The Lunch Is On Us! program has been discontinued due to COVID-19.
After more than 15 years and with more than 450,000 lunches served, our Lunch Is On Us! hospital meal delivery program has come to an end as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the program began in 2004, the program has covered the cost of $1.7M in lunches for families sitting at their children’s bedside.
The Lunch Is On Us! Program has helped alleviate some of the emotional, physical, and financial hardships of parents and families sitting bedside of a child receiving treatment at Sunrise Children’s Hospital, University Medical Center, Cure 4 the Kids Children’s Specialty Center, and Summerlin Hospital. These lunches were delivered with lots of love in brightly decorated bags directly to families in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, the trauma center, the burn center, the oncology units, and the emergency room units. And this allowed families to stay by their child’s hospital bedside.
While the program is going away, the need for simple comforts remains. Families staying at the Ronald McDonald House will continue to be provided with a lunch along with a cheerful caring card to bring with them to the hospital. Additionally, RMHC Las Vegas will be launching a hospitality cart program in the near future to deliver healthy snacks, blankets, books, toys, hygiene items, and much more. This program model will allow RMHC to continue its mission to provide comfort and care directly to families in Las Vegas hospitals during their child’s recovery.
RMHC Las Vegas extends a heartfelt thank you to the thousands of individual and corporate group volunteers who have spent countless hours making and delivering the lunches over the years, and to all the volunteers who decorated the lunch bags with inspirational messages and colorful pictures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the lunch program ending? As a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lunch Is On Us! Program was suspended in March 2020. Given hospital guidelines as well as the program’s operational model, the program would no longer be feasible as is in a post-COVID-19 environment.
Will you still be accepting decorated lunch bags? We will no longer be accepting decorated lunch bags or approving volunteer hours for this activity as of July 1, 2021. We will continue to utilize existing decorated lunch bags for lunches provided to Ronald McDonald House families.
Will you still be accepting decorated caring cards? Yes! We will still be accepting caring cards. This activity will count towards volunteer hours. They will be used in lunches, welcome bags, and caring kits to families staying at the Ronald McDonald House or visiting the Ronald McDonald Family Room.
*For an ADA compliant PDF, please contact RMHC at 702.252.4663 or marketing@rmhlv.org.