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SMC Providing Sandwiches for Simpson Housing Services 

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Every month SMC dad's and their kids  make sandwiches for the Simpson house.   All food, supplies, and labor are donated by the SMC.   It is a great experience for dad's to teach their kids about purpose, volunteering and giving-back.  Jeff Spanier chairs the Simpson House Committee and and would welcome adding your family on the schedule of volunteers.   

Simpson House Monthly Sandwiches Instructions 

SQUARE MEAL DEALERS
At Your Location
Goal of Position
Square Meal Dealers volunteers provide sandwiches and bag lunches for men and women staying at Simpson Housing Services’ emergency shelter.  Our shelter is open overnight from 6 PM until 7 AM.  As the men and women leave the shelter in the morning they take sandwiches and a bag lunch to eat later in the day.  Volunteers must purchase the food items needed for the sandwiches and lunches.  Groups make 100 sandwiches and 50 bag lunches and deliver to our shelter during donation hours.  A speaker and learning activities are available by request.
 
Timeframe
This is a one-time commitment.  This volunteer opportunity is available 7 days a week, year round.
 
Location
Simpson Housing Services’ Emergency Shelter
2740 1st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55408
 
The shelter is located in the basement of Simpson United Methodist Church on the corner of 28th Street West and 1st Avenue South.  Unfortunately, the building is not handicap accessible.
 
Parking: Available on the street or in the lot behind Simpson Church.  To access the parking lot you need to travel east on 28th Street and turn left into the alley between Frenz Brake Service and Simpson Church. 
 
Entering: Use the shelter intercom to enter the building.  There are grey intercom boxes next to the 28th Street door, 1st Avenue door, and parking lot door.
 
Donation Delivery Hours
Our shelter is open overnight and we don’t have staff on location during most of the day.  Our donation hours are:
                Sunday                 7 PM – 9 PM
                Monday               3 PM – 5 PM
                Tuesday               3 PM – 5 PM & 7 PM – 9 PM
                Wednesday        3 PM – 5 PM & 7 PM – 9 PM
                Thursday             3 PM – 5 PM & 7 PM – 9 PM
                Friday                   3 PM – 5 PM & 7 PM – 9 PM
                Saturday              7 PM – 9 PM
 

 
Shopping List
Food Handling Materials
  •   Plastic gloves
  •   Hairnets
  •   Plastic tablecloths
  •   Cleaning supplies
  •   Hand sanitizer if a sink and hand soap is not available in the room
  •   A few permanent markers
  •   Cardboard boxes or paper bags for transporting bag lunches
  •   Coolers for transporting sandwiches
 
100 Simple Sandwiches
Your goal is to make hearty and delicious sandwiches that you would like to eat.  Quality is more important than quantity.  You may choose any type of whole grain bread and cheese.  Our shelter guests enjoy roast beef, chicken, turkey, salami, and pastrami. Please do not purchase bologna.  No condiments or vegetables. Do not make peanut butter and jelly, chicken salad, or tuna salad sandwiches.  We may need to freeze your sandwiches and use them a few days later.
  •   200 slices of whole grain bread
  •   100-200 slices of cheese
  •   200-400 slices of meat, depending on the thickness of the slice
  •   100 sandwich bags
50 Non-perishable Bag Lunches
  •   50 paper lunch bags
  •   50 napkins
  •   50 pre-packaged individual bags of chips
  •   50 bottles of water
  •   50 individually wrapped treats; cookie, brownie, or chewy granola bar
  •   Small individual serving packets of mustard and mayo (optional)
Guidelines
  •          Minimum number of volunteers: 1. 
  •          Maximum number of volunteers: 15.
  •          Children/youth groups must have a minimum adult to child ratio of 1:5.
  • One volunteer can make about 25 sandwiches per hour.  A group of 15 volunteers can assemble 100 sandwiches and 50 bag lunches in about 30 minutes.
 

