Frequently Asked Questions
IMPORTANT FLU UPDATE:
Dinner with Grace would like to remind everyone that food safety and community health are paramount in any group setting. If you feel at all ill please do not put anyone at risk, call or email anytime. All volunteers and residents MUST WASH HANDS and wear gloves while cooking or working in the kitchen. The site coordinators and chef's are responsible for the safety and health of this program and they will be making accomodations to ensure that everyone follows these simple steps to keep us all healthy. THANK YOU!
General:
· What makes Dinner with Grace different?
·
Where am I
most helpful? What should I choose to do first?
·
Do I need to
be Episcopalian to volunteer?
·
What if I can
only help for a certain amount of time?
·
I am allergic
to some foods, should I not help?
·
What is an
SRO?
·
What is The
Mentone & The Coast? Who is ECS?
·
What more can I do to be involved with Dinner with Grace?
· How can I help
if I cannot make it on the dates scheduled?
Cooking
· Where do we
meet in the Cathedral?
·
What should I
wear?
·
What kinds of
things will I be doing in the kitchen?
·
How much food
do we make?
·
What happens
on Wednesday?
·
Where can I
find the recipe?
Serving
·
I want to serve, which hotel should I choose?
·
How do I get to the hotels?
Where do I park?
· How should I
dress?
·
What will I be
doing as a server?
·
How can I
start a conversation with a resident?
·
What is acceptable and not acceptable community relations?
·
How should I
interact with the residents?
·
What do we do
if someone does not like the food?
·
What happens
to leftovers?
All
questions regarding volunteering for Dinner with Grace can be directed to Diahanna Post via e-mail dinnerwithgrace@gracecathedral.net
All other questions regarding the program
operations including donations & donations of food, equipment can be
directed to Alex Senchak via email Dinnerwithgrace@gracecathedral.org
For any immediate inquiries please call Rev. Will
Scott at Grace Cathedral.
General:
What makes Dinner with Grace different?
.
Dinner with Grace differs in that the food is prepared and enjoyed by volunteers & the residents of the Hotel. We place equal value on feeding our guests a meal & fostering social interaction. A trademark of this program is that each dinner is a nutritious, well-balanced complete meal enjoyed in a setting that stimulates community engagement. Come see more for yourself!
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Where am
I most helpful? What should I choose to do first?
A major part of volunteering with Dinner with Grace
is to experience all parts of the ministry. While we need volunteers in all
areas of work, we encourage you to do what you are drawn to do and then explore
the other side of this social ministry. Many people begin by volunteering to
cook and learn what the program is about; spending the next month at the hotel
eating with residents.
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Do I need
to be Episcopalian to volunteer?
Of course not. Anyone and everyone is welcomed and
encouraged to participate in this program no matter their beliefs.
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What if I
can only help for a certain amount of time?
A draw to Dinner with Grace is that it is a very
fluid ministry. Help however you can for as long as you can. Just let Jennifer
know via emailing her at DinnerwithGrace@gracecathedral.org if your plans ever change.
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I am
allergic to some foods, should I not help?
You should alert the coordinator or chef and they
will make sure to keep you away from that dish. There is plenty to do both in
the kitchen and at the Mentone that does not involve handling every dish.
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What is
an SRO?
SRO stands for Single Resident occupancy. These buildings formerly functioned as low-cost housing for those where on the edge of homelessness and have been incorporated into San Francisco;s Care Not Cash Program enacted in 2004. SRO's are privately owned and managed. The men and women who reside in the rooms are offered placement as it becomes available. Episcopal Community Services operates several different hotels. Most SRO's can be found in the Tenderloin, Mission District and
Chinatown communities of San Francisco. Each hotel is different in its arrangements but many have communal spaces such as kitchens and many also offer social services and employment assistance for the residents.
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Who is ECS?
ECS is an organization
dedicated to assisting lower-income and homeless men and women with shelter,
housing and social services. http://www.ecs-sf.org/
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How can I get more involved with Dinner with Grace? What is the core Team?
Meal selection as well as the responsibiliites of preparing and serving a meal are coordinated amongst a volunteer group of dedicated Core Team members. Approximately 14-18 members meet once a month to plan meals and discuss future plans of the program. The core team meetings are open to anyone interested and are held at Grace Cathedral. Visit the Core Team Page of our website for more information.
Another signifigant way you can become involved with the program further is to assist in transporting food either from the grocery store to the cathedral kitchen or from the kitchen to the sites. This is a very important responsibility. If you are interested in this, please contact dinnerwithgrace@gracecathedral.org to help out! Thanks!!
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How can I
help if I cannot make it on the dates scheduled?
If volunteering in the kitchen or at the hotel is
not an option, there are many other requirements to make the Dinner with Grace
ministry run. Shopping for the food, acquiring cooking supplies and
equipment as well as assisting with fundraising eforts are all ways to strengthen the program.
Contact DinnerwithGrace@GraceCathedral.org to ask about other ways of helping.
Contributing financially is an option that is
always greatly appreciated.
Contributing financially is an option that is always greatly appreciated Contributions can be made to Grace Cathedral earmarked for the Dinner with Grace ministry.
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Cooking
Where do
we meet in the Cathedral?
Dinner with Grace cooks in the kitchen of the
Cathedral. The kitchen is located adjacent to the plaza with the fountain.
Walk up the cathedral steps and turn right; cross the courtyard and turn left
towards the northwest corner of the courtyard. The kitchen door is the last one.
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What
should I wear?
