Dumplings
As a kid, Nieves always thought she would be a doctor. But after realizing open wounds were not her thing, she settled into studying accounting and finance. Math and numbers just click for her, and she’s excited to use her skills to support communities and nonprofits as part of her career. Beyond the business world, she’s passionate about sustainability, loves thrifting, and has a heart for service.
Nieves first came to Bread+Belonging as a kitchen volunteer. She volunteered a lot in high school at a local food pantry and wanted to find something similar when she came to the University of Colorado. “I love places where you volunteer for a long time,” she says, “so you get to know the people there.” Through volunteering at the Buff Pantry on campus, she saw a sign for B+B. “The description was so cool,” Nieves remembers, “it’s like, ‘come cook for two hours.’ And I was like, ‘that’s perfect!...I’m in college and I need to learn to be a better cook!’”
The B+B kitchen community welcomed Nieves and made her feel at home right away. Though she was a bit shy at first, and uncertain about staying to eat dinner, the friendships she made while prepping veggies and cooking giant pots of rice helped her become more open and comfortable. She started staying to eat, and now arranges her class schedule so she can be at B+B to cook and have dinner every Tuesday. “Since I have such a busy schedule, sometimes I feel like I can’t be part of a lot of the clubs,” she reflects, “so it’s nice meeting people through Bread+Belonging.”
And while the opportunities to meet people and really connect are the most important part of B+B for Nieves, she’s also grateful to have leveled up her cooking skills. Not only is she better at cutting onions and other vegetables, she’s learned a lot of new fresh, healthy, and balanced recipes. Her favorite B+B meal? Dumplings! Not only are they delicious, but the process of hand-making dumplings is fun and social, and she loves being in the kitchen when it’s full of conversation and the smell of an amazing meal.