Meals on Main Street Restaurant Connection

Would you turn down a meal from your favorite restaurant for less than $2?

Fast food costs more than that! "What's the catch?"

There's no catch. Restaurants, caterers, delis and schools are eager to work with us to provide low cost, nutritions meals to families in need, all while making sure they can keep their kitchen staff working and engaged. It is a win-win solution.  

They prepare trays of food for us to turn into family-style meals and in return, they get to reduce employee down time.  

Last year we pumped over $100,000 into the local economy here in Port Chester, delivering nearly 60,000 meals prepared from entrees made by local restaurants and caterers, along with 52,000 meals we prepared in our own kitchen. Over the next year, we are looking to double that. 

We know every kitchen has a capacity limit. Ours can prepare up to 200 meals per day, plus additional side dishes to add to the entrees we purchase from restaurants. We've partnered with farms to supplement the donations of fresh produce and dry ingredients we receive from supermarkets, food drives and Feeding Westchester, our local food bank.  

Sausage and peppers with rice and kale

During the pandemic, the demand for food increased immensely with more people out of work than we had seen in a decade. We knew we didn't have the capacity to provide enough meals to meet the demands of our community on our own. We needed more cooks and kitchens involved therefore we turned to restaurants, delis and caterers who were struggling to stay open and asked them assist us in our efforts. Trays of food would be purchased from our budget at cost, and our kitchen would add side dishes to make complete family-style meals to feed even more people.

The program began with one deli and three restaurants a year ago, and we continue to add more partners each quarter.  

From our earliest days as Holy Rosary Soup Kitchen more than 20 years ago, our vision has been to provide food for people in need here in Port Chester and beyond, fostering hope for a better tomorrow for all. We incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2012, with the dream of one day having our own commercial kitchen with the capacity to feed everyone in need in our community. The pandemic taught us that we could never accomplish that alone. We needed to partner with others who have the expertise and added facilities that we lack.  

With the Restaurant Connection, our Meals on Main Street Program is totally scalable, able to reach more families in need at a ridiculously low cost.

So, what do you think? Would you turn down a meal from your favorite restaurant for less than $2?