Cupcakes for Seniors
Meals on Wheels Kids

Alec Lucas knows that his best work is not done in the kitchen. “When I try to cook at home, I either explode the eggs or make really hard cookies that break my brother’s teeth,” the South Fayette sixth grader says.

Yet here he is, in charge of making chocolate cupcakes in Pat Roseto’s middle school consumer science class. Despite his incisorbusting mis-adventures of the past, it’s a task that Alec doesn’t mind.

He knows that when finished, the tasty treats will be delivered to needy residents throughout the area, courtesy of the local Meals on Wheels.

It’s part of a project that all of Ms. Roseto’s sixth grade students take part in, a chance to learn teamwork, kitchen skills, and the value of charity all in one scoop.The concept was developed when Roseto was looking for a project her students could work on. School director Lena Hannah, who volunteers with Meals on Wheels, suggested the students make snacks to be included with the regularly-delivered meals.

This is not the only way that the district helps out.Twice a month, a group of students in Charissa Kinzler’s high school special education class deliver meals around Bridgeville. Once, they were able to call help for an older man who was weak and confused from excessively low blood pressure.

At the kitchen counter, Alec is taking advice from his classmates, including Jake Sustrich, whom the other students declare is the best cook of the bunch.While some of the other kids have become proficient in Mac ‘n’Cheese and spaghetti with Prego, Jake says that pork chops and stuffing is his favorite dish to make at home.The luck of the draw relegated him to cleaning duty on this day, but he’s glad to lend a hand to his classmates.

“These will be okay, as long as he’s helping,”Alec says, scooping a ladle of cupcake mix into a mold.

Left to Right: Jason Cillo inspects a box of cake mix; Andrew Hannah mixes cupcake batter while Ciarra Odin and Jenna Mereditz look on; Nick Seger handles a mixer like a professional while Cara Lyons uses a spatula; Danielle Druchniak and Hannah Fischer load up a cupcake tray.