Community Corner

Brighten the Day of a Local Firefighter

Here's one way to say thanks to the men and women who are there when we need them.

Last week, Patch columnist and firefighter Jeffrey Allen . Though Allen has enjoyed some good meals, he has also had a few bad ones.

“Rookie-made meals qualify as some of the absolutely worst attempts at food I have ever tasted. Flash-fried, burnt on the outside/raw on the inside hot dogs and undercooked instant rice? Bleak,” he wrote.

After I posted a link to Allen’s column on the Dacula Patch Facebook page, a reader asked how a group or community member could deliver a meal to the local firehouse. Though she didn’t say so specifically, I suspect she may have become worried when she read about Allen’s first attempt to cook mashed potatoes:

Find out what's happening in Daculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Standard fare when I cook at work is pork chops, mac and cheese, green beans and ice cream for dessert. Quick, easy and filling. One night I decided to mix it up..instead of mac an cheese, I was going to try homemade mashed potatoes. Problem was, I had no idea how to do this, and I was too proud/dumb to ask anyone, so I tried to figure it out on my own. Did you know you have to boil the potatoes before you mash 'em? I didn't. I put them in the blender. One burned-out blender motor later, I had concocted a lumpy, half hash brown, half raw soup of the worst stuff you will have ever put in your mouth. Over a decade later, I still haven't lived that down.

Hopefully most of the meals our firefighters eat are better than that, but, if you’d like to treat a local crew to a home-cooked meal, stop by , , or and talk to one of the firefighters.

Find out what's happening in Daculawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Capt. Tommy Rutledge of Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services, the on-duty crew will work with interested community members to plan a time and shift to feed. Rutledge encouraged anyone with questions to call 678-518-4850 or email fireprograms@gwinnettcounty.com.


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