Heart and Home Women’s Shelter will be at UUCPA from March 8 through April 12. Sign up here to bring a dinner or to help serve dinner.
Dinner Volunteer Shifts: 5:45pm to 7:30pm You will help serve dinner and clean up after. Go to the lobby or room 9 and ask “who is the lead volunteer tonight?”
(FYI – Edie Keating is the lead volunteer on Fridays and Sundays – you know her….)
Bringing Dinner: If you are bringing dinner, it should arrive hot at 6:15 to 6:30.
You are bringing an entree and sides for 10-12. (no need to bring plates or beverages or salad dressing.)
Dessert is optional.
Wed and Friday, deliver dinner to room 9.
Other nights, deliver dinner to the main hall lobby.
Heart and Home has serving utensils.
Bought meals like pizza or KFC can work
Questions welcome – contact Edie at edie_k@uucpa.org.
More dinner info below in this email.
Thank you! Edie
The below information is from the Signup.com Heart and Home page – pasting here in case it is easier to find.
Dietary restrictions and allergies as of January 02, 2026
Please be mindful of the following restrictions when preparing meals
*** Please bring a card listing all ingredients *** so participants can make healthful choices.
Allergies
- No allergies – one person has sensitivity to gluten, one has sensitivity to dairy.
RestrictionsMedical restriction:
- one participant cannot digest fiber. This participant can eat “meat and potatoes” and other non-fibery starches, such as white rice, pasta and chicken / beef/ pork. If possible, when prepping your meal, can you please some of the meat and starch before combining with vegetables. We will have alternative options for this participant onsite, but receiving warm meals from a volunteer truly helps her feel less isolated.
- Three clients prefer a vegetarian diet – one can eat eggs, the other can eat milk.
- All salad dressing should be on the side – H+H has ranch and balsamic on site.
Easy alternative examples
- To accommodate various dietary needs, the best strategy is to offer choices.
- If possible, separate the elements of your meal so participants can choose.
- Spaghetti + meatballs could be delivered as three items, vegetarian sauce, meatball toppers, pasta without sauce to allow choice.
- If providing a meat main dish or gluten pasta, could you include a salad or vegetable option with a vegetarian protein, such as chickpeas or tofu?
- Offer options: For chicken enchiladas, you could include a few made with just cheese
Dinner Requests (January 2026)
Help us avoid repeat dinners! Please remember to put your dinner plan in the comments of your slot and also to check the comments on H+H dinner sign ups before and after your evening. If everyone around you is bringing lasagne, please plan something else (:
Participant requests – Dec-2025
- spicy food, especially home-cooked Mexican
- Asian cuisine
- eggplant dishes, such as Moussaka
- Roasted meats of any sort
- Love fresh vegetables – cooked spinach, cooked beets and their leaves
- Simple pasta and marinara sauce with ground beef maybe on the side
- Winter casseroles / stews
- One request for prawns
Past meals that have been popular at shelter
- Fried chickenSoups – including lentil, chicken and rice, squash, split pea
- Tossed salad topped with steak
- Vegetarian pot pie
- Chinese food / take out welcome!
- Lasagne – veg / non veg
- Tacos – not too spicy – best as a “taco bar”
- Salad – dressing on side. (H+H has ranch and balsamic dressing)
- Meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy
- Sheet pan chicken thighs + veggies
- Baked potato bar! – sour cream and bacon, cheese, green onions
- Ham dinner with scalloped potatoes and green beans
- Vegetables of all sorts.