Donate A Meal
Welcome House’s Shelter for Homeless Women and Children is home to up to 60 women and children on any given day. Please contact Natalie Endres at nendres@welcomehouseky.org for an accurate count as the date you sign up for nears. All of the residents of our shelter are working hard with their Service Coordinator to obtain or increase their income and find housing. For the residents, the peace of mind that comes with knowing they and their children have a bed to come home to and meals provided every day allows them to shift out of “survival mode” to really focus on the steps they need to take to go from homeless to home.
Providing a meal to our shelter residents helps make the shelter feel a little more like home, and who doesn’t love a home-cooked meal?
FAQs can be found below the list of available dates below.
NEW! Donate Grocery Items
You can now donate grocery items to help shelter prepare their own meals! We are helping our shelter residents with stability and independence, including learning to cook their own meals. Instead of preparing a meal for shelter, you can simply donate ingredients for a quick dish. See our wish list below for suggested meal prep options, or you can donate ingredients to your favorite dish!
Shelter Meal FAQs
When & where am I delivering?
Dinner donations must be delivered between 2:00PM-3:00PM directly to the Shelter at 1132 Greenup St., Covington, KY 41011. If you are running late, please call us at (859) 431-8717 (press 3) so we know you are still coming. If the donation hasn’t arrived by 3:30, and we haven’t heard from you, we will prepare another meal for the night. If this happens and you still arrive, we will refrigerate and serve your meal the next day.
How many people do I need to prepare for?
Between our women and children’s shelter and our family shelter, we have around 60 residents at a given time! If you would like to confirm a definite headcount, or are unable to cook for that many people reach out to Natalie Endres at nendres@welcomehouseky.org or (859) 431-8717.
Will I be serving the meal I donate?
No, we serve dinner buffet style – the food is set out in the dining room and guests serve themselves on their own time.
What should I make?
Check out our “Shelter Meal Ideas” board on Pinterest for inspiration for feeding a crowd! The residents like all the same food your own families do, the kids love kid foods like mac & cheese!
How should I package the food?
We have a steam table that has room for 3 large pans (approx. 20″ x 12″) or 6 half pans. Delivering your donation in disposable pans is usually easiest for everyone, but is certainly not a requirement.
Can I have a meal delivered?
Absolutely! Here is a list of local restaurants still open for carryout and delivery during COVID-19. If you would like to send pizza, 9 large pizzas (or 3 “Beast” pizzas from Snappy Tomato Pizza) is enough to feed our 35-40 residents.
Can I bring dessert? Drinks?
Dessert and/or drinks are always a nice treat, but are not required or expected.
Do I need to provide cutlery, paper plates, etc.?
Nope! Our shelter has all of the dinnerware we need.
Do I need to provide condiments?
If you would like to donate condiments it would be greatly appreciated, but we usually have the basics.
What about food allergies or dietary restrictions?
Don’t worry about dietary restrictions, we will take care of these on a case-by-case basis.
What if I can’t ever make it there by 3:00PM?
We can certainly accept meals later in the evening, refrigerate them overnight, and serve them the following day! If you’d like to do this, please call or email Natalie Endres to be sure we understand the plan at nendres@welcomehouseky.org or (859) 431-8717.
Besides full meals, what other types of donations does the shelter need?
Check out our Shelter Wish List on Amazon! We always need groceries, breakfast foods, after-school snacks, and household cleaning supplies to keep the shelter squeaky clean! We can also accept partial meals – for example, we cook the main dish and you donate the side dishes. To schedule a partial meal donation, please contact Natalie Endres at nendres@welcomehouseky.org or (859) 431-8717.
Other questions?
Please don’t hesitate to ask! Natalie can answer any questions you have, just reach out at nendres@welcomehouseky.org or (859) 431-8717.