LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Love is definitely on the menu at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana (RMHCK) in downtown Louisville.
The Love Served Daily meal program at RMHCK provides worry-free meals and food to families staying at the house while their child is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
The average stay of a family at the RMHCK in Louisville is about eight days. According to April Sage, RMHCK Communications manager, 80% of the house's families have a child in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).
During a family's stay, the Ronald McDonald house is their home away from home, providing a safe, comfortable and stress-free environment away from the traumas at the hospital.
"Food is definitely an afterthought for them (parents)," Chef James Garst, head chef of the Meals from the Heart program, said. "They are focused purely on getting their kids better."
Part of the Love Served Daily program is the Meals from the Heart program, started by Chef James about a year and a half ago, where he leads a group of volunteers to serve dinner to the families.
Dinner is provided every night at 6 p.m., seven days a week, and brunch is offered two days a week at the house. Families also have access to the "help yourself kitchen," stocked with items like cereal, bagels, juice and milk. On each level of the house, families have access to kitchens if they want to prepare their own meals.
Before he joined the RMHCK, Chef James was the Executive Chef at Whiskey Dry by Ed Lee and Sous Chef at Milkwood. During COVID-19, the restaurant industry was really affected, and Chef James served as Culinary Liaison with The LEE Initiative. While that experience during COVID with the initiative was rewarding, Chef James felt he needed to reevaluate if the restaurant industry was still for him.
"I went on a journey to find my hospitality again," Garst said.
And he found that hospitality at RMHCK.
"This house is magical," Garst said.
Chef James has given new life to the Meals from the Heart with the chef-led experience. He starts by creating the menu and shopping for the ingredients. Then, volunteers come in and under the guidance and watchful eye of Chef James, prep, cook and serve the meal to the families.
Not only do the families staying at the home get a hot meal made with love, but volunteers also get to do something nice for the families going through a difficult time.
"My son was born prematurely, and was in the NICU, and we had a lot of families around us that were a part of Ronald McDonald House or staying there, so there's also a personal touch for me," Vandy Chisholm, of Louisville, said while prepping for a meal.
"I like cooking, and helping other people," Lillian Chisholm, 14 of Louisville, said.
Coming from a restaurant background, Chef James is used to having "regulars," but his regulars now are the parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters he cooks for at the Ronald McDonald house. He builds relationships with the families, often asking the parents if they have eaten today. He's more of a private chef to the average 40 families a night that are served. He's also quite popular with the kids at the house, notably for his delicious grilled cheese sandwich.
"I got a lovely thank you card from a 6-year-old that said 'it was the best grilled cheese of any hotel she's ever stayed at,'" Garst said. "It didn't feel like a traumatic event, just staying at a hotel. The hotel part mattered more to me. That's the goal, right."
Another aspect of the Meals from the Heart program is the "legacy option," where volunteers are more in charge by planning, shopping, cooking and cleaning up for the meals that are prepared in the house's commercial kitchen, which is fairly new.
The Ronald McDonald house underwent its third expansion in 2020, expanding the house to a total of 56 rooms. The commercial kitchen was also renovated during that time, allowing for a better space to accommodate the growing capacity and more room to serve Meals from the Heart.
"We are still growing into our big-boy house," Garst said.
To learn more about Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana, click here.
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