Food fundraisers are important part of Warden Community Days

WARDEN — It is true that the line at the Warden High School Class of 2026 booth was not as long as that at the Queen of All Saints Catholic Church booth. Nevertheless, by 12:30 p.m., it was clear the seniors had underestimated the demand. 

“We’re running out of pizzas already,” said Bryce Cox, who oversaw the seniors’ pizza fundraiser.  

Every town celebration features fundraisers, many of them food-related, for good causes. Warden Community Days is no exception, from the fresh-picked corn at the Warden Future Farmers of America booth to the hamburgers and fries served up by the Community Days committee. 

The solution at the Class of 2026 booth was to restock. 

“I’m ordering,” said Cox’s wife, Jodie Cox, pulling out her phone.  

The Queen of All Saints booth has been around long enough that it’s almost a tradition. 

“Ten years, maybe? No – more than 10 years,” said Gonzalo Bercerra, one of the parishioners manning the grills.  

Like the WHS seniors, the parish volunteers went with a popular classic. 

“We’re selling beef tacos and pork tacos, is the easiest way to say it,” said Father John Washington, associate pastor for the parish.  

They were in high demand; volunteers were tending three grills, and three warming pans were full of tortillas. About 15 volunteers kept things moving. 

Washington said Queen of All Souls parish is growing, and the money raised through the Community Days booth and other fundraisers will go to help accommodate that growth. 

“We are hoping to build a rectory here and to renovate the church,” he said. “We’re trying to get the parish in a place where we can have a permanent pastor.” 

The church was built in 1963 and expanded in 1993, but – well, that was a while ago, and the building is in need of some upgrades. Living quarters would be a prerequisite for getting a permanent priest, which Washington said Warden hasn’t had for at least half a century. 

The Warden FFA was selling fresh-picked corn, so fresh it was in the field a day or two before. They also had a freezer filled with ice cream. 

“All different kinds of ice cream,” said Megan Richins.  

What they didn’t have was a sign – there was one, somewhere, but it hadn’t made it to the park yet. The FFA members improvised, and since Richins has good handwriting, she was appointed to make the sign.  

Isabell Leslie said the money raised by the FFA goes toward chapter activities, from contests to the state FFA convention in the spring. 

The Community Days Committee cooked the hamburgers, hot dogs and fries for a community dinner on Sunday evening and was selling burgers and fries Monday. The meat was donated by the Agri Beef company, and the fries by the local JR Simplot facility.  

The labor was all volunteer, with Travis Jorgensen as the head cook. 

“There are, probably, 10 of us (volunteering),” he said, counting the people at the grill and manning the counter.  

Money raised through the hamburger stand helps pay for the Community Days celebration itself. 

    Isabell Leslie, left, and Megan Richins, right, improvised when the sign for the Warden FFA corn sale at Warden Community Days went astray.

    From left, Amelia Osorio, Gabriela M. Campos and Maria Reyes work on orders at the busy Queen of All Souls Catholic Church booth at Warden Community Days.
  

    Daniel Garcia fills an order from the fast-dwindling pile of pizza at the Warden High School Class of 2026 fundraiser during Community Days.
  

    Sergio Allende works the grill at the Catholic Church fundraiser at Community Days.