I've heard of Doctors Without Borders, the Peace Corps and other organizations that encourage professionals to volunteer their time where needed. A new one to me though is the Culinary Corps which takes culinary students and professionals and places them in areas of need for a week. What better place for them to come and help out than New Orleans?

Jessica Su wrote recently on her food blog, Su Good Eats, about her week long experience with Culinary Corps in New Orleans. She found herself working at Emergency Communities, a center offering free meals to residents of the Lower Ninth Ward. She talked about the conditions that she found within the center and how volunteers and residents alike struggled for basic services across the canal. Her piece ends with a dismal look at Café Reconcile, where I've never eaten but always meant to. Su promises more coverage of her trip once she gets the "loom and gloom" out of her system. I look forward to more honest and heartfelt posts.