Ronald McDonal House - Meal Donations

[dthogue]

I would like to organize my daughter's soccer team to donate meals for the local Ronald McDonald House for approximately 35 people - everything must be prepared at the house - any suggestions on how to feed a crowd of this size, that HS girls can do??? The families don't eat all at the same time, so we would need to be able to keep our food hot using crock pots and steamers.

I'm looking for several meal ideas as we would like to do it several times over the next few months.

Thanks,
Tammy

 

[tinker&belle]

Our youngest DD has to stay at a children's hospital from time to time and we have been to the RMH in the hospital (not the one outside the hospital for parents, but the space in the hospital for anyone with an admitted child). I have seen groups do hamburgers and hot dogs, soups and sandwiches, and big crockpots and casseroles.

Thank you for doing this. I know we always appreciate this since being at the hospital with a sick child is an incredibly stressful event. You are really making a difference for these families.

 

[jam217]

When our school group went last year, they made tacos because the families said they had gotten a lot of pasta dishes and were pasta-ed out.

 

[figment52]

spaghetti- sauce can simmer all day and the spaghetti and garlic bread can be cooked as needed.

add a tossed salad and cake or brownies.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Soup, salad and sandwhiches

Taco bar with taco shells, tortilla chips, shredded lettuce, salad/toppings, taco meat and shredded chicken

Breakfast buffet with scrambled eggs, breakfast casserole, fruit salad, biscuits, toast, bacon/sausage

Pasta bar with 2 kinds of pasta and 3 kinds of sauce let them add veggies or meat

Baked potato bar with chili in a crockpot, cheese sauce, steamed brocolli, sour cream, chives, cheese and butter

Chili, cornbread, spaghetti noodles or elbow macaroni, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, salsa and sour cream

 

[akcire]

We too are big RMHC supporters. We have often made meals for the house, either with co-workers or family members.

Now I am not sure how big the PA house is, so you may wish to check with the House Manager for some suggestions.

Here is what we did most recently.....

First a big salad bar type set up.....(I will take a popular restaurant salad and deconstruct it so people can make it as they choose). Last time I did an Asian Chicken Salad. So in separate bowls I had lettuce, almonds, won-tons, pecans, chicken breast, mandarin oranges, and finally an asian themed salad dressing (from Target). I made sure to have enough so this could be a main course, or a salad. If you are wondering why all the separate bowls--I don't know the people for whom I am preparing food and if they have nut allergies or are vegetarians I want them to still eat.

Next a main course....I admit this was a bit of a less than stellar, main course but I was in a crazy hurry this week. So it was pasta, pasta, pasta. We brought a ton of whole wheat bow-tie pasta (think a whole case). Then had big bowls of marinara, pesto, & alfredo (so everyone could choose what they liked) and finally we had proteins two ways: chicken & shrimp. Plus a crock-pot with meatballs in marinara (meatballs don't really go with pesto or alfredo--in my mind).

We then did a bunch of french bread with oil/parmesan or butter and garlic bread sticks.

Finally, we did an obscene amount of dessert items. You name it we had it, both things we made and items we purchased. At our Ronald McDonald House you can bring in cooked foods (such as from a bakery) you just can't bake them in your house and bring them. We had a big cake and trays of cannoli from an Italian bakery. We made simple things cookies, brownies, cupcakes.

The last thing we do every time we cook at the Ronald House (this is sort of our signature item...but feel free to steal our idea) is make breakfast items. We will make 3 or 4 dozen muffins for the morning. I have always felt having those nice fresh, grab and go items can really help get your day off to a nice start. Additionally, some times I will do an egg casserole and leave the staff the heating instructions. Since these families are mostly having bad times, any thing to bring a smile is worth it.

***Also the kitchen is not always as clean as I would like, not that the staff are not fastidious but many people use the space. We always go early enough to give the whole kitchen a wipe down (plan maybe 10-15 minutes), and scour the kitchen after we are done (this takes us about an hour to breakdown and get all our stuff out). ****You may wish to bring an apron. I never cook with an apron at home, but somehow when I cook for that many people I always end up with spills on my clothes.

