Ways to Serve a Meal
Bring Dinner for the Whole House
Meals offer much-needed hospitality at the end of a long day at the hospital and ensure that the Family House is “more than just a place to stay.” Let’s show some love from our community!
Here is how you can help:
- Dinners are served at 5:30, Monday through Thursday.
- Use this online calendar to sign up for a date that works for you.
- When you register, you will be asked to indicate:
- Group name (if applicable).
- Planned menu.
- Whether you are a first-time volunteer/group.
- Send 3-8 volunteers to serve the meal at 5:30 in the Family House kitchen.
- Provide dinner and drinks for 45-50 people.
Helpful Tips:
- Family House Dinner Instructions – Recipe for Success
- Groups need to send 3-8 volunteers to serve the meal.
- Meals may be prepared in the kitchen or brought ready to serve.
- If you are cooking at the Family House, you may arrive as early as 3:30.
- If you are bringing the food already prepared, please arrive at the Family House by 4:45 to get set up.
- Ovens are available to keep food warm.
- Volunteers are usually finished cleaning up by 6:30.
- We recommend limiting menus to 1 entree, 1-2 sides, and 1 dessert.
- Please bring paper plates/bowls that suit your menu, napkins, and plasticware when possible.
- Drinks are very helpful. One idea: bring a gallon jug each of tea, lemonade, and water along with cups. We have an ice machine at the Family House.
Examples of menus:
- Club sandwiches, small bags of chips, clementines or Cuties, and brownies.
- Pans of baked chicken, pans of green beans, pans of mac & cheese, and a sheet cake.
- Pans of chicken casserole, pans of steamed mixed veggies, rolls, and pans of blueberry cobbler.
- 11 large pizzas, large bags of prepared salad with small packets of dressing, and cookies.
You’ll receive confirmation and reminders from the Family House.
If you find that you need to cancel, please contact Lindley.Curtis@familyhousews.org (336-793-2822) at least 48 hours prior to your scheduled meal. Please do not only delete your registration directly through our online registration process because we may not catch changes in time.
If you find that you will have fewer than 3 volunteers coming to serve the meal, please let us know by the Wednesday before your date so we can recruit extra volunteers.
If you don’t find a date that works for you, please consider making a donation in the form of a gift card or a monetary donation that is designated for meals. Here’s the link to donate.
Questions? Please contact Lindley.Curtis@familyhousews.org or 336-793-2822.
THANK YOU for providing a meal for Family House guests!
Bring a Dish for a Merry Meals Dinner
Scheduled for the first and third Monday of every month, Merry Meals are designed for individuals who like to cook, but might not be able to provide a complete meal for everyone at the Family House.
Collectively, you can provide a portion of the main dish or one side item and feed the entire Family House! Twice a month, we will have the dates and menus posted on our Perfect Potluck site below.
On the perfect potluck website below, use Meal Coordinator: Family House and Password: 1970 to find us.
Bring 10 Weekend Picnic Lunches
During the weekends, Family House guests appreciate simple lunches, which they can pick up from the communal refrigerator at their convenience. We call them picnic lunches!
Please review the available slots and click on the button to sign up.
**Each slot is for 10 picnic lunches. If you want to provide more than 10 lunches, please sign up for more than one slot.**
* Hour value: 10 picnic lunch = 1 hour of volunteer service.
Here are some guidelines:
- Brown lunch bags work great, labeled with what’s inside.
- Include items like:
- Sandwich
- Fresh apple or small bag of grapes
- Pack of crackers or small bag of chips
- Cookie or brownie
- Feel free to be creative!
Please drop these off on the Friday OR Saturday of the weekend when you’ve signed up, anytime between 10:00-6:00. Welcome Desk staff members will put them in the communal refrigerator.
Questions? Contact Lindley at Lindley.Curtis@familyhousews.org.