MEAL SITE 

METAMORPHOSIS

Webinar Takeaways

Interesting takeaways and ideas were shared 

by participants of the Meal Site Metamorphosis 

Webinar. For more information on these topics 

and ideas, please watch the webinar recording.

Reasons to change the name of a meal site:

• Be more welcoming

• Move away from negative stigmas

• Increase participation

• Promote inclusion

• Sound less institutional

• Appeal to different age groups

• Catch attention

• Make name easier to remember

• Refresh, rebrand culture

Meal Site Name Ideas:

• Chat N’ Chew

• Eat & Greet

• Friendship Café

• Rise N Dine

• The Neighborhood Café

• Healthy Beginning

• Fresh for You!

• Lunch Buddies

• Generation Diner

• Meals with a Smile

• Comfy Café

• Wise Ways Café

If you were a participant, what time would 

be best for your schedule? 

Ask yourself “If I were a meal participant, would the 

time meals are offered to participants work in my 

schedule?” If the answer is no, which changes would 

better serve the community and meet the needs of 

participants still in the workforce?

• Meal Site Environment: Institutional or Innovative

• Restaurant Partnerships

Activities that could be offered before or after a meal to increase participation.

• Euchre

• Bingo

• Painting Class

• Crochet/Knitting Club

• Wine Tastings

• Table Games

• Line Dancing

• Crafts or Puzzles

• Pickle Ball

• Chair Salsa

• Crossword Puzzles

• Exercise

• Single Mingle

•	 Shuffleboard

• “Jeopardy” or Trivia

• Bridge

• Woodworking

•	 Raffles

• Ping Pong

• “Minute to Win It” Games

• Musical Entertainment

• “Family Feud”

• Cooking Demos

• Special Occasion 

dinners or themed 

meals

• Local History Class

2023, April
Holidays that could be celebrated at a meal site:

• Thanksgiving

• Halloween

• Mother’s Day

• Independence Day

• Juneteenth

• St. Patrick’s Day

• Veterans Day

• Christmas or Hanukah

• Monthly Birthdays

• Older Americans Month

• Labor Day

• Memorial Day

• Grandparents Day

• Earth Day

• Easter

• Father’s Day

• April Fools’ Day

• May Day

• Nutrition Month

• MLK Day

• Chinese New Year

• Senior Appreciation Day

• Pride Day

• Ramadan

Changes that can be made relatively quickly 

and easily at the meal site:

• Music or live entertainment

• Providing signs in other languages

• Greet guests by name

• Someone at the door to welcome 

people

• No more saved seats (Make Your Meal 

Program THRIVE)

• Adding in themed or special meals

• Flowers on the table

• Change the table layout

• Conversation cards

• Add a welcome sign

• Get volunteers to write thank you 

notes to mail to newcomers

• Add some decorations

Specific needs that could be requested when soliciting donations from funders.

A few ways to elevate the experience for participants:

• Use glassware

• Offer more activities

• Offer live entertainment (local schools 

and universities)

•	 More field trips

• Better food plating

• Have fun themes

• Offer coffee

• Serve the meals at the table

• Offer special desserts

• Daily jokes on a white board

• Have participants invite a friend

• Update the décor/ remodel

• Background music

• Dress up

• Ask them what they want
Places within the community that 

could be a pop-up meal site:

• Library

• YMCA

• Churches

• Parks

• Senior Apartments

• Malls

• Coffee Shops or Restaurants

Ways to bring a restaurant feel to the meal site:

• Wait on the tables

• Decorations

• Salad Bar

• Using glassware

• Menus

• Cloth napkins

• Have someone to pour drinks

• Offer tasting or sampling events

• Dim the lights

My meal site can be improved...OVERWHELMINGLY YES!

Skills or talents that participants may have that can be beneficial to the meal site:

• Handyman

• Artist

• Musician

• Needle work (crochet, 

knit, sew)

• Dancer

• Comedian

• Storytell

• Cake decorator

• Gardener

• Translator

• Traveler

• Exercise teacher

• Ventriloquist 

• Magician

This project was supported in part by grant number 90PPNU0002 from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human 

Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and 

conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.