Happy Cooking...I am sure you will love the experience and go back many times to come.

 

[Kat77]

Adding a vote for the taco bar! Add some nacho cheese and offer nachos too. Taco meat can be made ahead and frozen... so it's easy!

If you can offer some veggies that would be REALLY great! My youngest child spent a month in the hospital this year and I ate more french fries than I care to admit b/c that was the only side dish for everything in the cafe. They had some fruits but no veggies!

Bless you for doing this!

 

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

I volunteered at the RMDH and can tell you that these meals are appreciated. As many have said, families get pasta'd out. Some of the families in the house have gone out and made baked chicken and salads. I love the taco bar idea! Some baked up sausage links in the oven and made sausage sandwiches with onions pepers and then had salads (potatoe) on the side.

Thank you for doing this for the families!

 

[Justsyd2]

Baked Potato Bar with Soup and Salad should be easy enough for the girls to handle. It will also make a great meal!

 

[dthogue]

Thank you so much for the ideas - I am so excited about this project. We have about 35-40 girls on the team and I would like to organize them into groups of 4-6 to plan, cook and serve the meals.

I love the taco idea - I never would have thought of that. What about subs? I was thinking those 3-foot subs cut into pieces with the fixings, salads and dessert????

Any other suggestions on things to do for the families that might make the meal more special?? What about supplying single serve items they can take with them?

I will definetely call the house to set everything up and get their ideas.

Keep the ideas coming - I really appreciate your help!

Tammy

 

[twinmommyks]

The ideas suggested all sound great and all will be appreciated.

I stayed at a RMH when my twins were born 2 1/2 months early at a hospital 3 hours from home.

I will second the comment that the meal will be so appreciated by the families. One weekend when my dh, ds, and in-laws came to visit me and the babies, there was a group of hs students cooking breakfast for everyone. My MIL and FIL were just amazed at how these students gave of their time to come and cook on a Sunday.

Before I stayed there, I was a supporter of RMHC and since staying there, we have been even bigger supporters. In fact, just last week, I was one of the community VIPs for McDonalds to raise funds for the charity. Our local store raised over $5,000 for this great cause.

Thank you!!!!!

 

[chrissy92972]

Hi! I hope you do not mind me adding this to the list of suggestions. I am assuming since you are in central PA you are talking about the house at GMC. I have stayed there when my triplets were in the NICU and I now serve on a committee at GMC that meets at the house once a month. Before you decide on definates, check with the manager about restrictions on going into the house. I know GMC is restricting visitors because of H1n1 and the meetings the past two months, we were questioned at the door, no one with any illness is allowed in the Ronald House. They have to be extra careful because many people stay there who are visiting their sick children/ babies and many people with compromised immune systems. Also consider maybe making meals for the House of Care for cancer patients, it is across the street. Maybe you can prepare the meals ahead of time and drop them off?

chrissy

 

[disney1990]

Thank you for supporting the Ronald McDonald House. They were a life saver for my daughter and her family when her 8 year old had cancer. They went to the one in Washington, DC and also used the Ronald McDonald "room" located in the hospital. People were always bringing food to leave in the hospital room to be shared by the parents of the cancer children.

One other thing that would be greatly appreciated is drinks, sodas, bottled water and snack items that can be grabbed to go - bags of nuts, chips, small boxes of cereal, etc.

As far as something the girls could make, how about a huge pot of soup, chili or stew and some bread to go with it.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

While this is not a food idea, I am a supporter of the RMH too.. my thing is to gather up the small toiletries to give to my local RMH. I work at a school so I have the entire school involved! Whenever someone stays at a hotel, they just save their items and drop them off to me. I collect a box full then drop them off... and Disney Soaps are a big hit!

SO...anyone wanting to do a little extra for them (and costs you nothing extra), can start up their own drive. The RMH does need them & does use them. Most parents don't remember those items when rushing off there to be with their child... I know I didn't...


