People looking to enjoy homemade food prepared by volunteers from the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association (HCVHA) are invited to participate in a series of "Foodraisers," which will be held at Historic Joanna Furnace.

The first event will be a sale of homemade yeast-raised potato fastnachts. Fastnachts can be purchased by the half or full dozen and can be eaten fresh or can be frozen to eat at a later time.

Fastnachts must be ordered in advance. The order deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 7. Orders can be picked up on Tuesday, Feb. 13, between noon and 5 p.m.

"(Making) fastnachts is more of the Pennsylvania Dutch German tradition," explained Mark Zerr, HCVHA executive director. "We are doing potato fastnachts. The potatoes add a nice flavor. We peel them, cook them and smash them and turn them into a liquid and that gets added to the doughnut mixture."

Unlike doughnuts, fastnachts do not have holes in most cases. They are square in shape and are not frosted or filled. "Some doughnuts you get (taste plain). The flavor is added by the filling and the sugary icing on top," Zerr noted. "Some people do make them with a hole in. For us, it takes too much time since we are making 300 dozen."

HCVHA will also host a lasagna dinner on Friday, Feb. 16. Diners will be able to eat on-site or take their meals to go. Those who take part in the sit-down dinner may choose from a meat or cheese lasagna dinner, which also includes a salad, Italian bread, a homemade dessert and a beverage. Dinner will be served from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Joanna Furnace mule stable.

For those who choose takeout meals, there will be a choice of meat lasagna, cheese lasagna or gluten-free meat lasagna. The takeout meals include a 1.5-pound pan of lasagna, salad, bread and a homemade dessert. All the dinners will be sold cold with heating instructions included.

Lasagna dinners will include a homemade chocolate dessert. "Last year, we did chocolate-covered pretzels and made 'poor man's truffles,' which are Oreos covered with chocolate." Zerr noted.

Takeout lasagna meals must be ordered in advance. The order deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 13. Takeout dinners can be picked up between noon and 8 p.m. on Feb. 16.

Reservations for the sit-down meal are recommended, but walk-ins will be accepted while supplies last.

To reserve a takeout lasagna dinner or to make a reservation for the sit-down dinner, call 610-286-0388 or email info@haycreek.org. Reservations for the sit-down dinner can also be made at http://www.haycreek.org/product/lasagna-dinner-eat-in-dinner-ticket.

The next foodraiser will be a shepherd's pie dinner on Friday, March 15. A sit-down dinner will be served from 4 to 8 p.m., or diners may pick up their orders between noon and 8 p.m.

Historic Joanna Furnace, 1250 Furnace Road, Geigertown, is located just off Route 10, 3 miles north of Morgantown. Proceeds from fundraisers and events benefit the HCVHA, a nonprofit organization that owns, maintains and preserves Historic Joanna Furnace, a charcoal iron furnace that was in operation from 1791 to 1898.