PATHCOOKS

Serving Home-Cooked Meals with Tender-Loving Care

PATHCooks Brochure

Thank you for your interest in PATHCooks, a volunteer program that provides home-cooked meals to residents staying at PATH’s housing facilities.

Your group’s participation will help the homeless in several ways. Food purchased by your group saves money for PATH, which is used to provide essential housing and support services for residents. Also, menus selected by your group offer “dining variety” for residents to enhance the quality of their stay.

The enthusiasm and energy your group brings to PATH shows our residents that they are valued and that someone really cares for them!

We hope you will join us in becoming a PATHCooks partner. We request that groups consider making a monthly commitment, with openness to build a partnership with PATH and our residents over the long-term.

Signing up is easy… just follow these 5 steps:

Step 1: Select a Date

Call us to select a date, time and location for your meal preparation. Meals can be prepared at two sites: Westside Center (West Los Angeles) and Regional Homeless Center ( Central Los Angeles). The meal time slots are:

• Dinner is served every day at 6:00 p.m. Cooks arrive between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m., depending on the menu and required
  preparation time.
• Breakfast is served on Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 a.m. Cooks arrive between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m., depending on the
  menu and required preparation time.

We will do our best to accommodate your group’s schedule, but we are required to serve meals on a set schedule. Slots are reserved on a first-come basis. To check date availability, please contact:  

• Jessica Wishan (323) 644-2207 or jessicaw@epath.org

Step 2: Confirm your Cooks

An ideal group size is 6-8 people per cooking event, although we can comfortably accommodate up to 10 people. Because of the large quantities of food that need to prepared, we request that each group confirms a minimum of 4 people per meal. Cooks of all ages are welcome to take part, but children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Step 3: Choose a Menu

We welcome you to be creative and original with your menu. Feel free to "cook up" new menus that you think will be enjoyed by our residents. When planning meals, keep the diversity of our residents in mind and prepare something that has universal appeal (i.e. nothing that's too spicy or exotic).

In addition to food, please also bring drinks and serving supplies (plates, plastic-ware, napkins and cups) on the day of your meal.

Step 4: Buy Food & Supplies

Food and supplies can be purchased at any grocery store, or at bulk food stores like Costco or Smart & Final. We recommend that you purchase supplies a few days in advance to cut down on last-minute stress. If necessary, you can arrange to store your supplies at PATH a few days prior to your meal (if you do this, be sure to package your supplies together and clearly label them with your group name and the date of your meal).
Plan to serve 70 people at PATH Hollywood, 100 people at RHC and 40 people at the Westside Center.

Step 5: Show Up and Have a Great Time!

On the day of your meal, a PATH staff member will greet your group and provide an orientation to the kitchen. Staff will be onsite at all times to assist your group with preparing and serving your home-cooked meal to our residents.

Be safe and have fun!