Family Promise Shelter Meals

Neland's ministry includes supporting Family Promise of West Michigan, the local chapter of an interfaith nonprofit that offers homeless families a path from shelter to self-sufficiency in housing. Four times a year, our volunteer team makes a week’s worth of  meals for the guests at its permanent shelter in Wyoming, which can accommodate 11 families.

We are looking for two volunteers each night, from Sunday to Saturday, to prepare and serve food for 25 people at the shelter, in the Wyoming Park United Methodist Church at  2244 Porter SW in Wyoming. Team leaders provide menus and ingredients to serve 25 people, and a Family Promise staffer is there to guide and assist us.

Besides meal preparers, opportunities to help include coordinators, food buyers and delivery drives.

For the meals, prep time may vary but dinner is served at the usual time of 6 p.m. A typical evening runs from about 5:00 to 7:30  p.m. The shelter has a commercial-grade kitchen. Volunteers also have the option to cook at home and take food to the shelter.

This effort follows Neland’s 25 years as part of the Interfaith Hospitality Network, where families ate, played and relaxed, and slept in the building for a week at a time, four times a year, before moving to another church.  Our dedicated volunteers did the same – as well as cooking meals, supplying essentials and simply being present.

Last fall, financial pressures collapsed the network. The loss to families and our team can’t be tallied, but at least one good thing resulted – guests no longer have to move to a new site every Sunday. And by grace Neland still helps feed the hungry with good things.

To get in touch with one of our coordinators, contact the Neland Church Office (office@neland.org).

We have a commercial-grade kitchen to prepare meals for our guest families.