It’s often the most hectic time of the day for working parents. Adults are coming home from work as kids return from school. Everyone is in transition, sharing the events of their day, sometimes changing into more relaxed clothes, and preparing for the homework, housework, or other activities that will occupy them until bedtime.
And everyone is hungry.
It’s the same transition at the group homes operated in the community by Hammer/NER, which provides housing and supportive services to people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Group home residents are back from their day support programs or their jobs in the community and staff are busy helping them settle into their evening at home.
“We are short-staffed in our houses, and this is occurring across our industry. We are trying to find ways to help those program managers who help the individuals in the homes.
One way we thought of was, could we create a meal program that could be delivered to the homes and given to the individuals to give staff time for personal care, which is so critical,” said Cathy Thoma, director of volunteer resources for Hammer/NER.
In January of 2022, Hammer/NER began its Cooks in the Kitchen program. It brings small teams of four to six volunteers together in the main Hammer kitchen to lend their hands.
In a three-hour shift, the volunteers can brown the hamburger, cook the chicken, and chop the vegetables needed to prepare two dinner recipes that add up to 80 individual meals.
The cooked dinner entrees are divided into large containers and Central Office staff deliver them to four homes with staffing shortages.
In addition to taking dinner preparation duties off the staff’s plate of chores and tasks, the hot meals are a treat.
“I remember an individual saying it tastes like my mom cooked it,” said Abdul Qayyumi, program manager in two Hammer/NER Residences. “The people we support look forward to it. They see this as specially made. It was prepared by someone who cares about them, someone is there who values who we are.”
Volunteer teams participating with Cooks in the Kitchen include groups of retired friends and groups from some of Minnesota’s civic-minded businesses that regularly volunteer to support nonprofits and build camaraderie among co-workers.
“It gives people a chance to talk about something other than work. You have got directors and people just out of college coming together for the same purpose. In the kitchen, you’re in a relaxed environment but you’re also helping the community that we live and work in,” said Sara Volkman, account director at The Lacek Group, a creative marketing agency.
“We are still mostly remote, so we’re used to seeing each other onscreen and on Teams but being together is so much fun. It builds that relationship that we’ve been missing for a few years because of the pandemic.”
Currently, Hammer/NER is looking for more volunteer groups to expand the scope of the dinnertime assistance. Right now, the Cooks in the Kitchen program operates in the kitchen of Hammer’s Wayzata headquarters, but the program is looking to expand to the East Metro.
“We hope to start in our White Bear Lake office in September. The stove is in, the equipment has been purchased and now we are looking for volunteers,” said Thoma.
“It’s an easy volunteer opportunity. Round up four to six people and come in. We’ve got the groceries, the equipment, a lead volunteer to help you through the process and it only takes about two and a half hours.”
To find out more about volunteering, go to hammer.org/blog/2022/07/cooks-in-the-kitchen.
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