Meals from the Heart

After a long day at the hospital, walking into the House and finding a meal waiting is a small comfort that means a lot. Through Meals from the Heart, volunteer groups of all kinds, work teams, churches, service clubs, sports teams, families, or friends, can bring that comfort to families staying with us.

You can:

Cook a meal in our kitchen
Have a meal catered from a local restaurant
Provide grocery or restaurant gift cards

No matter how you give, you’re helping a family stay close when they need it most.

Cook a meal

Get a group of friends, family, or co-workers together to prepare a meal! You don’t need to be a professional cook. Simple home-style meals are perfect!

Pick one of our House locations and a date. Our smaller 24th Street House by Avera averages 20 guests. The larger Lake Avenue House near Sanford Hospital has an average of 40 guests.

Have a meal delivered

Not able to cook but still want to feed a family? We’ll coordinate a meal delivery from a local restaurant on your behalf.

Send a gift card

Hospital schedules don’t always leave room for a sit-down meal.

Restaurant gift cards and cash donations help make sure families can grab something to eat whenever they get the chance.

Meals from the Heart FAQ

How many people should I plan to feed?

Our Lake Avenue location has 21 bedrooms, so we ask that you plan to feed 40 people.

Our 24^th Street location has 8 bedrooms, so we ask that you plan to feed 20 people.

Do we need to bring our own ingredients?

Yes! While we have the essentials, such as eggs, butter and milk, we cannot guarantee that we will have the necessary ingredients for your specific meal.

Please plan to bring all you will need.

Can I bring my child(ren) with me to prepare a meal?

Absolutely! Children are welcome to participate as long as they are being closely supervised and can safely be around kitchen equipment.

Which restaurants should we hire to cater a meal?

There are many local restaurants that will cater. Some suggestions include (but are not limited to): Qdoba, Roll’n Pin Catering, and The Honey Baked Ham Company.

Where should we buy gift cards?

Gift Cards are an easy way to give a meal. An example of a place that would be great to get gift cards to? Roll’n Pin Catering!

Visa, MasterCard, and American Express gift cards work as well.

Where should I park?

Both Ronald McDonald House locations offer parking lots at the back of the House for guests and visitors. Feel free to use these lots, as street parking is restricted to 2 hours.