As far as the food idea... Pasta, finger sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers... just some easy ideas for the kids to do. Don't forget maybe bake a few cakes or brownies.. I know that is what some did when I was there.

 

[SnowWhitee]

What about turkey or chicken pot pies? You could make them in pie dishes or large casserole size, and even precook them and warm them there. That includes veggies, but you could still offer a side salad and rolls.

Stir fry might be good too. Cook up a bunch of rice or noodles, a big batch of veggies, then some protein (sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken, mushroom beef, etc.). People can put it all together or eat just veggies.

 

[rmhc_employee]

Maybe you can prepare the meals ahead of time and drop them off?

chrissy

Hi to everyone and OP - First, RMHC is always grateful for donations and volunteer support. RMHC relies on a network of well over 30,000 volunteers to help keep the Ronald McDonald House programs running every year. Without the volunteers, we simply couldn't do what we do everyday.

Let me say, I work for Ronald McDonald House Charities in Illinois. There are actually a couple of rules that we really adhere to with respect to meals. First, meals must be prepared in the Ronald McDonald House kitchen. The reason revolves around food safety. Simply put, we don't know what someone's kitchen at home looks like and, more importantly, how long something was in someone's car. The only exception is, as someone pointed out, food that comes from a commercial kitchen setting (local bakery for example). It would be all too easy for something to go bad in a trunk or something. This included pre-cooked food at home (e.g. pot pie, chicken, etc. doesn't meet the safety standards).

Second, please try and keep things separate. As someone else pointed out, there could be nut allergies, seafood/shellfish allergies, etc. or just vegan/vegetarians and we want everyone to try and eat when possible. You are correct, that not everyone eats at the same time, so things that reheat easily are always appreciated.

Single serve items (e.g., pretzels) are always appreciated as snack items too. Usually, the different RMH programs will have wish-lists posted online for these items. Each program needs something different just based on what is in their pantry.

In terms of breaking up the girls, 5 or 6 could work on a taco bar (great idea!), a couple on a salad, some on pasta, some on dessert, etc. One thing that is very helpful for dessert items (for example), is to put single brownies or two or three cookies in individual baggies when cooked and cool. Due to the flu, we are trying to keep individual house guests from "reaching in" to a community plate setting right now. Guest families don't think about it - until they see how it's done. Then they apprciate it.

Thanks again for agreeing to do this. It should be a great experience. We really appreciate the help. If you (or anyone) has additional questions, post here and I'll check and respond.

 

[nuts4wdw]

I, too, am a RMH parent. I used them for a night last August for my youngest son when he had an early morning surgery two hours from our house. We will be returning in December for another surgery and a longer hospital stay, so we will be staying at the RMH again. I thank all of you that donate time and goods to this great place for parents and kids.

 

[chrissy92972]

I had no idea that the food had to be prepared there....At the RMH that we stayed in I remember people dropping off food and after our meetings there, we leave our extras from our catered lunches there. Interesting.....

Chrissy

 

[princess momma]

The rules vary from one Ronald McDonald house to another. Many follow the rules mentioned above by the RMH employee. Others will accept food that's prepared ahead of time. I know my local RMH welcomes home baked items at any time, you don't even have to schedule it, and meals can be prepped at home and made in the house kitchen.

 

[Zoemakes5]

Mac and Cheese
chili dogs (with some vegetarian dogs)
quiches
scalloped potato and ham casserole
hamburger tator tot casserole
baked chicken or maybe chicken and ribs
make your own fajitas
pulled pork/chicken sandwiches



I'd also do a veggie tray (though from the comments above, I'd make little baggies...think snack size....of the different veggies)
Lettuce tray
Fruit....I'd do a variety of whole fruit for anytime and maybe a fruit salad for the meal
Pasta salad....easy to eat any time, can be a main course or left over chicken or other meats to make it more of a main course
Jello with and without fruit