Meet Ed Groark

Ed Groark is Martha's Table's Sears Chef Challenge participant. He chose Martha's Table as the charity he would like to support for the Sears Chef Challenge. I asked Ed why he chose Martha's Table. View Ed Groark Sears page here.

Why I am drawn to Martha’s Table

My experiences with Martha’s Table go back many years to when I escorted groups of suburban school kids to work in the food preparation area where they performed the magic of turning donated food into meals for low-income and homeless families and individuals. I’ve always been so impressed by how Martha’s Table is able to do so much with so little. They do this with the help of 10,000 volunteers each year through their never-ending commitment to continually find new sources of donated food and to stay open 365 days a year.

When I was selected as one of 24 chefs in the U.S. by Sears to compete in their ‘best chef’ Sears Chef Challenge competition and I learned we could win cash awards for a food charity of our choice, I knew there was only one organization I wanted to compete for. In the first elimination round going on now, I have the opportunity to win $5,000 for Martha’s Table, and if I go all the way to the top, I can win as much as $20,000 for Martha’s Table. Wouldn’t you like to help me and help Martha’s Table?

My involvement with Martha’s Table has another dimension as well. This month Michelle Obama kicked off her ‘Chefs Move to Schools’ program asking chefs to adopt a school to go into their classrooms to talk to children about healthy eating and making good food choices. I am one of 1,000 chefs who signed up, and of course my adopted school is Martha’s Table, where there are over 300 children from pre-school through high school who receive at least one meal a day. I will be working with the Martha’s Table team (who know a great deal about healthy eating) to develop a program that teaches kids where food comes from, what healthy foods they didn’t know they liked, and how to make healthy snacks for themselves. I can’t wait share my skills and experiences with these promising young children. It’s a win – win all around.