Instruction Book for Volunteering
at
Transitions Project, Inc. (TPI)
Sponsored by
Portland Pearl Rotary
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 2
Ordering the Food ...................................................................................................................... 3
Arrival Time and Location .......................................................................................................... 5
Preparing the Meal ..................................................................................................................... 6
Serving ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Cleaning..................................................................................................................................... 3
1|Page
Introduction
Dear Pearl Portland Volunteers,
This instruction book is intended to give you all of the answers that you might ask and to prepare you to
have a successful experience. Through pictures and specific instructions, we hope to get you through the
process quickly with a minimum of fuss and mistakes.
We have determined that Taco Salad is a very popular dish with the clients at Transition House. And
since its simplicity for us is an advantage, we have chosen to make this our signature dish. In later pages
you will find the recipe and shopping list. The experience is a gratifying one that takes little effort and can
be a great time to get to know your fellow Rotarians a little better.
Procedures for ordering and preparing the food have changed. DO NOT GO TO WHOLE FOODS. The
food will be ordered online via Instacart.
As an aside, the kitchen is very small and too many people will be a detriment. The divisions that are
published are a very good guideline. If we put all seven to eight of the volunteers in the kitchen at once it
will be chaos
Please plan to park on the street. It can be difficult to find street parking so please try to arrive
early.
Read on – if you have recommendations to make the process go quicker or more efficiently, please speak
to me or e-mail me with your wisdom.
Thanks to all who volunteer for this activity.
Stan Swan
Community Service
503-804-8436
[email protected]
2|Page
Ordering the Food
The Pearl Portland Rotary uses Instacart to order the food online and then Instacart will deliver the food
to TPI. If you have any questions, email Clay at [email protected]
To order the food:
1. Order the food Wednesday before 11 am
2. Go to https://www.instacart.com
3. Click on “Login” and use the following to log into the Pearl Rotary Account:
 Email Username: [email protected]
 Password: PearlRotary15
4. Click on the “Taco Salad” image
5. Click on the “Taco Salad” image
6. Click on “Add All” at the bottom of the shopping list. This will add 1 of every item to your Cart.
7. Click on “Cart” in the upper right-hand corner.
3|Page
8. Increase the quantity of each item in the cart so that it matches this list
Quantity
20
8
6
13
10
22
8
5
2
2
18
10
4
8
9
5
Package
16 oz.
12 oz.
~.81 lbs.
~.34 lbs.
64 fl. oz.
15 oz.
16 oz.
16 oz.
20 oz.
20 oz.
1.13 oz.
12 oz.
32 oz.
16 oz.
6.5 oz.
16 oz.
Product
Beef grass fed chuck
365 Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
Yellow Onion
Oh Produce Og Tomato Cluster
365 Organic Lemonade
365 Organic Dark Red Kidney Beans
Que Pasa White Corn Tortilla Chips
365 Mild Salsa
365 Chocolate Sandwich Cremes
365 Vanilla Sandwich Creme Cookies
Simply Organic Organic Southwest
Taco Seasoning
365 Organic Hearts of Romaine
365 Fat Free Plain Yogurt
365 Frozen Yellow Corn
Napoleon Co. Sliced Black Olives
365 Cantina Style Medium Heat Salsa
9. Complete the checkout process.
10. Request delivery for “4 pm to 5pm”
11. Add in the Delivery Notes field, “Please add complimentary box of food preparation sanitary
gloves, latex or other.”
12. Click “Place Order” to charge the club’s credit card.
13. After serving the meal please do an audit to determine if there was enough or too much food
ordered. Please provide this information to Clay at [email protected]
4|Page
Arrival Time and Location
Please arrive at
Transition Projects, Inc. (TPI) at
665 NW Hoyt St, Portland, OR
Use the door on Hoyt Street under “665”.
The first volunteer to arrive needs to log in at the front desk. The group’s log-in code is, 7719. Use the
touch-screen computer at the front desk at the beginning and end of their meal. Our name is Farhad.
