Provide a Meal

Provide Meals at the YWCA Family Center

Volunteers make it possible for us to serve three meals a day, 365 days a year, to our residents at the YWCA Family Center. Providing, preparing, and serving these meals is our greatest need for volunteers, and there are many ways you or your team can get involved!

Serve a Meal

Our meal servers serve food prepared by our YWCA kitchen staff. You can sign up to serve meals individually here. If you’d like to register as a group, please reserve a date for your team with Natasha Battise at nbattise@ywcacolumbus.org.

View Open Dates for Meal Service
Sign up to volunteer

Host a Meal

Meal hosts provide breakfast, lunch, or dinner in addition to volunteering on-site to serve the meal to our residents.

View available meal hosting dates
Meal Host Guidelines

Sponsor a Meal

Can’t make it to the Family Center to serve a meal? Meal sponsors provide funding for the meal, which is then prepped and served by our YWCA kitchen staff and volunteers. Breakfast can be sponsored for $300 and lunch or dinner can be sponsored for $500.

Sponsor a Meal

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Anyone volunteering inside of the kitchen must be 15 years old or older. Individuals under 15 years old may volunteer with a group but must work inside the dining room area. Anyone under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian sign the appropriate waivers prior to serving.

  • Due to operational needs and the size of our kitchen, we limit the number of volunteers for each meal service to 6 individuals.

  • We will let you know before your scheduled host date how many people you should expect to serve. You take that number and divide it by your recipe’s serving size. Then multiply each ingredient by that number.

  • Yes! You can sign up to volunteer as an individual here.

  • YWCA Columbus is a publicly supported organization as described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and our Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN) is #31-4379597.

    To claim a meal sponsor donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your donation receipt as your official record. No goods or services were received in consideration of such donation.

    To claim a provided meal as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please provide receipts for the ingredients/food served.

  • Absolutely. The security and confidentiality of your information is a high priority. We use Blackbaud to protect your credit card information, when used according to manufacturer’s instructions. Blackbaud encrypts personal and credit card information during all transactions and sends an automated confirmation email for all transactions.

  • No. From time to time, we may share information from a collaborator or partner. However, we will do this ourselves and never provide for others.

  • YWCA Columbus accepts donations by way of check, credit card, and stock transfer. To discuss donation opportunities, please contact the Office of Advancement at 614-627-1203.

    Mail may be sent to:
    Office of Advancement
    YWCA Columbus
    65 South Fourth Street
    Columbus, OH 43215

  • For the health and safety of the residents and families we serve, we’re not able to accept meals prepared at home or in kitchens that aren’t certified by local health authorities. This includes personal kitchens, churches, community centers, and other non-commercial settings.

Learn more about our volunteer opportunities.

We love our volunteers!

YWCA Columbus is on a mission to provide support to those that need it most.