Meals From The Heart

Location: Ronald McDonald House Near Lurie Children's

Date: Saturday, January 04, 2014; 11:30 am-9:00 pm

My last visit here had been extremely profound, not so much because of the project activity itself, but rather what it enables, and the organization that it supports.  This time I was going to be the EC to Wilson’s EM.  Since this is extremely popular place that people want to volunteer at, everything is planned way in advance, including the menu.  In fact, we had to submit our selection by December 25^th and the only thing that they had requested was no pasta, since that was the most frequently made dish.  During the “Zoo Lights” project, one of our volunteers Mario, who is a chef, had helped us plan and had even given us his card to shop at ‘Restaurant Depot’.  As an EC one of my duties was to help with the shopping and so I had told Wilson that I would meet him at ‘Jewel’ at 11:30 – hours before the actual project - meaning that I would have to leave my morning project early.  Well, more than duty, it was really my privilege.

Our shopping trolley!

Wilson was running a bit late and so called me and told me to start shopping for a few things.  The cart was filling up quite fast by the time he arrived and I had a lot of items already gathered.  We shopped for some of the things and there were a lot of bags already in the car even before we got to ‘Restaurant Depot’.  Now this is a grocery store to beat all grocery stores.  It is a gigantic warehouse full of food. The shopping carts are the trolleys people use to move furniture, and the food items on top shelves were being removed by industrial sized forklifts!  The meat, produce and dairy department was essentially a walk through the Tundra because rather than have cold storage units; they have decided to keep the entire section at a freezing temperature; so much so that I had to wear my gloves.  There were 50 lbs potato bags, which I somehow managed to drag on to the cart and other items of similar nature.  By the time we had filled everything in Wilson’s car, it looked like a mobile food pantry.

Wilson had requested some of the volunteers to come earlier, so as to help us unload and get started with the cooking. Sure enough, when we reached the 'Ronald McDonald House', Rich was the only one waiting since 2 pm.  We unloaded the car onto 3 trolleys that are typically used in hotels, and then went upstairs to the kitchen.  Even with all of this food, Wilson still needed to get a few more things and so went out shopping again, leaving me in charge.  Most of the volunteers started arriving earlier than the specified time and besides the two ladies in charge of the strawberry shortcake dessert, I put most of them on peeling the potatoes, followed by chopping them.  Mr. Jeff, whom I had met at ‘Zoo Lights’, was in attendance and I asked him to help out with couscous.  All in all, people were working well and actually listening to me!

The Couscous

Besides couscous and the strawberry shortcake, the others things on the menu were two types of potato salad – traditional and buffalo – pulled pork and pulled chicken with barbecue sauce.  Our initial plan was to make pulled pork from scratch, but that would have meant starting hours earlier in the morning.  So we had bought some frozen cooked pulled pork, but it still needed to be defrosted in the oven for 2 hours.  Ovens, we had plenty of and I put couple of volunteers in charge of monitoring the pork.  We had several people around and everyone was doing some activity.  So I told Rich to relax and be our photographer for the evening.  Also, during my last visit to this place I had discovered the floor with music sensors and I was taking people in turns to have a look at that and well, play for a bit if they wanted. 

Strawberry Shortcake

Things were going smoothly and we thought that it would be a cinch to have everything ready to go in time; when we were thrown a curveball.  Initially we thought that we were cooking for 53 people, but then we learnt that it was actually 53 rooms, meaning more than 100 guests were expected to come.  We had more than enough food for the main items on the menu, but it did throw off the dessert team. To their credit, they improvised on their feet by slicing their biscuits in half and thus instantly doubling the capacity.  Well, if nothing else, I was proud of the fact that our volunteers did not panic or complain, but instead worked on the situation to find a solution.  Plus, we were done and ready to serve at 6:30, just as the families started to arrive and line up.  I went to the back of the kitchen to help one of the volunteers with the washing, since she had been doing it throughout the evening.  I guess it was the irritation of that moment, but she said to me that maybe I shouldn't wash since I may not be used to it, using a dishwasher at home.  Well, my mind went back to just a few short hours ago to my morning project, when I had scrubbed a dirty pan with egg bits stuck to it.  It really is true isn't it?  We are quick to judgment without knowing any background facts.  As I always say, blame the situation, never the person.

The magical "Healing Garden"

I washed for a bit and then went out to sit with the volunteers for our dinner.  While we did that, our site rep Kelly took one group for a tour.  Wilson and I were the only returning people and we knew what a special moment that is.  We mentioned to the volunteers that they were going to be blown away and they most certainly were.  The first stop was the rooftop "Healing Garden" and it was looking fantastic with the snow on the trees.  Coupled with the holiday decorations, it looked magical.  Speaking of holiday decorations, there were Christmas Trees on every floor...almost felt like every room.  As far as I am concerned, Christmas trees can be displayed throughout the year!  As we continued the tour, in one of the rooms we saw a burnt document that had been framed.  When asked, we were told that the day the mortgage on 'Ronald McDonald's House' had been paid off, they had burnt the debt note and that was what was being displayed.  In fact, they had sent out invitations for that event.  At that moment, even though I had not been associated with the history of this place, I felt a sense of pride in this public display of accomplishment.

Yes indeed!

Our final stop was the same place where we had ended my previous visit, the "Meditation Room"; where unfortunately the lamp was on.  Several questions were asked on how people get into the House and we were told that it is only through a referral of a social worker at the hospital.  But even then, no one who seeks help is ever refused.  Kelly told us many stories of how people help, such as a past volunteer who works for a linen service and now they do a free laundry pickup twice a week  Or another volunteer who donated paper and copier, or others who donate money.  Every little bit helps…and it helps families such as the one we saw down in the kitchen, having a late dinner after what had surely been a long day at the hospital.  Once again, it had been a privilege to serve and every volunteer felt the same way.  We packed up, took out the garbage and left in the snow.  For me it was exactly 12 hours since my first project.  But it was time that I would  remember.