Fair food booths benefit civic organizations

MOSES LAKE — What do they serve at the Youth Dynamics food booth at the Grant County Fair?

“Tater dogs,” said YD director Todd Welch.

“Chicken salad,” said his dad Bill.

“Ice cream sundaes,” Todd Welch said.

“Strawberry waffles,” Bill Welch said.

The list was interrupted by a customer looking for one of those ice cream sundaes.

“You want whipped cream?” Todd Welch asked.

“Heck, yes,” the man said. “That’s the only reason I ordered the sundae.”

“Extra whip,” Todd said.

“A man after my own heart,” the customer said.

Youth Dynamics is an “adventure based ministry,” Todd Welch said, open most Monday nights also, providing dinner, games and “we always share the Gospel.” Proceeds from the booth go toward its program. "It goes directly to the students of Moses Lake," Todd Welch said.

There’s an entire row of food booths at the fair rented by community organizations from throughout Grant County. The Ephrata and Moses Lake Lions chapters each have booths; so do the Moses Lake Lioness, the Moses Lake American Legion post, the Moses Lake Eagles, the Block 40 4-H club. It’s all good food for good causes.

Appropriately enough, cool jazz could be heard from the Moses Lake High School Band Boosters booth. “We are selling to be able to fundraise for our Disney trip,” said Colton Pearce. The band boosters are selling pizza slices, pretzels, nachos and smoothies.

The youth group from Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church was selling tortas (Mexican meat sandwiches), paletas (Mexican ice cream) and elotes (grilled Mexican street corn). The youth group members are helping raise money for a project to refurbish the Fatima Center, the parish hall, and for a couple of the youth group’s own projects. But there’s also a public service component, said Christina Mejia, who with her husband Anthony heads the church’s youth ministry.

Running a food booth takes its share of volunteers. “In the course of a day we have about 30 people through here,” Christina Mejia said, mostly kids from the youth group. Youth Dynamics relies on volunteers from church youth groups around Grant County. “We have about 180 volunteers this week,” Todd Welch said.

The band boosters were holding down the booth with three people early Thursday morning, “and when it gets crazier we have, like, five (people),” Colton said.

And those tater dogs at the YD booth? “We punch a hole, put a German sausage in it and bake it in our oven,” Todd Welch said.

“And you can put chili on it, if you really want heartburn,” Bill Welch said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.