For over 39 years, the St. Vincent de Paul Meal Program has provided hot nutritious meals to children and adults in our Milwaukee community. Our parish provides dinner for St. Vincent de Paul’s north site meal program approximately four times a year. This ministry offers a variety of opportunities to serve others, including baking cookies and serving the meal.

*All volunteers serving at St. Vincent de Paul Meal Program now need to complete the Safeguarding Training through the archdiocese. The training consists of a series of videos followed by questions. It should take about two hours to complete, but can be paused and restarted. Your completion of this training is a requirement for all volunteers and deeply appreciated. Click this link for the Online Training

Meal Schedule for 2024:

• January 31

• May 29

• July 31

• October 30

Volunteer Time Commitment

Date: 5th Wednesday in a month

Time: Approximately 4:00-7:00pm, including travel time from St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

Location: Harambee Kitchen, All Peoples Church - 2600 N 2nd St., Milwaukee

Driving Directions: See Parish Calendar for and search for meal date

Contact: Cindy Schaus, 414-405-4086, or Fred Nehrling, 414-614-9085, or send us a message

Volunteer Opportunities

Consider baking a batch of Cowboy Cookies for dessert.

• There is no need to sign up

• Cookies should be packed in sturdy containers that will not be returned

• Bring them to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s kitchen (lower level) by 2:00 PM on the day of the meal

• Find the recipe below

Consider volunteering at the meal.

• Most food is purchased and prepared by the committee chair.

• The day of the meal, food is delivered and final preparation takes place at the meal site. A couple of volunteers are needed at 3:00pm to transport food into the basement kitchen and begin preparation for dinner. About 15 volunteers are needed in all.

• Those helping with the meal either carpool from church, leaving at 4:00 PM, or drive directly to the site. Upon arrival at the site, volunteers help with final meal preparation and then serve dinner to the attendees. Dinner is served from 5:30-6:15 PM.

• Some cleanup is done by our volunteers with the St. Vincent de Paul staff washing the dishes and doing the final clean up. Volunteers depart by about 6:45pm.

• While serving dinner, our volunteers interact with guests, offering a welcoming environment. The number of guests varies widely. We have served as few as 100 guests and over 500.

Those interested in helping with this ministry are contacted early in the month of each meal. Volunteers are asked to respond as to whether they are able to serve the meal. There is never pressure to volunteer if schedules are not open that day.

Older children accompanied by parents and teenagers are welcome to volunteer. It’s a great eye-opening experience for them!! No particular skills are needed, but it is necessary to stand for about an hour. Big smiles and friendly attitudes add much to the experience.

Follow Jesus - Serve Others

Reflecting on this Ministry

The meal site offers a hybrid service of in-person dining and carryout. It’s always great to see the smiles on our guests as they are able to enjoy our warm, nutritious meal.