Enter the total number for the group 6, not just yourself. Even though your group tends to come in shifts.
The last volunteer to leave needs to sign out at the front desk. The RA’s can help if there is any
confusion.
5|Page
Preparing the Meal
THE RECIPE
1. Please have the staff in charge immediately start the pilot under the grill and turn on the water
to fill the steam table. Although gas heat, both these units take at least 20 minutes to arrive at
useful heat. To cook the corn, we may learn we need to start the oven immediately too.
2. In a large stockpot start cooking the taco seasoning according to package directions. There are
18 individual packets. Search through all the delivery bags early to prepare them all.
3. Chop all the LARGE ONIONS into small pieces or use the blender.
4. On the stove top fry surface:


Fry onions in oil until just transparent.
Add GROUND BEEF to the onions and cook until done, stirring to break up the chunks.
5. When the ground beef is cooked, transfer the ground beef to a large pot, draining some of the
liquid in the process.
6. Add the taco seasoning per the package directions and continue cooking. (You won’t use all of
the seasoning prepared in Step 1.)
7. Unbag and sort the remaining delivery items. Set up at work sites.
 Chopping area at NW counter corner, lettuce and tomatoes
 Cans by opener on island corner opposite chopping area,
 Salsa, cheese, and yogurt/sourcream on island closest to door.
 Cookies on wheeled cart at East end of serving counter
 Beverage in fridge
 Chips in delivery bags at West end of serving counter.
8. Chop the tray of tomatoes into small pieces, chop lettuce.
9. Heat frozen corn in oven.
10. Open the cans of olives and kidney beans and drain.
11. Heat the beans in the oven.
6|Page
Serving
SERVING LINE SETUP
At the serving table set up the ingredients in the following order, Right to Left:
1. Box of latex serving gloves
2. Tortilla Chips
3. Cooked ground beef with taco seasoning
4. Kidney beans
5. Corn
6. Cheese
7. Lettuce
8. Tomatoes
9. Olives
10. Salsa
11. Sour cream
Select the right size serving ladle or spoon to help the server portion the servings equitable. Don’t
use a large spoon or ladle for a topping that has half the quantity of the meat. Use a spoon for salsa, sour
cream, tomatoes, olives, beans, corn.
On the serving trolley, carry the beverage dispenser and the beverage out and put on one of the dining
tables. Decant the beverage into the server on the table where it will be served, to reduce heavy lifting of
the filled beverage server.
SERVING THE MEAL
Before you start serving, verify with the reception desk the number of late meals to be saved.
Prepare the late meals and cover them with plastic before starting the regular service
1. Start the plate by offering a small handful of chip, slightly crushed. (Be sensitive to guests who
may not be able to chew the taco chips – don’t assume that everyone will want chips.)
2. Add a scoop of ground beef mixture, (use an ice cream scoop)
3. Add an amount of cheddar cheese (tongs)
4. Add a handful of lettuce
5. Add chopped tomatoes (small ladle)
(The following ingredients are added if the diner wishes. Many have varying tastes and we bow to their
wishes.) Small Ladle
1. Corn
2. Olives
4. Salsa
3. Kidney beans
5. Sour cream
You may want to experiment with the personnel line-up but this seems to work OK.
1st person
Plate, chips and ground beef
2nd person
Cheese and lettuce
rd
3 person
Olives and kidney beans
4th person
Salsa and sour cream
Each person does their function and then passes the plate to the next and so on until the plate is handed
7|Page
to the diner.
Cookies are put out on the serving table once all the dinners have been served.
Once everyone has gone through the line, some guests will come back for seconds. It is
relatively rare for someone to show up late without asking for a late meal, first.
2|Page
Cleaning
Clean up is done by the residents at the Transitions Project. When all have been fed, the team can
leave. The managers may ask that you prepare several plates for late comers and those that are
involved in meetings off premises. They can be left on the prep table in the middle of the kitchen.
Please leave aprons??? >> We need instructions on where to place dirty aprons.
3|Page