs such as rent and utility bills.