A feast for St. Joseph

POST FALLS - Marge Hopkins appreciates the generosity and tasty homemade meal.

Tina-Marie Schultz appreciates the Italian tradition of St. Joseph's Day.

Whether it was folks such as Hopkins, who received a free dinner at Rosa's Italian Market and Deli, or Schultz, who prepared the food at her restaurant, Monday was a day to celebrate.

"It's good, fresh food," Hopkins said.

She also likes the symbolism behind the meal and pulled out a fava bean from her purse from a previous dinner at the restaurant.

"If you keep (the bean) in your purse, your purse will never be empty of money," Hopkins said.

Schultz made a commitment after opening her restaurant that she would feed anyone in need or who is hungry on St. Joseph's Day.

"I do it every year," she said. "There's festivals all over Italy today."

When Schultz started her business two years ago, she feared she wouldn't get a loan, but prayed about it and in reality ended up getting to choose from several options.

"In the Middle Ages, God, through St. Joseph's intercessions, saved the Sicilians from a serious drought," Schultz said. "They prayed to God through St. Joseph to get through the famine, and the only thing that grew was the fava beans.

"So in his honor, the custom is for all to wear red, in the same way that green is worn on St. Patrick's Day."

The meal is also an educational event of sorts.

The feast can feature several meatless foods such as minestrone, pasta with breadcrumbs, seafood, oranges, zeppoli and fava beans.

Fava beans are considered lucky because they survived drought. The breadcrumbs symbolize the sawdust that would have covered St. Joseph's floor. Oranges represent the sweetness of St. Joseph.