A Day in the Kitchen: Our Second Year Volunteering with Homeless Solutions

Most days, our team is under the hood. Last week, we spent one in front of a stove.

For the second year running, the Shade Tree Garage crew volunteered at Homeless Solutions in Morristown, spending the day in the shelter kitchen preparing and serving dinner for the families and individuals staying there. And we've already registered to do it again next year.

What the day looked like

Homeless Solutions runs a real commercial kitchen, and volunteer groups cook in it from scratch. That's the part that surprised us the first year: this isn't dropping off donations or reheating trays. You show up, you put on an apron and a hairnet, and you spend the day actually cooking

The guests that night included single parents with children of all ages, and adult men working toward stable housing. They got a home-cooked meal made by people from down the road. That's the whole idea.

About Homeless Solutions

Homeless Solutions has served Morris County since 1983, built around a philosophy they state plainly: a hand up, not a handout.

That shows up in what they actually do. Beyond emergency shelter, they provide transitional and affordable housing, year-round case management, and a range of support services aimed at one outcome — helping people reach stability and stay there. It's a long-game approach, and it takes sustained community support to work.

Why we keep coming back

We've been on Washington Street since 1976. Nearly fifty years in one town gives you a certain view of the place: the people who bring us their cars are also our neighbors, and a lot of them are the same people volunteering at, donating to, and working for organizations like this one.

We're an auto repair shop. We're not going to solve housing instability in Morris County. But we can give a day, cook a good meal, and point people toward an organization that's been doing the harder work for four decades.

How you can help

If this is the kind of work you'd like to support, Homeless Solutions makes it easy to get involved:

Visit homelesssolutions.org →

They accept donations year-round — they're a registered 501(c)(3), so contributions are tax-deductible — and they're always looking for volunteer groups to cook, serve, and help out. If your business or organization is looking for a meaningful team day, we'd recommend it without hesitation.