Abigail “Aster” Holman

President Emeritus

Bianca Wong

Vice President Emeritus

Aster and Bianca have been friends since they met in preschool at La Jolla Country Day School. Both girls share a love of cooking, music, and tennis, as well as a strong focus on giving back to their community.

Aster had been a regular Serving Spoons volunteer with Sofie Gardenswartz when they were in 8th grade, and was so excited when they were asked to take over when Sofie and Bella graduated in June of 2018. Aster is a prolific baker, and has been perfecting their cooking skills by making a giant mess in their parents’ kitchen for years! They play cello in both their school orchestra and as a member of the San Diego Youth Symphony. They regularly volunteer with Musicians With a Purpose, so that they can play for seniors in the community. They are a member of La Jolla Country Day’s high school Varsity Tennis team, and loves to compete.

Bianca is a San Diego native, whose family members also live in Calexico. She is a bilingual Spanish-English speaker, and is learning French at school for fun! She has played the piano since she was very young, and has been a competitive tennis player for many years, including being a starting player (as a freshman!) on the Varsity Tennis team. She loves picking creative and difficult recipes for the Serving Spoons team to take on each month.

Sofia Gardenswartz

President Emeritus

Sofia is an 19 year old sophomore at Pomona College. Since she was young, she always loved cooking, especially with her family. After taking an immersive cooking class in the summer of 2013, her passion blossomed. This love of cooking led her to Serving Spoons, and she was named President of the organization in June of 2014.

In addition to cooking, Sofia loves to read, write, perform, and surf. She currently serves as the Managing Editor of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown–winning publication, The Scribe. She has also received awards for her writing from the Maritime Museum and special recognition from KPBS, as well as a scholarship from the American Association of University Women to attend “Tech Trek,” a program that specializes in inspiring girls to pursue involvement in the STEM fields. She attended the Great Jewish Books Literature Program in Amherst, Massachusetts, in the summer of 2016, as well as the prestigious Kenyon Review Young Writers Workshop in Gambier, Ohio, in the summer of 2017. Sofia has also received recognition for her work in community service through the Jewish Community Foundation’s “Jewish Teen Foundation“, where she served as a program officer, and from the Francis Parker Community Service Board.

Her favorite part of Serving Spoons is delivering, where she is able to develop long-lasting relationships with the Serving Spoons recipient families. At each delivery, she looks forward to the opportunity to sit down with the families for upwards of 30 minutes and discuss how their month has been. It is in moments like these where Sofia feels truly gratified in Serving Spoons’ work and the impact of the organization.

Sofia would not be able to continue her work without the love and support of her family and friends, especially Annie to whom Sofia would like to thank for trusting her to lead Serving Spoons, and for her continued guidance and commitment to the organization. In her own words, “Serving Spoons isn’t just about giving people meals. What makes it special is its intimate nature. Serving Spoons is about establishing relationships with people to whom you’re not usually exposed. It’s about teaching volunteers how to handle themselves in the kitchen, and helping recipients to become self-sustaining. Ultimately it’s about family, and community, and our responsibility to help those in need.”

Bella Norton

Vice President Emeritus

Once upon a time, a girl named Bella was in love with food, but she could not cook. She couldn’t preheat an oven or flip a frittata. She couldn’t even peel an onion without bursting into tears. But this little girl grew up. Soon she could use a food processor and beat an egg white to whipped perfection. She learned to make a pesto pasta and package freshly buttered corn. She learned even to bake the perfect zucchini cake. But the most important thing Bella discovered was that she loved to cook.

Bella Norton came to Serving Spoons the summer before her freshman year of high school. From that day on until she graduated and went to college, she never missed a Sunday of Serving Spoons and in her sophomore year, she was named vice president of the organization.

Along with cooking and eating, Bella’s passions form around nature. Ever since she could walk she was hiking on trails. She loves the outdoors: camping, rock climbing, zip lining, and tree house building—she enjoys it all. She is happiest in the middle of nowhere on an adventure where there’s no destination. Many a time, Bella has brought some of her cooking skills into the wilderness with her, often getting up before the rest of her group to flip some of her favorite mocha pancakes or maybe even an omelet or two.

Besides the aspect of acquiring new skills while doing Serving Spoons, Bella’s most cherished memories with the organization involve the people, not only those whom she works alongside, but also the families she gets the opportunity to deliver to. In the kitchen, there have been many surprises, failures, and successes, and experiencing these with her friends is something Bella will always remember. There is always a healthy dose of laughter in the Serving Spoons kitchen. And this energy flows into the food that is created by it. When delivering, families’ faces light up with smiles of gratitude and happiness.These faces are what really make Serving Spoons worthwhile to Bella. A healthy, home-cooked meal can make all the difference to someone. And this is knowledge that Bella will take with her throughout her life.

Annie Sager

Founder

Founder

In 2009, when she was a freshman in high school, Annie had a dream to combine her love of cooking with her passion for community service. With much support from her family and friends, endless hours of paperwork, and dedication to the project, Serving Spoons Inc. was created. It started with serving two people, an elderly woman living alone and a single man with MS, but it quickly grew with the addition of three families. Some of the families spoke Spanish, others were single parent households, but all had limited access to nutritious meals. Through the monthly visits and home cooked meals, Annie created friendships and met inspiring and strong people who she will never forget. Annie is proud to see the success and growth of Serving Spoons through President Spring Simpson-Adams and past-Presidents Sofia Gardenswartz and Aster Holman.