The “purple beast.” (Photo by Jarrett Van Meter)

If you are looking for a nice gift to give for the holidays, look no further than your local Freedom Express convenience stores. Residents, staff and friends of Grace Village Retirement Community have come together to create a cookbook full of delicious family recipes. The cookbook, titled “A Taste of Grace,” was created as an idea to fund a new bus for the community members to use for transportation for such outings as grocery shopping. Grace Village’s old bus, lovingly referred to as the old “purple beast,” is on the decline after over 15 years of service.

A copy of “A Taste of Grace.” (Photo by Jarrett Van Meter)

Grace Village resident Mary Ann Cobb explains that her son and daughter-in-law, Greg and Sheila, are the owners of the Kosciusko County Freedom Express stores and agreed to carry the cookbooks for purchase by their customers. Cobb jokes that: “My son had to listen to me complain about the bus so much that he finally said, ‘I bet I could sell some of those cookbooks for you.’ ” The cookbooks cost $15 apiece and have recipes for everything from desserts to taco salad. There are two Freedom Express locations in Warsaw, as well as locations in Leesburg, Bourbon, Etna Green and North Webster. The books can also be purchased at Grace Village Retirement Community, located at 337 Grace Village Drive, Winona Lake. Individuals may also donate without receiving a cookbook should they choose. For more information contact Amanda Zambrano at (574)-372-6162.