Turning Cookies Into a Meals For Families Who Need It

The Ronald McDonald House on Somerset Avenue in New Brunswick has between five and six families staying at it at any given time, and for at least one day a month, it is Diana Freedman’s responsibility to give them a home cooked meal.

“For my Bat Mitzvah project I cooked a meal for them and when I saw how much they enjoyed it when I brought it to them, I decided to make a business out of it because I enjoy cooking so much,” said the Churchill School eighth-grader.

That business, Diana’s Fresh Baked, includes baking dozens upon dozens of peanut butter, chocolate chip, sugar Oatmeal and S’mores cookies to sell to friends and family, with the proceeds going to buy ingredients she uses to cook meals for Ronald McDonald House residents. Ronald McDonald House is a national, non-profit, charitable organization that provides a “home-away-from-home” for families so they can stay near their hospitalized child with minimal or no cost. Families who stay at RMHC receive home-cooked meals, private bedrooms, play rooms for kids and access to support programs.

Ronald McDonald House Manager Carol Reynolds said those home cooked meals are prepared every day by volunteers just like Diana, and go a long way toward making someone’s stay at the house tolerable while also filling a need.

“Many families with economic situations go without eating, or would just grab anything, and here we have the opportunity with volunteers to give them a warm, welcoming meal to come home to at any hour. It’s just one less thing they have to worry about.

She said many families have stayed from just a night to 364 days straight while their child was being treated at one of the area’s nearby hospitals.

“Can you imagine if you had to figure out  for 364 days while you’re child is receiving medical care, how you are going to come up with meals,” she said.

Fortunately for those staying at the house, there are people like Diana, who has been preparing meals for two years. Her first time cooking was in October 2010. Two months later, she launched Diana’s Fresh Baked.

“When I saw how much joy it brought to them I decided to make a business, because I enjoy cooking so much,” said Diana. “It was hard in the beginning because I was making over 200 cookies a weekend, and then  I came up with a system and it got easier and it was nice to do something for the community.”

She said the reaction she gets from the residents makes all the trouble worth it.

“I met one woman and she was so thankful for me bringing the meals,” she said.

For more information on Diana’s Fresh Baked visit her Facebook page or email Diana at dianasfreshbaked@aol.com.

For more information on Ronald McDonald House visit www.rmh-cnj.org. To Volunteer, contact Carol Reynolds at carol@rmh-cnj.org or Volunteer Coordinator Jill Kaufman at jill@rmh-cnj.org.