Purchase, Prepare, and Serve a Shelter Meal

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The St. Stephen's Clinton Avenue Shelter is an emergency shelter in South Minneapolis that serves 45 adult men every night. Guests usually stay in the shelter for 1-3 months and can often extend their stay until permanent housing is found by working towards housing with shelter advocates. The St. Stephen’s Emergency Shelter Team supports guests in their progress towards achieving self-identified goals and housing stability.

St. Stephen’s Shelter seeks volunteers to coordinate meal groups that plan, purchase, and prepare a meal for 50 - 55 people. St. Stephen’s strives to create a warm and hospitable environment for all shelter guests. Volunteer meal groups play an integral role in this effort.

DESCRIPTION:
-Coordinators recruit a group to plan, purchase, prepare and share a meal with 50-55 people (45 shelter guests, volunteers, evening staff and meal team members).
-A typical meal includes a meat-based entrée (non-pork), vegetarian side, vegetable or salad, and dessert. The cost of the meal tends to be approximately $100-$150.
-Meal groups eat alongside guests, contribute to a welcoming atmosphere, and help with clean-up.
-Groups are strongly encouraged to prepare the meals off-site, as the shelter kitchen is small.
-Dishes, utensils, and cups are available at the shelter for groups to use, or groups are welcome to bring disposable items to expedite clean-up time.

EXPECTATIONS:
-Volunteers should have the ability to recruit a group to fulfill the commitment of purchasing supplies and preparing a healthy meal for 50 people.
-A group of 3-4 people is best, 6 maximum.
-Volunteers should be open-minded, non-judgmental, and dependable.
-Minimum age: Decision of parent/guardian. Be aware that the shelter is not a sober space, and children must be supervised at all times.
-Volunteers under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

SCHEDULE AND TIME COMMITMENT:
-Dinner is served nightly at 7:00pm.
-Most groups prepare the meal off-site and then arrive around 6:00 pm for additional prep time or to re-heat dishes.
-The ideal group will commit to monthly meals for 12 months.
-We encourage meal groups to commit to a single experience and let their team discern whether they are able to make an extended commitment.

• If your group is running late, please call the shelter directly to let them know you are still coming.
• If a group cancels last minute (less than 24 hours), or does not show up for their scheduled meal, our staff need to order last-minute food (i.e. pizza) to ensure guests have a meal for the night. We request groups make a $150 donation to the shelter to help cover the cost of last-minute food orders in the case of cancelations and no-shows.

APPLY TO BECOME A MEAL GROUP COORDINATOR AT WWW.STSTEPHENSMPLS.VOLUNTEERHUB.COM

CONTACT MEG BARKE FOR MORE INFORMATION: mbarke@ststephensmpls.org| 612-879-7635