Clara-Mateo Alliance Inc.
Information for Food Service Providers
This document is intended to provide information and guidance to organizations interested in preparing and serving meals to residents of Clara-Mateo Alliance. Because the cost of meals is the organization's major expense item, we encourage community organizations to become involved in providing meals to our residents. Hopefully, the information will be of assistance in planning and preparing meals, particularly to groups that may be considering meal preparation for the first time.
The document provides an overview of food service requirements, a description of the physical resources available, and information on meal planning, preparation and serving suggestions. Serving organizations are also encouraged to tour the facility at some point to familiarize themselves with the serving locations and available resources
For further information or clarification, please contact:
Volunteer Coordinator
Clara-Mateo Alliance, Inc.
795 Willow Road, Building 323-D
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Telephone: (650) 853-7076
Fax: (650) 853-7083
E-mail: [email protected]
Overview of Food Service Requirements
Clara-Mateo provides three meals a day, 365 days a year, to its residents. Breakfasts and lunches are typically cold meals and are generally prepared by the residents themselves. The primary need for outside organizations to provide food is for the daily dinner. We currently contract with an outside agency to provide all dinners, so any dinners provided by community organizations can significantly reduce our meal expenses.
Some of the details of the dinner service include the following:
- Dinnertime is 6 PM every day except Sunday, when dinner is served at 6:30 PM. Serving organizations should allow 30-45 minutes to set up the serving line prior to the stated dinnertime.
- Dinner is served in two different areas of the facility - the "family dining room area" and the "singles/couples living room/dining area". A formal serving line is set up in the "singles/couples" area. Food in the "family" area may be served by the providing organization, or may be left and handled as "self-serve" by the family residents.
- Food quantities should be enough for approximately 100 people - 63 maximum in the "singles/couples" area and 25-35 in the "family area." Food needs to be provided to both groups of residents. Generally, there are fewer people to serve on the weekends, but any leftover food is put to good use as lunch material for subsequent days. (Note: in October 2003, an organization began providing meals to the singles and couples every Saturday night. Thus, the only dinner meal needs on Saturday night are 30 meals for the families).
- Although Clara-Mateo has a calendar posted outside the office that identifies volunteer events, a separate "publicity flyer" prepared by the serving organization would be useful to promote your group's dinner. This will help to maximize the number of residents that participate in the meal.
Physical Resources Available
Food preparation resources at Clara-Mateo are limited. While there is technically a "kitchen" available, there are no cooking capabilities (i.e., no oven or stove). There is, however, a heated holding cabinet that can be used to keep prepared food at a healthful temperature if cooked food is brought to the shelter early in the day. There are refrigerators for food storage, a small sink, and cutting areas in case a group decides to do some minor on-site food preparation such as making salads. (See photos below).
The current kitchen facilities will be enhanced beginning in late 2003, but even after the enhancements, due to directed limitations, there will be no stove or conventional oven. Kitchen enhancements will provide:
- A large sink and cutting areas
- A walk-in refrigerator
- Microwave ovens
- Additional heated holding cabinets
- A professional-grade dishwasher
The result of this is that, realistically, the preparation of hot food needs to be done off-site. The exception to this is that there is a large barbecue unit outside the building. (See photo below). Barbecued meals are popular with the residents and, depending on the menu, can be fully prepared in the kitchen and cooked on the barbecue. Obviously, weather is sometimes a limiting factor to the use of the barbecue.
While paper goods can generally be found at Clara-Mateo, it would be appreciated if the serving organization could provide paper plates, napkins, and plastic eating utensils. Not only will this ensure that the materials are available, but will save some expense for Clara-Mateo.
Serving utensils including serving spoons and warming dishes are available at Clara-Mateo and may be found either in the kitchen or in the serving area. It may be helpful to pick up the warming dishes in advance of meal preparation so that food can be transferred directly to the serving dishes after off-site preparation.
Meal Planning Ideas
The following provide some sample menus that would be well received by Clara-Mateo residents and are convenient to prepare in large quantities. Beverages and dessert are appropriate to accompany each of these meals. Feel free to use your own creativity to come up with other menus! Remember too that good meals don't have to be fancy meals! Make it easy on yourselves by keeping the menu simple.
