Breaking bread with Iraqi Refugees

“There are people in the world so hungry,” said Gandhi, “that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

Eating a meal together can be an amazingly unifying experience, which is why the American Friends Service Committee of Kansas City is hosting “Breaking Bread Together: A Dinner with KC Area Iraqi Refugees and Iraq War Veterans” on Saturday, March 14 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Community Christian Church, 4601 Main Street.

Ira Harritt of the AFSC says there are as many as 20 Iraqui refugee families living on the Kansas side of the city and possibly more on the Missouri side. Funds raised by the meal — AFSC requests a $20 donation per person — will be used to help with education and emergency needs. The AFSC has organized pot-luck dinners before, but Harritt says the March 14 dinner marks the first time that the Iraqi refugees have requested to prepare the meal themselves.

Noted local chef Bonnie Winston — famous for creating the menu for Westport’s legendary Prospect restaurant — is overseeing the creation of the dinner, which will feature dolmas, kuba, biryani, potatoes stuffed with beef, hummus, tabbouli, eggplant salad, vegetarian kabobs and kalacha cookies and carrot pudding for dessert.

For more information or to make reservations, call Harritt at 816-931-5256 or e-mail him at iharritt@afsc.org.