Food, Household & Personal Items: Dana
The monastic code requires the monks and novices to be dependent upon the lay community for all their physical needs (i.e. the material requisites of life, including all food). The kitchen & household can sometimes run low on supplies, so food & household items are some of the most practical and helpful offerings that can be brought to the monastery. Please see the guidelines below if you’re unfamiliar with the process of offering food and other requisites to the monastic community.
Items helpful for our resident community: (links are provided as examples)
Last Update:
Food
Mixed Salad (small containers to avoid waste)
Berries
Yogurt
Kefir (strawberries or mangoes)
TO AVOID WASTE, WE HAVE ENOUGH OF: carrots, onions; pineapples, apples, pears; variety of tea; instant coffee; instant & rolled oats; crackers and cookies; jasmine/brown/wild/parboiled rice; frozen pizzas, frozen fruits and canned soup
Medicine
TO AVOID WASTE, WE HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH OF: vitamins, cough sirups, Metamucil, Voltaren gel and cream, Muscle Relief Pads, Tylenol, Advil, and Aleve.
General
Laundry Detergent (sensitive skin)
Tea Light Candles
Kitchen Towels 15″ x 25″ (only one pack of 4 needed)
Currently we have more than enough:
Please, NO Bottled Water Required
Instant Noodles
Instant and rolled Oats
Jasmine, Brown, Wild and Parboiled Rice
Frozen Vegetables and Fruits, frozen meals and frozen pizzas
Guidelines
If you have questions about what items to bring or more specific needs, or if you’d like to set a date to offer a prepared dish or offer an entire meal, please use the contact form to make an inquiry with the kitchen steward.
Food needs can change frequently because stores (especially perishables) can sometimes run low in the morning and full by the afternoon, and then low again some days later. We try to keep the following list in order of what is needed most, and as up to date as possible.
Offering a Meal at the Monastery
The monastics eat one main meal a day in late morning (around 11:00 am) and the monastic regulations require that they finish by midday. Offering food to the monastic community provides an opportunity to visit and participate in the lifestyle of the monastery. You are welcome to cook your food in the monastery kitchen. Some people may feel awkward preparing food in a kitchen that is not their own. If that is the case, it may be easier for you to prepare a dish or several dishes ahead of time. When offering the meal or part of the meal at the monastery, the kitchen steward can help explain the protocol for offering food to the monks. Please click on this link if you wish to contact the kitchen steward for any inquiries regarding meal offerings.