Dinner at the Life Center - Upper Darby

LifeCenter Dinner Information

Ohev Shalom is one of about 60 congregations who take turns serving dinner at the Life Center, a shelter in Upper Darby, at the border of West Philadlphia, operated by Community Action Agency of Delaware County. The Life Center houses 50 adults, and provides showers and a hot dinner 365 days a year to needy people in the neighborhood.

We will meet: Springfield Genuardi’s, Appetizer counter, at 5:30 PM.

We need at least 5-6 servers, and 1-2 people to do a BJ’s run in the morning. We need 1-2 cars to drive over (in addition to mine); preferably vans or station wagons.

Contacts at the Center: The phone at the center is (610) 734-5770.

Cell Phones: Make sure all drivers have exchanged cell phone numbers, and everyone has copies of the directions.

Directions: The East Coast Life Center of Delaware County, is at 6310 Market Street, Upper Darby.


View Larger Map

Go north on 320. Turn right to get on Township Line Road (so you’re heading east, toward Philadelphia). At State Road (Drexel Line shopping center), make a veering right right. Go about 3 miles until you get to Route 3 (there’s an Exxon station at the corner).

Turn right on route 3, so you’re going east toward Philadelphia. Stay on route 3 about 1-2 miles. You’ll go past the bus/trolley terminal at 69th street, where you have to watch signs to stay on route 3 (there are some curves because of trolley tracks). Stay in the middle lane. Keep going on Rte 3 maybe 1/4 mile past 69th st. Just before as you get to the LifeCenter, you’ll start seeing the El (elevated trains tracks) ahead of you. You’ll have passed an auto parts place on your right, and then a storage rental place.

The LifeCenter is on your right, just **before** the intersection between Route 3 and Cobbs Creek Parkway, aka 63rd Street. It has a sign – Life Center of Delaware County. It’s a brown stucco building set back slightly from the street. You want to pull into its driveway to park.

If you get to the big intersection with traffic light at Cobbs Creek Parkway and route 3 (aka Market street), you’ve gone too far. You need to circle around.


When you arrive at the LifeCenter

Residents will help you carry in the food.

Someone needs to pour out 150 glasses of juice.

Someone needs to heat water and warm milk for the mashed potatoes. Use two large pots – one w/water and one w/milk. Be sure to save some milk for coffee and small children.

Turn on heat under several warming trays. Leave one cold for salad.

Someone needs to make 150 bundles of plastic ware. For each bundle, wrap fork, knife and spoon in napkin and secure with a rubber band. Important Note: If the number of volunteers for the dinner is small, bundles should be prepared in advance.


Food Preparation and Serving:

You will establish an “assembly line” of paper goods and napkins, salad, chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls fruit and granola bars.

There will be bags of rolls or bread in the kitchen when you arrive.

Pour salad into large tray insert and dress evenly. You will need to replenish once or twice during the serving time.

Open bags of fruit and put in serving trays and on counter at end. Do the same with the rolls. If there are large hoagie rolls, cut each roll into 3 pieces.

Put trays of chicken in warming tray area.

Find out from the staff how many meals to set aside for staff, and prepare these, cover them with foil and place on shelf above stove.

You will need several people to help with the mashed potatoes. Do not make more than one box at a time in the serving pan or you will be unable to mix it. Follow directions on box – put one box into a serving pan and add hot water and milk, a little at a time, in quantities directed. Mix in butter and margarine at the end and place the pan in the warming tray next to the chicken. As soon as you finish preparing one tray of mashed potatoes, start the next. If you have enough volunteers, make two pans at a time. Preparing the mashed potatoes will take the most time. If you start to run low on water, add cold water to the pot before you finish all the boiling water. This will decrease the amount of time it will take to boil the extra water.

Serve the food assembly style. The Life Center Managers will help manage “crowd control.” Once everyone has received a first serving, people can receive a second helping.

Quantities and Shopping Lists
All quantities are based on serving 150 meals

Before purchasing paper goods, check the Social Action supply located behind the bar in the synagogue social hall.
**Ohev Shalom's tax exempt number is 75-464-210**
**get a copy of the exemption certificate from the Exec Director before shopping**

Paper goods – enough for 150 meals:

paper plates
plastic cups
plastic forks, knives, spoons
napkins (best to make bundles of plastic ware & napkins)
rubber bands (help to hold together the bundles).
food service gloves
aluminum foil for saves and for people to wrap extras
plastic grocery bags, for residents to wrap extras.
paper towels

Food:

From Genuardi’s:

Order 10 days in advance from Appetizer dept:

160 fried chicken thighs or 100 thighs and 120 legs (if they don’t have all thighs available). Even if they offer it at the same price, don’t order a mix of breasts and thighs in order to avoid competition when serving dinner.

Total Genuardi’s cost is approx $200 (Social Action will pay)

From BJ’s:
Any of the paper goods items listed above that are needed
150 rolls
7 large bags of prepared lettuce salad
1 gallon of salad dressing
6 large boxes of Instant Mashed Potatoes
12 gallons lemonade or fruit drink (or get 150 juice boxes)
4 gallons milk (for the mashed potatoes and for coffee and small children as their beverage)
150+ rolls
1 lbs sugar
1 lb of coffee
150 Granola Bars (BJ’s has large boxes of mixed bars – buy enough for at least 150 – it’s okay if there are a few extras)
150 bananas or oranges or tangerines (apples aren’t good – many clients have dental problems)
butter / margarine for the mashed potatoes (lots!)