Gourmet treats for the homeless, and more

Gourmet treats for the homeless

Homeless people in South Florida dined this week on Kobe beef burgers, slow-cooked pork, and braised short ribs, after vendors at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival donated almost 30,000 pounds of leftovers to local soup kitchens. Volunteers from local charity Feeding South Florida had refrigerated trucks on hand at the event to collect spare food, and quickly distributed the gourmet treats to 10 local shelters. The excess food was expected to provide over 5,000 meals for the area’s poor and needy. A portion of the food was also frozen, preserving some delicacies for later.

The oldest Army Reserve recruit

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A 51-year-old woman has become one of the oldest Army Reserve recruits ever to complete combat training. Sandra Coast finished her basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., last week, alongside fellow recruits less than half her age. A former Navy officer, Coast was inspired to join the Army Reserve after her son Jeff enlisted as a U.S. Marine. Despite her age, Coast achieved one of the highest physical fitness scores in the company. “She is a prime example that age is just a number,” said Army 1st Sgt. John Byars. “She ran faster than soldiers young enough to be her kids.”

Terminally ill teen gets his wish

A terminally ill teenager given only months to live voiced an unusual regret to a friend last month—that he would never read the final, unpublished novels in Harry Turtledove’s The War That Came Early series. The friend posted a message on the Internet site Reddit, which was spotted by writer Jason M. Hough, who shares a publisher with Turtledove. Thanks to Hough’s efforts, the sick teen received both an advance copy of Turtledove’s next book and a phone call from the author himself. Hough played down his good deed. “I just made a phone call,” he said. “Right place, right time.”