UD chef Lisa Davis sees herself as a culinary artist, and in less than a week she'll be dishing up her artwork to help those in need.

Davis will be cooking lunch at the House of Bread, a Dayton soup kitchen, on Oct. 10 and 11 to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. Monetary donations are accepted, as well as bleach, bottled water and canned goods with pull tops.

For Davis, in her third season as a chef in Kennedy Union, the purpose of this fundraiser is twofold. In addition to helping those on the Gulf Coast, she wants to call attention to the needy in the local community.

'We're all seeing all these images on TV and we've got it all in our own back yard,' she said. 'If I can get new people to come and walk through that door and make them aware, then that is our contribution.'

The House of Bread was founded in 1983 by Sister Dorothy Kammerer, C.P.P.S. and provides over 8,000 meals a month 'to anyone who walks through that door,' according to Davis.

She has close ties to the organization. Davis did a culinary apprenticeship with the executive director, Bill Evans, and volunteered there for two months this past summer.

Currently, she serves as a consultant for the soup kitchen, much of which involves planning how to effectively use the donations from local food stores or restaurants. The donations can vary from New York strip steaks to produce to leftover pizzas.

'You want to provide them with a nutritious meal,' Davis said.

Each meal, she said, includes starch, protein, vegetables, fruit,and a drink.

Davis has more activities on her volunteering schedule. She plans to travel with the mobile Salvation Army kitchen to the hurricane-stricken region this coming summer.

'My first thing was to get out and go right away; however, I have an obligation to this university and to my customers [at the House of Bread],' she said. '[The fundraiser] is my first response.'

She plans to involve both those obligations in January and February 2006, when she will be cooking breakfast at the House of Bread. Davis has reserved Saturdays for UD groups looking for a community service project and encouraged faculty and students to volunteer. About 20 volunteers are needed to feed an expected 350 people.

With her regular UD duties, is it ever too difficult to give extra time? For Davis, no. The only problem, she said, is 'enjoying it too much.'

'It's never been a burden to volunteer,' she said. 'Everybody has a calling. My talents are culinary and these people need that.'

Lunch at the House of Bread, 9 Orth Ave., begins at 11:30 a.m. Proceeds of the fundraiser will go to America's Second Harvest, a national network of food banks. For more information or to volunteer, call the House of Bread at 226-1520. Lisa Davis can be contacted at 229-2236 or Elizabeth.Davis@notes.udayton.edu.