- Barbecued chicken; chili beans or baked potato; green tossed salad
- Barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs; chips; salad; and fruit
- Lasagna or spaghetti with meatballs; green tossed salad; garlic bread
- Meatloaf; mashed potatoes; green vegetable; green tossed salad; warmed French bread
- Beef stew with generous portions of meat and vegetables; green tossed salad; warmed French bread
- Baked chicken with gravy; rice, cornbread; vegetables
- Fried chicken; potato salad; green beans
Other suggested popular entrees include roast pork, chicken Caesar salad, and chicken tacos.
The following guide can be used in estimating the amount of food to prepare per person:
- Chicken: 1 breast or 1 thigh and 1 leg
- Hamburger: 3-4 oz.
- Entr�e: 4-5 oz.
- Pasta: 6 oz.
- Salad: 6 oz.
- Vegetables: 2-3 oz.
- Dessert: 1-2 oz.
Meal Preparation Suggestions
Organizations providing dinners for Clara-Mateo generally work around the kitchen in one of four ways:
- Use community kitchens - Some of Clara-Mateo's providers have access to kitchens associated with their organizations. For example, many churches have their own kitchen facilities that are suitable for preparing large quantities of food. Some of these kitchens may be available for use/rent by outside organizations. For example, Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC) has volunteered to let organizations use their kitchen for meal preparation. PACCC is located at 3990 Ventura Court, Palo Alto, telephone (650) 493-2361.
- Use individual kitchens - Some groups divide the food preparation workload among individual members who prepare a portion of the food in their home kitchens.
- Prepare a BBQ meal at Clara-Mateo - Through careful meal planning it's possible to choose a menu that could be prepared and cooked at Clara-Mateo through use of the outdoor barbecue facilities. The existing kitchen has room, for example, to make up hamburger patties, fix a green salad, cut bread and condiments, prepare corn on the cob, and then barbecue the corn and hamburgers. (Note: If using the barbecue on-site, you will need to provide about 20 pounds of briquets to use the full capacity of the barbecue. Also note that the barbecue needs to be fired-up approximately one hour before cooking in order to bring it to cooking temperature.)
- Bring commercially prepared food - One organization that provides barbecue meals in the summer brings in pizza during the winter. This minimizes the preparation requirements and the number of people necessary to assemble and serve the meal. The group calls Costco in the morning and orders 20 large pizzas that they pick up at 5 PM. Salads, cookies and beverages complete the meal. Other suggestions for commercially prepared entrees include pre-made lasagna, sandwiches, and deli selections (salads, cold cuts, etc.)
As mentioned previously, there are serving/warming dishes available at Clara-Mateo for use by the serving organization. These can be arranged for pickup in advance of preparing the food. It's important to have enough serving dishes to be able to divide the food into dishes for the "family" area and the "singles/couples" area. Organizations have found it easier to divide the food at the origin rather than trying to do so after the food arrives at Clara-Mateo.
Keeping the food hot (or cold, as appropriate!) is important for both health and enjoyment reasons. Some organizations transport the food in coolers (which work for hot and cold foods) or in large crock-pots that can be conveniently reheated on site. The heated holding cabinet can also be used.
Delivery of the food is most easily accommodated through the Elsa Segovia entrance that provides convenient parking and the most direct access to the kitchen. (See photo below).
Meal Serving Suggestions
The serving line in the "singles/couples" area should be set up in the designated area with the serving flow in a counter-clockwise direction. In the "family" area, food should be left or served from the tables provided in the room. Photos below show the serving areas in the "family area" (left) and the "singles/couples" area.
If a barbecue meal is being prepared, serving may be done either inside or from tables near the barbecue. (See photo below).
For hygiene purposes, all food servers should wear hand protection (e.g., disposable gloves). If possible, please provide your own disposable gloves. As with utensils, the more you are able to bring, the more Clara-Mateo is able to save.
If there is food left over after serving the residents, please notify a staff member to help with the disposition of the extras. Depending on the quantity, the extra food may be sent to the transitional housing area at Clara-Mateo or will be stored in the refrigerators for future lunches.
A Final Word
As a meal provider we encourage you to engage and socialize with the men and women in the shelter. They are at a difficult point in their lives and positive interaction with community members is generally well received. As one food provider told us, "They are people like you and me and though some may not be open to it, you will find that many are. I try to talk to them as I would anyone else without bringing attention to their current situation unless they bring it up".
Thank you for your support of Clara-Mateo Alliance.
