Volunteers are the backbone of Matt Talbot Kitchen & Outreach. Whether it is purchasing ingredients, preparing food, serving a meal, helping at the reception desk, working in the garden, or hosting a donation drive or special event – we appreciate your investment of time and resources and want to be available to assist you in any way we can. Here are the updates I want to highlight this month:

Second Servings

We continually assess programs and make changes to improve the experiences of both volunteers and guests. Last June we changed our policy to no longer provide second servings to accommodate the large number of guests and ensure that everyone receives a meal during the 1-hour serving period. Overall, guests and volunteers follow this new policy with no issues. Unfortunately, there continue to be a occasions where guests come through the line for a second meal. If you are here during the week and encounter a guest who is upset about not receiving a second serving, please ask a staff member to talk with the guest. To address this concern for weekend teams, the officer will stand by the scanner to be additional support for volunteers and help deter guests from getting in line for the second time. We appreciate everyone’s feedback on this policy and will continue to be available to answer any questions or concerns.

Guests may pick up extra meals for family members not present in the dining room starting at noon (during lunch) and 6 p.m. (during dinner) if they have a multiple meal card from the outreach team. If a guest does not have a card, please ask them to speak with a member of the outreach team so they can get one.

Weekend Teams: Guests may have a sticker on the back of their Clarity Card stating they can receive more than one meal. If they don’t have that sticker or the multiple meal card, please use your discretion with providing extra meals. If possible, include the individual’s name and the number of meals requested on the Daily Report so that outreach can follow up with the individual during the week.

We understand this system is not perfect. Staff and volunteers are working to be consistent with this new policy. Thanks for your continued efforts and patience!

Announcements or Prayers before a Meal

Hunger relief teams can offer short announcements or prayers before serving a meal but it is not necessary. If your team would like to speak to dining room guests before beginning your meal service, we have two guidelines:

• If you are here Monday – Friday, use our microphone (a staff member will get it for you). This helps promote a calm environment and reduces the chances of anyone raising their voice. Guests have the choice of engaging with your communication or continuing to talk quietly and not engaging. 
• Offer your announcement or prayer at least 5 minutes before meal service starts (11:25 am or 5:25 pm) to ensure we comply with USDA rules that specifically state we cannot delay meal service or require guests to participate in religious activities (such as prayer).

Daily Reports

Please make sure your team is filling out daily reports for every meal. We would appreciate everyone including their email address so we can enter your volunteer hours in our new Volunteer Database.

Food Stored in Pantry

We are having problems with food missing from the team's shelves in the walk-in pantry as well as the walk-in cooler. Please make sure you are only taking items from your team's marked shelf as well as looking at food to make sure that it does not have a save sticker and team name on it. The team that brought in that food is counting on using it for their meals and has to scramble to find an alternative when it comes up missing. If you are not sure if the food is available please ask Victoria or Anthony.

As always, I am available to answer any questions or concerns you have about these updates or any of our policies or programs. Thanks for all you do!

Victoria O'Neil, Director of Hunger Relief and Volunteerism (402-817-0623)