 
Food Preparation Procedure
  1.        Carefully clean the sandwich preparation area, and cover table with new paper/plastic, or make the sandwiches on sterile cookie sheets. 
  2.       Have one cooler at each station to store the meat and cheese before the volunteers arrive and store the sandwiches until delivery.
  3.        Ask that people with long hair tie their hair back.
  4.       Ask all volunteers to wear hairnets.
  5.        Ask volunteers to roll up long sleeves.
  6.       Make sure every person thoroughly washes and dries their hands.
  7.        Everyone must wear plastic gloves. Please read the following instructions about gloves to your entire group.
                You must change your gloves if:
  •    You touch your face, hair, clothing
  •    You touch a part of the room that was not sterilized (chair, doorknob, etc.)
  •    You touch another person
  •    You use the bathroom
  •    You cough or sneeze
  •    Your gloves get ripped or torn
  •       If you are working with youth, please ask that they respect the food. Remind them to treat the food as if they were making a sandwich for their best friend. Avoid making thumbprints in the bread, squishing sandwiches into bags, playing with the food, etc.
  •       Assemble the sandwiches by placing at least one piece of meat and one piece of cheese between two slices of bread.
  •    Place each sandwich in a sandwich bag.
  •    Place the individually bagged sandwiches into the original bread loaf bag.
  •    Use a twist tie to close the bread loaf bag
  •    Write the type of meat and the date on the bread loaf bag with a permanent marker.
  •    Place the full bread loaf bags in coolers.
  •    At a separate table, volunteers can place napkins, chips, and treats in paper lunch bags.  Bottled water can be kept separate for easy delivery to the shelter.  Sandwiches are not placed in the bag lunch bags because they require refrigeration.
  •    Thank the volunteers and clean up the work space.
  •     Deliver the food to the shelter during our donation hours (see page 1).  Please call the shelter when you are on your way.  612.874.0306.

 
Frequently Asked Questions
How many loaves of bread or pounds of meat do I need to purchase?
One loaf of bread and one pound of meat makes 10-15 sandwiches.  This is a rough estimation; size and number of slices will vary.
 
Can we make more than 100 sandwiches and 50 bag lunches?
Our storage space is very limited.  We have one refrigerator, one freezer, and very little counter top space.  Occasionally we are able to accept up to 300 sandwiches and 100 bag lunches.  Typically we have more space in August and September.
 
Can we write notes to include with the food?
This is a very thoughtful gesture, but we do not accept notes.  Ink from the notes can run onto the food.  It is also challenging to write a message that is appropriate and helpful for our shelter guests. 
 
What if we have extra meat?
If you notice you will have extra meat while you are making the sandwiches, incorporate the meat into the sandwiches you are making.  If you need to double or triple meat on some sandwiches, that is ok.  We would rather have extra hearty sandwiches; we cannot use extra meat without cheese and bread.
 
What if we have extra cheese?
Monitor your supplies while you are preparing sandwiches.  If you notice you will have extra cheese, incorporate more cheese into the sandwiches you are making.  If you need to double or triple the cheese on some sandwiches, that is ok.  We would rather have extra hearty sandwiches; we cannot use extra cheese on its own.
 
What if we run low on meat or cheese?
Every sandwich must have both meat and cheese.  Finish out the sandwiches using up all of the meat and cheese.  We can use the leftover bread.
 
What if we have extra bread?
It is ok to have extra bread; the shelter can use this for toast in the morning.
 
Do I use the heel of the loaf?
This is a question you can discuss as a group.  Imagine you are at home making a sandwich for a guest.  Would you choose the heel slices for that sandwich?  If you would not make a sandwich for your guest using the heel, then those slices can be given to someone in your group to take home, or put in the garbage.  We would like the spirit behind making the sandwiches to be generous and kind. This is a good opportunity to discuss assumptions that volunteers may have about people living in poverty.  Volunteers might think that because someone is poor they will be willing to eat anything.  This is not true. 

 
What does your shelter need besides lunches?
Our greatest need is for funding to keep our shelter doors open.  Check out our Community Fundraising Kit at http://www.simpsonhousing.org/community_fundraising.html. You can view a full list of our supply needs on our website at http://www.simpsonhousing.org/donate_inkind.html.  Contact Christina Giese with questions or for a list of urgent needs. 
 
Where can we find out more about homelessness?
  •          Spent: www.playspent.org
This activity challenges you to survive for a month by making tough choices as a low-wage worker.
  •          Wilder Foundation: www.wilder.org/homelessness.0.html
The Wilder Foundation does statewide research on homelessness. Their detailed studies provide us with much of what we know about homelessness in Minnesota.
  •          Minnesota Housing Partnership: www.mhponline.org
The MHP website has in-depth information about housing affordability, as well as opportunities for advocacy and learning.
  •          Housing Matters: www.housingmatters.info
Sponsored by Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, this site offers information and interactive activities about housing, homelessness, and your role in making home possible for everyone.
  •          Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless: www.mnhomelesscoalition.org
Advocate for those experiencing homelessness. The MCH website lists policy information, action alerts, and events.
  •          The Student’s Guide to Ending Homelessness: http://bit.ly/StudentsGuide
Written by local students, this guide offers many ways for people of all ages to participate meaningfully in ending homelessness.
 
Contact Person
Christina Giese, Director of Volunteer Engagement, 612.455.0859, cgiese@simpsonhousing.org

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.
​
​Winston Churchill

Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.

​Roy T. Bennett 

Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.

Fred Rogers

  • 10th Anniversary
  • Board of Directors
    • SMC Members
  • Saints News & Updates
    • Simpson Sandwich Info
  • Contact Us
    • Links