Tonight, I hung up my apron in the kitchen at Paraclete Academy, the South Boston after-school program where I have cooked dinner for 25 kids and teachers every Tuesday night since Dec. 2.

Miss Laura and her favorite taste-tester.

The Last Supper, as Linda, the secretary, called it, was bittersweet. Not literally though. The dinner program at Paraclete ends this week. And when the summer session begins in July, I will be rattling the pots and (baking) pans at The Foodsmith in Duxbury.

My volunteer gig was a gift. Amongst many things, it taught me to cook for a large group in a commercial kitchen (organization is key), deal with food issues and improvise with what we had on hand.

It’s the proverbial day at the beach to cook for one fiftysomething guy every night. But on Tuesdays, I dealt with finicky 4th to 8th graders – “I HATE tomatoes!” – vegetarians, kids (and a teacher) who refused to eat my food and others who were so grateful for the “home-cooked” meal, they’d hug me.

Paraclete kids LOVE salad!

I also made dessert every Tuesday, because that’s what I do. Fruit was abundant this winter thanks to Paraclete’s weekly delivery from Lovin’ Spoonfuls, the local food “rescue” operation. So there was a lot of apple crisp, apple-pear crisp, and banana-chocolate chip cake. Anything with chocolate won raves. Natch. However, I was surprised how much they liked the Greek yogurt-homemade granola-berry parfaits that I served in little cups.

“Don’t ask me why, but they love anything served in little cups,” the amiable Sim, one of the resident teachers, told me.

Tonight, for the last hurrah, it was strawberry shortcake with beauteous berries I scored at R & C Farms in Scituate. Ya think the kids were interested in the farm-fresh strawberries? Nope. I had four “helpers” jockeying for position around the KitchenAid bowl that held the freshly whipped cream. One of the older girls — who didn’t eat tomatoes, cucumbers or the ground turkey in her baked pasta — readied herself with an ice cream scoop!

But one of the reasons I was so grateful for the gig was that it got me out of my south-of-Boston suburban comfort zone. I overheard conversations that made me angry and sad. I helped the principal Jackie Parker box up extra groceries for a student to take home. Last week, I gave a Whole Foods chocolate angel cake to a little girl who said she needed something to bring home because her mother was mad at her. Maybe she was running a scam, but what if she wasn’t?

And I loved Louis, my taste-tester and chief critic.

“Get me a spoon,” he’d tell me as he wiggled his fingers in the air. “I’ll let you know if it needs something.” Or this gem: “Next time, don’t make brown pasta, Miss Laura. Kids HATE brown pasta.”

Roger that, Louis. No wheat pasta.

The Paraclete family, led by founder Sr. Ann Fox and executive director Eileen DeMichele, is a grateful bunch. I so enjoyed working with them. Sr. Ann told me she’s coming to Duxbury this summer and bringing another nun who just opened a bakery in Rwanda. Can I tell you I’m already nervous? It’s got to be a Catholic girls’ school thing…

Finally, I’d like to give a special shout-out to Chef Jeff Gates, who runs the nutrition program at Paraclete and teaches culinary students at the New England Center for Arts & Technology in Roxbury. The poor guy fielded many frantic texts from me on Mondays about the Lovin’ Spoonfuls delivery. “PLEASE tell me there’s chicken this week,” I’d write. “Nope. Beef. (smiley face)” Patience of the saints, that one. I’ll miss him.