No sick child should be alone. No family should be apart. Thanks to you, they won’t be. With the help of dedicated volunteers and generous donors, we create places of healing and hope.
Make a meal. Connect your community to our families. Invest your time, talents, and resources to help families through their toughest times.
Volunteer groups plan to feed 35 guests, purchase ingredients, and prepare the meal or snack in our commercial-grade kitchen. Group size is limited to 10 people. All volunteers must be 10+ years old.
Dinner
Afternoon Treats
Providing families with the comfort and warmth of a meal after a long day at the hospital is a simple gift. Groups plan a menu to feed 35 guests, purchase ingredients, and prepare the meal in our commercial-grade kitchen.
Volunteer groups are responsible for bringing the ingredients
Group size is limited to 10 people. All volunteers must be 10+ years old.
Please arrive no later than 4:00 p.m. so dinner will be ready for families and the kitchen cleaned by 6:00 p.m.
Questions? For questions regarding our meal program, please email or call 608-262-4660.
Help provide treats or grab-and-go snacks for our families to enjoy. Baked goods, trail mix, and snack mixes are greatly appreciated by families as they go about their days.
Volunteer groups are responsible for bringing the ingredients
Group size is limited to 10 people. All volunteers must be 10+ years old.
Please arrive no later than 12:00 p.m. so treats will be ready for families and the kitchen cleaned by 2:00 p.m.
Questions? For questions regarding our meal program, please email or call 608-262-4660.
Yes! While not required to make one of our recipes, you can check out our Ronald McDonald House Madison Cookbook here for inspiration.
Your group should bring the necessary ingredients to prepare around 35 meals. This will ensure that everyone who wants a meal that night will get one, and it may provide some leftovers for the following day.
Allergy-friendly meals are appreciated and help us be inclusive to all who are staying in the House; however, they are not required. If your group is interested in making an allergy-friendly meal, we recommend trying a recipe that is gluten, dairy, and/or soy free as those are the most common sensitivities we see in the House. Soy and dairy sensitivities are particularly common here, as many breastfeeding mothers are asked to try this new diet and see how it affects the health of their baby.
The Volunteer Kitchen has plenty of pots and pans, mixers, baking sheets, utensils, mixing bowls, pressure cookers, and other items to help make cooking go smoothly. You will also have access to two full stove tops, two ovens, two microwaves, and an outdoor grill.
Common kitchen pantry items at the House generally include: salt, pepper, oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and flour.
For safety and convenience, we ask volunteer groups to individually package meals/treats into provided containers. This ensures safety and convenience for patients and guest families. Some families will be ready for dinner or treats as soon as you are finished, but many of them won’t be back to the House from visiting their patient in the hospital until much later at night, and they appreciate being able to quickly warm up a meal and grab a treat as a pick-me-up. We provide a variety of containers to suit different meals and treats.
While appreciated, extra items like desserts, sides, and drinks are not required. If you bring green/leafy salads, please prepare enough for about 10 servings to minimize food waste, as they’re not in high demand and spoil quickly. If you’d like to bring drinks, please bring pre-packaged options like bottled/canned drinks, juice boxes, or pouches, as we don’t have sealed cups or containers for beverages.
