Culinary Hearts
Enjoy a Chef-Led Experience
Culinary Hearts makes it easy for groups of up to 10 people to experience the joy of feeding families. Volunteers make a donation and our chefs plan the menu, buy the ingredients, and lead your group in creating a delicious meal for families.
Meals from the heart
Plan and Cook Your Meal From Scratch
Meals from the Heart puts you in control of creating a comforting meal for families. Your group of up to 8 people creates the menu, buys ingredients, and cooks in our fully-equipped kitchens. Share a family recipe or your own creation.
Catered Meals
Order Meals for NICU & In-Hospital Families
You can give comfort to NICU and other in-hospital families by purchasing catered meals for our in-hospital locations. You might not be cooking, but you are still sharing the love.
Culinary Hearts is perfect for your small group interested in volunteering in the heart of downtown Chicago. Our largest House near Lurie Children’s Hospital serves hundreds of families every year who will love the meal you’ll prepare with guidance from our chefs.
Your participation in Culinary Hearts means that we can offer families a variety of delicious meals each week. And once you confirm a date, you don’t need to plan a thing!
Our Meals from the Heart program is all about bringing the flavors of your home into our Houses: you create the menu, buy the ingredients, and prepare a meal for families in our spacious, modern kitchens.
We accept groups of up to 8 volunteers at our locations across Chicagoland. Just bring yourself and your unopened, unprepared ingredients – we’ll supply everything else!
Not everyone can make it to our Houses to cook – or to eat. When families face long days in the hospital, our Meals from the Heart program delivers catered meals so NICU and in-hospital families can stay by their child’s side.
You can purchase catered meals from local restaurants to help families who appreciate something more than hospital food.
View dates for the Family Room in Edward Hospital
View dates for the Family Room in Lurie Children’s
View dates for the Family Room in Advocate Children’s Hospital – Park Ridge
We get it. You want to bring your whole family to help our guest families. You want your entire team to share in something special.
We wish we could accommodate larger groups, but keeping our families and their children safe is our first priority.
That gives your groups options, though. Come on multiple days. Go to several Houses. Share your generosity with more families.
Contact us to find the best way for your group to make the biggest impact.
We want a well-run, meaningful, and fun day for your whole group. The best way is to make sure we’ve got all your questions answered.
Time Matters
Your volunteer time will be 3 to 4 hours, including prep, cooking, meal service and clean-up. We need you to arrive on time at your location and remain until everything is cleaned up.
What to Bring
If you’re coming to our House near Lurie Children’s, just bring yourself (and wear comfortable shoes)! If you are cooking at another location, just bring yourself and your unopened ingredients. No prep beforehand, please. We have all supplies and utensils.
Group Information
For safety reasons, our age minimum is 13 years old. Please do not bring younger children. We also cannot accommodate more than our maximum group size. It’s a matter of health and safety and ensures your group has the best experience.
