Meal Preparation with Food and Friends

by Allison Weaver, Community Service Chair

On Tuesday, October 22, the Rotaract Club of DC volunteered with Food and Friends, to prepare meals for people suffering from serious illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. For over 30 years, Food and Friends has been helping thousands of people in our community ease the burden of living with serious illnesses. In 2018 alone, they provided 905,582 meals for 3,127 clients spanning from Fredericksburg, VA all the way to Hagerstown, MD.

Food and Friends offers meal and grocery delivery, as well as nutritional counseling with licensed dietitians. Providing these services can mean the difference between life and death for some. In fact, 71% of clients reported in 2018 that their improved health after receiving services, and 70% reported being better able to follow their doctor’s orders. Changing your lifestyle can be one of the most overwhelming parts of coping with a new diagnosis, and these services are vital for patient health.

During the event we prepared spinach and mushroom frittatas, waffles, tuna, and salad. Although we mostly packaged breakfast items, Food and Friends provides a large array of meals to their clients. The facilities were spotless, with food safety clearly being a main priority. The operation oversees multiple shifts of volunteers during the day, so we were mainly responsible for packing the meals for delivery, and prepping the food to be cooked the following day.