Occasionally Yours Donates Meals

Occasionally Yours donated 164 lunches and dinners last week. Photo: Scott Richardson

Occasionally Yours remodeled its restaurant last fall, and revamped its menu. This spring, amid the coronavirus outbreak, it’s recasting its mission too. The restaurant is not only continuing to feed the local community (though now only through curbside take out and no-contact delivery), but it’s also taking on a new goal. 

“We’re providing meals free of charge to those less fortunate than ourselves,” says proprietor Scott Richardson. From now through May 31, Occasionally Yours will put 25% of sales — and 100% of their customers’ tips and donations — toward preparing meals for Chester Eastside, Making a Change Group, and similar organizations.

Describing the meals they are donating, Richardson says, “We dove into 30 years of customer favorites, and [are] creating homemade meals from those recipes – with a protein, a starch, and a vegetable for $10 per serving.” Last week, they donated 164 meals.

In addition to providing food to organizations, Richardson and his wife Theresa are feeding a few individuals. “Just regular people who have lost their jobs,” he says. He is even providing home delivery of free meals to some seniors on limited incomes who are afraid to leave their houses. And because Making a Change Group provides him with specific information about the needs of the families they feed, he has been moved to donate rolls of toilet paper and cleaning spray as well. The project not only feeds the hungry, and keeps Richardson and his wife busy, it enables them to keep employing their chef, Nathan Moore.

The Richardsons look forward to becoming busier still. “As we grow this program, our hope is to be able to reduce the cost per meal, and feed more of those in need.”

To enable people to donate to the project tax free, Occasionally Yours is partnering with the Swarthmore Senior Citizens Association. To donate, go to swarthmoreseniors.com.