Women’s Lunch Place: Voluntourism

Women’s Lunch Place is a low-threshold day shelter and advocacy center in Boston for women experiencing homelessness, hunger and poverty, and this listing covers its volunteer program for visiting and corporate groups. Teams of about five work in the kitchen as Meal Program Assistants, helping prepare and serve breakfast or lunch to guests. Larger groups can be split across several shifts, making it a practical service outing for companies and organizations.

Kitchen volunteers should expect real work: prepping and cooking, keeping the kitchen clean and organized, lifting supplies from the fridge and pantry, unpacking and inspecting deliveries, running the dishwasher and packing to-go meals. Group sponsorships help cover the cost of the Healthy Meals Program, which serves three scratch-made meals a day. The shelter also organizes donation drives, giving supporters who cannot volunteer in person another way to help the women it serves.

What to Know

• Volunteer kitchen shifts run Monday through Saturday, with separate breakfast and lunch shifts.
• Women’s Lunch Place first opened in 1983 in the basement of the Church of the Covenant in the Back Bay.
• The organization serves more than 2,400 women each year.
• Charity runners can apply for bibs to run the Boston Marathon for Team WLP.