Prepare & Provide Meals

The Women’s Center serves single women experiencing homelessness. Most of our clients do not have reliable access to healthy food. Our Crisis Intervention Safety & Stabilization Day Shelter (CISS) food program offers breakfast, lunch, and to-go food Monday through Friday. Additional carry-out meals are available at the end of the day for our clients. This service prioritizes those guests that are unsheltered. We have a small staff and rely on more than 3,000 volunteers each year to help feed our clients.

Every guest that comes to The Women's Center is offered food through our meal program, as well as clinical services, clothing, enrichment, laundry, and shower services. Women experiencing homelessness are welcome to partake in all available food and programs. If they come in after breakfast, there are snacks available (fresh fruit, crackers, etc.) until lunch is served. Often, we have guests that come in that have not recently eaten (some have not eaten in days). 

PREPARING & PROVIDING MEALS:
Volunteers must be 16 years of age minimum to serve meals.  
5 Volunteers may serve per meal, as our dining space is small.
Number of women being served per meal is averaging 90 on weekdays (Mon. - Fri.)
Number of women being served per meal on weekends at our Recuperative Respite overnight shelter (lower level) is 11.

Volunteers may check in at reception when they arrive with meals.  Staff can assist with a cart to bring food in. 

On a perfect day, volunteers bring a prepared breakfast Monday through Friday between
7:45 AM and 8 AM to set up and serve by 8:30AM. Similarly, lunch volunteers (Monday through Friday) bring in their prepared meal by 11AM to begin serving our guests by 11:30 AM. We do not have a prep area or oven/stove. We do have microwaves.  We do have electrical outlets for volunteers that want to bring crock pots. At the end of the day leftovers are packaged for women to take with them, to get them through the night once they leave the Center for the day.

We ask that volunteers clean the dining area when they are done serving.  Staff can assist with putting left overs away.  Women Center serving utensils used can be washed and put in drawers.  

IMPORTANT NEW INFORMATION!  Our Day Shelter is closed Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day. Only Recuperative Respite guests need meals on those days.

Recuperative Respite is open 356 days a year and will be accepting breakfast, lunch and dinner on weekends and holidays!