Volunteer firefighter funding firehouse with...bacon marmalade?

ERWINNA, Pa. (WPVI) -- One volunteer firefighter in Bucks County has turned his passion for cooking into a way to raise money for the fire company.

When he's not preparing preserves, Eat This owner Gino De Schriver is a volunteer fireman at the Delaware Valley Fire Company in Erwinna, Pennsylvania.

Gino is one of 25 volunteers at the fire company.

He uses the firehouse kitchen to make his preserves; the meeting room has turned into a stock room.

"It's a one stop shop until the sirens go," De Schriver told FYI Philly.

5% of the sales from Eat This go right back to the fire company.

"One of the hardest things for volunteer firehouses is to raise money," De Schriver said.

Gino was born in Belgium and moved to the U.S. in 1989. He worked as a private chef before starting Eat This.

He started the business five years ago, producing a couple hundred jars, but sales have grown and so has the charitable contribution.

"Now we're up to anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 jars a week," De Schriver said.

They specialize in preserves like their bacon marmalade.

While bacon is a big seller year round they also serve seasonal spreads.

"It's farm fresh, it's local, so we're really fortunate that we have a lot of different varieties of fruit available to us very close by," De Schriver said.

Most sales are online, but they do sell jars at Green Aisle Grocery and other shops.

"All of this is kind of paying it forward," De Schriver said.

With each jar filled, Eat This is building a business and giving back to the community.

FYI Philly airs Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1:00 p.m. and after Action News at 11.

For More Information:

Eat This!

75 Headquarters Rd

Erwinna, PA 18920

215-391-5807

http://eatthisyum.com/

https://www.facebook.com/eatthisyum