HELPFUL HINTS FOR SOUP KITCHEN CREWS
Thank you for volunteering
to serve the patrons of the Friendship Kitchen. We believe you will find the
experience to be a rewarding one. The process of serving is really quite simple,
but we've created this set of directions and tips to ensure that you feel
prepared.
To do before
your service day:
1) To schedule a date, contact Brenda Deckard at 361-6828 or bdeckard@sbcglobal.net. If you'd like to see which dates are available, visit friendshipkitchen.org. Once you have set a date with Brenda, your group will be added to the calendar at “friendshipkitchen.org”. If you cannot reach Brenda, please contact Lee and Stephanie Douma at 234-2616 or thedoumas@gmail.com.
2) Decide what items your group will provide. You can provide all the food, all the cooks, and all the servers; or you can provide any combination of these. For instance, if you want to cook and serve but can’t provide the food, then the soup kitchen will provide the food. The average number of patrons is currently between 25 and 30, so many groups provide everything; however, this is for your group to decide.
You are welcome to prepare and cook the food at the Hub or you can prepare and cook the food in your homes and bring it in on the day you serve. Again, this is up to your group, but the kitchen does have all the appliances, pots and pans, utensils, etc. in case you choose to prepare the meal at the Hub.
3) Once you have decided what your group will do, contact Brenda again so she’ll know if you need Friendship Kitchen to provide anything.
4) If you are serving for the first time, the group leader may want to arrange a time to meet Brenda for a walk through of the kitchen to familiarize yourself with the facility and to discuss the process ahead of time. This will help you feel prepared and will ensure that you know how to clean up and lock up the kitchen after your service time.
5) On the Friday before you serve, pick up the key from Corbin Insurance before 5 p.m. and be prepared to return the key to the same location the next Monday.
To do on your service day:
1) When you arrive at the Hub, turn the thermostat up to 70. Be sure to turn it back to 65 when you leave. The light for the kitchen is just inside the kitchen door on the wall to the left. The lights for the big room have to be turned on at the breaker box. The breaker for those lights has yellow tape on it. PLEASE! Use this breaker only!
2) The back door has a metal bar that locks the door.
Lift that bar off and hang it just to the left on the wall. REMINDER! This
bar must be off while people are in the building and replaced before leaving
as it is also the only means of locking the back door! THIS STEP IS VERY
IMPORTANT!
3) Upon arriving, please wipe down the prep tables in the kitchen. The Hub is cleaned weekly, but we always recommend the areas used for preparation be wiped down before each meal. You will find dish cloths and dish towels in a drawer to the right of the sink. When you leave, collect the dirty cloths and towels and leave them on the counter by the sink.
4) If you are bringing pre-cooked dishes, you are welcome to use the oven to keep them warm or the microwave to heat them up. Please use the kitchen as you would your own.
5) For beverages we serve tea, lemonade and water. There is a small black pot that we use to boil tea bags, which are provided by the kitchen (bags are cheaper than instant). However, if you want to bring instant tea with you that is fine. We also provide the lemonade. Moon Dance Café (the building north of us) provides us with all the ice we need. There is a large blue drink thermos that a strong person can take with them to the restaurant. Tell any of the workers you’re from the kitchen and they will direct you to the ice machine in the basement. (That’s why you need to send a strong person).
6) We have melmac dishes and stainless steel flatware that we use for serving. There are also glass bowls that can be used. (This decreases our expense.) We provide paper cups and napkins. The dishes and silverware can be washed in the portable dishwasher (which needs to be hooked up to the faucet). You are welcome to load the washer, start it and leave. Someone will go in later and unplug the dishwasher and put the dishes away.
7) You will find a supply of plastic gloves – please use these when serving the food. The patrons DO NOT reach onto a plate and serve themselves. This is a health department requirement and helps us protect the patrons from germs.
8) We prepare enough food for patrons to have seconds and sometimes thirds. Also, we send meals home with those who request them (as long as it looks like there will be enough food to serve all of the dine-in patrons). You will find Styrofoam containers on the shelves in the kitchen for the to-go meals.
9) The pots and pans belonging to the Kitchen must be hand-washed, as do any dishes that will not fit into the dishwasher. We ask that you leave the Kitchen in as good (or better) condition upon leaving.
10) Any left-over food can be given to the patrons to take home or can be taken home by your group. Please do not leave any perishable food in the refrigerator or it will go to waste.
11) Place all garbage in the large containers outside the building on the north side. (Between the café and our building). Refill the garbage cans with fresh bags, which can be found in the small closet behind the restroom off of the kitchen.
12) We see this ministry as more than just providing food for the patrons. Please take the time to visit and fellowship with the patrons. We have enjoyed seeing many friendships develop among repeat servers and patrons.
13) Lastly, we hope this is a very positive experience for you. Those of us who have served have been so impacted by serving that we sign up again and again. If you have any questions or suggestions, PLEASE feel free to contact Brenda and question her or let her know your suggestion. We want to continue improving, and constructive feedback motivates us to change the things that will help us better serve those who come for food and fellowship.
OTHER REMINDERS:
Please DO NOT send home any meals until 12:30. By then you should be able to estimate how many servings you will need for the last half hour of service.
Following are telephone numbers of people who can assist you in making your experience positive and enjoyable: