Caring for Friends at St. Andrews
“No one should be hungry or alone in a world with so many caring people.”
You’re invited to join us and people from across the local community in our Parish House on the third Saturday of every month from 8:30-10:30am to help us make about 1,000 meals together in one collective blitz. Drop in when you can, and we’ll show you what to do!
St. Andrew’s has partnered with Caring for Friends for more than 40 years to provide food and friendship to seniors, kids, and adults in the Philadelphia region. Caring for Friends fulfills this mission through a homebound meals program, homeless outreach, and a food bank — thanks to the help of thousands of volunteers, cooks, and donors. St. Andrew’s is part of that network.
One Saturday per month, we gather in the Parish House (stone building next to the church) to make and assemble meals. The meals are transported to the Caring for Friends’ warehouse, where other volunteers then deliver them to the elderly and needy in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. Our community of volunteers has grown throughout the years, expanding to friends of all faiths and neighboring towns. You’re always welcome to join us!
During the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Andrew’s moved from monthly meal-making together to coordinating hundreds of our friends and neighbors to make and deliver meals to the church. Together, we made more than 50,000 meals and sandwiches to help Caring for Friends respond to the rising tide of hunger in our region. The way the entire Yardley community responded through St. Andrew’s inspired Reader’s Digest to name us one of the top “Nicest Places in America!” Today, church members and local volunteers continue to gather once a month shoulder to shoulder to help make thousands of meals for our neighbors and friends.
How to Help
There are many ways to connect, build community, and deepen your faith life with others!
New volunteers beyond the parish are always welcome! For local high school students in the Pennsbury and Council Rock school districts, we offer certified community service hours.
There are three ways to help with Caring for Friends at St. Andrew’s in Yardley:
Cook and Drop Off
The number of meals we make is completely determined by how much protein volunteers make and bring to our monthly meal assembly mornings on the third Saturday of every month. Cooks help by:
Making or buying a cooked protein (chicken, pork, meatloaf, lasagna, turkey, meatballs and sauce, etc.)
Slicing or portioning the protein so volunteers can just put it in meal trays.
Dropping off your protein at the Parish House (the stone building next to the church) between 8am and 9am on the third Saturday of the month.
Volunteer to Assemble Meals
Join us from 8:30-10:30am in the Parish House for a fast and fun communal meal assembly! Volunteers work together to fill food trays with donated protein and sides (usually mashed potatoes, apple sauce, or frozen vegetables) that are then labelled and frozen for delivery to Caring for Friends for distribution to neighbors who need them.
Our monthly Saturday mornings are welcoming and free-form – no training is needed and new volunteers join us each month. Just come on in and someone will show you how to plug in to the meal-making flow. Some volunteers help assemble the meals, while others make sandwiches, and others write out and date labels for the food. There’s something for everyone – and kids are welcome to volunteer with their parents!
“Pack Out” and Deliver to Caring for Friends
A few days after we make the meals, a crew of volunteers packs up all of the now-frozen meals and transports them to Caring for Friends, which will deliver them to people across the greater Philadelphia area.
Donate
Your funds help us purchase materials needed to make meals! To give through check or online, click the button below and be sure to note in the memo that your donation is for Caring for Friends. Thank you!
