TEMPORARY MEAL PROCEDURES:
Having food available in the house will help guests avoid having to go to grocery stores and restaurants where the risk of exposure is heightened. At a time when our patients and caregivers may be feeling even more isolated, and perhaps homesick, it’s a great time to show them the love of our community.
Here is how you can help provide families in medical crisis with a meal that keeps them strong, warms their hearts, and calms their nerves.
Here is how you can help (updated 7/17/2020):
- Donate money towards a meal
- Donate e-gift cards: Lowe’s Food, Food Lion, Publix, Walmart/Sam’s Club, Domino’s Pizza, Burke Street Pizza, Elizabeth’s Pizza
- Provide a meal for 35 people. Use one of the online calendars below to sign up. If you would like to sign up for a later date, please contact Lindley.Curtis@familyhousews.org.
- Meals need to be dropped off at the Family House by 5:00pm.
- Meals may be catered and delivered by local restaurants.
- Meals may be prepared off site in volunteers’ homes.
- While it is helpful for meals to be individually packaged, meals may be delivered without being individually packaged. Please let us know ahead of time if this is the case, and Family House staff members will be ready to divide the food into to-go containers in the Family House kitchen.
- If the food is not already individually packaged, we ask that volunteers limit dinners to 1 entree, 1 side, and 1 dessert (rather than a potluck-style with lots of different options). This will simplify the process of putting the food into to-go containers at the Family House.
- All food needs to be dropped off in disposable containers.
- Examples of menus:
- individually wrapped club sandwiches, small bags of chips, and individually-wrapped brownies.
- pans of meat loaf, pans of green beans, and a sheet cake.
- pans of sliced ham, pans of mac & cheese, and pans of blueberry cobbler.
Ways to Serve a Meal
Provide a Dinner
The smell of a delicious meal lingering in the air is the perfect greeting as our families return after a long day at the hospital. Thank you for your interest in providing a meal for the SECU Family House!
Meal information:
- Dinner is served at 5:30pm. Guests serve themselves buffet style around the center island.
- You may cater the meal, bring in potluck dishes, or cook here in our kitchen. We have a beautiful, well-equipped kitchen for groups of up to 10 people. (Large groups can lead to “too many cooks in the kitchen!”)
- Meals prepared offsite should be delivered by 5:15.
- If you’re serving a meal during the week, we ask that you provide enough food for approximately 50-60 people. If you’re serving a meal on Fridays and Saturdays, we ask that you prepare for 35-40 people.
- You may stay through the meal and help to clean up around 6:30. Leftovers may be put in our reusable containers. If you’re not planning to stay until the end of the meal, reusable/disposable containers are preferred. Otherwise, be sure to let the staff know if you will be returning for any containers you leave.
- Plates, napkins, utensils, and drinks are available to families, but donations of these items are appreciated.
- If you would like to have a tour of our House, please call ahead to speak with a Family House staff member (336-793-2822).
Menu Ideas:
Comfort food! Popular meals include lasagna, sloppy joes, barbecue sandwiches, soup and sandwiches, chicken pie, ham and mac ’n’ cheese, chili, salads, and fresh fruit. A vegetarian option on the menu is often appreciated. Keep in mind that guests enjoy leftovers for lunch the following day, so it’s helpful to have menu items that reheat well. Click here for more menu ideas and catering options.
Contribute to a Potluck 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.
On the perfect potluck website, use Meal Coordinator: Gannaway and Password: 3151 to find us.
Due to COVID-19 precautions, we are not doing Merry Meals at this time. Please check back again soon.
Serve a Breakfast
Who can cook:
Your family, your club, your coworkers, your church, or your group of friends–anyone! If you choose to prepare the meal in our kitchen, we just ask that you limit your group size to 10 so there are not, as they say, “too many cooks in the kitchen!”
Cooking Location:
- Breakfasts prepared offsite should be ready to serve at the SECU Family House by 7:30 am.
- We have a beautiful, well-equipped kitchen for groups of up to 10 people. You may arrive at the House as early as 6am to prepare the meal in the kitchen and have it ready to serve by 7:30.
Meal Tips:
- You should expect to prepare enough food for about 25-30 people. While many families will arrive at 7:30am, others often arrive throughout the morning.
- Reusable/Disposable containers are preferred. Be sure to let staff know if you will be returning for any containers you leave.
- If you would like to have a tour of our House, please call ahead to speak with a Family House staff member (336-793-2822).
- Plates, napkins, utensils and drinks are available to families, but you are welcome to provide your own.
Menu Ideas:
Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and the hot fixings; Breakfast sandwiches are easy to take to the hospital on the way out, fresh fruit and granola is a great healthy alternative, and breakfast casseroles are a quick and easy way to serve many people.