15 Mar Cups of Comfort
Landon picking up his individually-packaged meal on Food Truck Friday.
You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal. No matter your walk of life, over a meal, you can find common ground. Often the common ground at our House is the walk to the hospital, and everything endured once inside. Our families can have a rough day or a celebratory one, and a hot meal always brings them together. A foundational area of our mission is the promise if serving at least one hot meal a day. That promise was much easier pre-COVID-19, and the Meals From the Heart Program was one of the best ways for groups to volunteer at the House; people loved serving and cooking for our families. Since the start of the pandemic, our meal volunteer program has been suspended, but our commitment to our families is strong as ever. We now serve individually-packaged meals. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, we’ve been fortunate to have many wonderful people step up to make sure we are upholding our promise of (at least) one hot meal-a-day.
The kitchen is and continues to be the heart of our House. Thinking back over all of our meal groups, we have had some serious fun! In 2019, the Red Shoe Society made pasta for dinner 
one Sunday evening. They even brought along a pasta maker to teach the kids how to roll out and make their very own noodles. The look on Carley’s face when the pasta started to roll out was priceless. When Amazon comes to cook, they always bring a couple of extra helpers to assist in a game of tag or hide-and-go-seek on the playground. Last January, Game Theory came to our House to host a game night and cook a delicious meal. We learned how to play all kinds of games, and Jaylan’s grandmother, Mrs. Barb, beat Jaylen in Jenga! We can’t forget about Lockheed Martin’s annual Mid-Autumn Festival. They get to the House early and are in the kitchen cooking all afternoon. Before dinner, we have a parade throughout the House, then everyone heads back to the kitchen for homemade Chinese food. If you have never tried an egg roll from scratch, you are really missing out! We also have families that come back to serve after they leave and go back home. After Mia passed away, her dad Joel, and his
“He knows first-hand that a warm smile from someone behind the counter can change your entire day. “
group, The Bearded Villains, served a meal. He knows first-hand that a warm smile from someone behind the counter can change your entire day.
These groups and many more have kept our cup overflowing for the past 40 years. As we come upon a year without having meal groups physically in our House, we have been thinking about how we can measure the comfort a hot meal still brings to our families. Usually, it’s measured in smiles, laughter and conversations, but now it is measured by the cup! We are excited to launch our new meal sponsorship program, Cups of Comfort!
- Cup Full Sponsor – One meal per month or 12 meals per year
- Half Full Cup Sponsor- A meal every other month or 6 meals per year
- Quarter Full Sponsor- A meal quarterly or 4 meals a year.
- Hot-Shot sponsors -Someone that has signed up to be a first-time sponsor
Something as simple as a boxed meal takes a massive burden off our families’ shoulders and lifts their spirits more than you know. Here at RMHFW, our cups are always full and never empty. If you’d like to fill your cup, please contact Tonja Sparks, Meals Coordinator, to become a part of the Cups of Comfort Circle today. Our families would love to celebrate the highs and lows together over the individually-packaged meals you provide. Grab your favorite coffee cup and check back next month as we talk more about filling your cup and the fantastic meal groups that have come through our kitchen. Cheers!