Salem High's upper level Culinary Centrals class.

It’s that time of year again-Salem High school’s culinary arts students brewed homemade apple butter on Friday, Oct. 24. “It goes out of my room into somebody’s home,” teacher Barbara Allman said. She only has to use word-of-mouth advertising to get the delicious 240 quarts (60 gallons) sold. Proceeds will be used to fund scholarships for seniors from the “Family and Consumer Science” program that encompasses the culinary arts and the early childhood development program.

The event culminated volunteer work by the students with the Society of St. Andrews, a ministry dedicated to gleaning America’s fields and feeding the hungry. Gleaning is collecting any fruit or produce that has fallen to the ground-Salem’s culinary arts students gleaned 2,844 lbs. of apples from Johnson’s Orchard in Bedford in late September.

About 2,000 lbs. went directly to the Rescue Mission in downtown Roanoke, Allman said, and most of it was blemish-free and good enough to just wash up and put on the serving line. Later, Allman took 12 kids back to the mission to help peel and bag the remaining apples to make pies, apple sauce, and other homemade goods.

The remainder of the gleaned apples was used to brew an additional 30-gallon pot that will go directly to the Women’s and Children’s center in downtown Roanoke.

Apples for the 60-gallon drum that the program is selling were purchased by the program.