Be comfortable. Most people stand around the center
countertop while working so wear comfortable shoes. We do provide aprons
however there are no guarantees that drips, spills or splatters may not reach
you.
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What
kinds of things will I be doing in the kitchen?
Generally, there are teams of people working on
each dish for the meal. Slicing, dicing, mixing and tending the stove and oven are the primary
tasks that we do. Be prepared to jump in and do everything from
mincing garlic & braising carrots.
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How much
food do we make?
There are about 70 -75 residents plus as many as 15
volunteers serving. During the cooking night the volunteers sit
down and enjoy the meal as well. Therefore about 95 servings are prepared in
total.
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What
happens on Wednesday?
At around 3:00 pm a team makes final preparations
and heats all the food in the Grace kitchen. By 5:30 it gets packaged up and transported to the
hotel via a volunteer’s vehicle. This effort can always use more volunteers, if
you are available PLEASE let us know via email dinnerwithgrace@gracecathedral.org
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Where can
I get the recipes for what we cook?
The recipes for each meal will be available at the
kitchen the night of cooking or can be received at a later time. Recipes for
all the meals are compiled and Dinner with Grace plans to publish a cookbook of
sorts in the future. Check back soon!
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Serving
I want to serve, which Hotel should I choose?
Both hotels are equally wonderful places to serve and interact with the community. Many people volunteer at one location and connect with people there which keeps them coming back monthly to that location. Only by trying all the opportunities will you know what you like and don't like.
Where are the hotels? How do I get there?
Parking on the street around the Mentone and the Coast is hit or
miss. The side streets are not well lit after dark on the side streets however there are
some parking structures near the hotel if you cannot find parking on a
main street. Safety is a primary concern and another option especially for
newer volunteers is to meet at the cathedral and leave for the hotel with the
food. Many busses and BART lines run near the Mentone & the Coast. Click here to see the
map of the CVoast and Mentone Hotels.
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What will
I be doing as a server?
Volunteer Servers and many residents set-up the tables and chairs
and set out the dinnerware. Once the food arrives, a team of volunteers
will serve the plates of food and a team will serve and eat. At desert the
teams switch so that everyone gets a chance to eat and serve. Everyone cleans
up together to expedite the process.
This highly interactive volunteer opportunity is great fun for people who enjoy chatting and making new friends.
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How
should I interact with the residents?
A key to serving is remembering we volunteers are
guests in their homes. Many of them have come to Dinner with Grace before and
they are very receptive to conversations. Each individual is different just
like in any apartment building. There is no requirement to hold a conversation
and we must respect each person’s wishes for privacy and peace. It is most
important however to be yourself and be friendly, Newer volunteers may feel
more comfortable tagging along with more experienced volunteers while they
serve and eat so to get introduced to the group.
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How
should I dress?
Dress to be comfortable and like you are going to a
friends house for dinner. Aprons are available however many times while
carrying dishes or trays there is some spills. Be mindful of your appearance,
as your presentation will set the tone for conversations. Clean Jeans and
casual collard shirts are completely okay.
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How can I
start a conversation with a resident?
Conversations can start over anything and should
not be constrained to specific topics. Use your best interpersonal skills to
just have discussions about neutral topics being mindful of everyone’s privacy.
Residents (and some volunteers) do not necissarily have religious practices and our program, while being guided by our faith must shay away from anything that could be percieved as proselytizing.
·
Good topics of
conversation
o
The meal, good foods
o
How many times you/they have attended DwG
o
The best ___ in San Francisco
o
Neutral topics (weather, sports, TV shows)
o
What do you like to do?
·
Topics of
conversation to avoid
o
How they got to the Mentone? Personal history
o
Money, dating, health, politics possessions’ (i.e.
what car you drive).
If at any time you don’t feel comfortable, you
should say so because in many cases the boundaries are not set. You should NOT
remain in any situation that makes you feel awkward or concerned. Other
volunteers are always close by to help conversations along.
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What is acceptable and unacceptable community relations
The heart of Dinner with Grace is building positive relationships with people. We encourage everyone to interact with each other and share in conversation & stories. Many of the residents of these hotels are living on extremely limited means and some of them require extensive assistance from state and local agencies to survive on. Dinner with Grace as a program provides a meal at their residence once a month with the opportunity to participate further in the program. At no time do we endorse any individual, volunteer or resident, personally assisting anyone else in the program financially or otherwise.
If anyone should ask/request for money in any way, please let the site coordinator or chef know immediately. This type of solicitation crosses the boundry of participating in this ministry and while we want to help anyone in need, this program is not the venue for such requests. Please email or call with any concerns or questions.
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What do
we do if someone does not like the food?
It is impossible to please everyone and some meals
are not going to please certain people. The optimal outcome would be to begin a
conversation about what they might like to see as a dish for the future. The
cooks are trying very hard to vary the meals and the next month will be
different. We also have other dishes usually that may be more appetizing. You
can always refer them to one of the coordinators if the meal selection becomes
more than you want to get into.
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What
happens to leftovers?
Food that has not been served is kept in the fridge
for the staff to give to the residents over the course of the next few days.
Much of the food is served to the residents either sitting at the table or at
the end of the evening, in “to-go” containers. To encourage environmentally
conscious service, we discard all used containers properly and work very hard
to minimize the waste of the evening. In 2009 there will be much further
discussion about reducing waste and conserving all our resources.
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Still got more questions? One experience will answer most every question you have. Come join and find out more. If you have more specific questions feel free to ask them via email dinnerwithgrace@gracecathedral.org.
