Daily acts of kindness have the power to turn a life around.

Our commercial kitchen produces hundreds of trays each weekday.

Our volunteers expedite meals to recipients to be sure all are fed.

Drivers (and their helpers) deliver nutrition for health to Charlotte doorsteps.

Food and Fellowship for Everyone

We depend on the kindness and generosity of people like you to continue this work of serving the community. Every day, we deliver hundreds of nutritious meals to the elderly, to those recovering from illness, and to those who are disabled. Your donations make a huge difference in these peoples’ lives.

Here’s how you can help make sure all of our recipients get the nutrition they need:

With a check, mail it to us at PO Box 241046, Charlotte, NC 28224-1046.

For credit cards, we use PayPal in the form below. For other ways to provide support, through Amazon Wish List purchases or through donations of cooler bags or food, see this page.

The programmatic cost of our service costs:

$7.10 per day

$35.50 per week

$153.83 per month

$1,846 per year

Recipients pay what they can.

Your gift covers the rest.

Use this form to tell us how to handle your credit card donation

Donation portal form

If you are human, leave this field blank.

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After you tap or click on the green submit button above, the button turns lighter green to signal that the old wooden gears are turning. Yes, the processing does take a loooooooooong time. It is not your imagination. Thank you for your patience. Please don’t run away while the gears are in motion. Indeed, don’t ever run away. Thank you for your support of Friendship Trays!

Your gift is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. An acknowledgement of your gift will be sent after we receive notification from PayPal about your donation. Friendship Trays delivers nutritious meals throughout Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Friendship Trays is a 501(c)(3) organization. Employer ID #56-1201496. Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 919-807-2000. This license is not an endorsement by the State.

Why Giving Matters

When a recipient sees a person—outside of their own family structure—who is concerned for their welfare and is motivated by love and concern, the effect is powerful. To donate your time and money transforms and elevates us all. Every meal, every visit, every dollar builds understanding, compassion and community.

Senior hunger is a big concern for North Carolina. In fact 18% of seniors in our state struggle with hunger and 32% are living in or near poverty*. For our recipients who are ill or are home recovering from surgery we are one of very few options to get a nutritious meal while they recuperate.

Beyond the issue of hunger consider the impact of the economic and social benefits of the elderly staying in their homes. As of 2011 the monthly cost of assisted living care averages $3,270 per month. That’s $39,240 per year, and the costs keep rising by approximately 3.4% a year. Compare that to a year of meals from Friendship Trays—only $1,658.40.

When seniors can stay in their home it keeps them healthy, promotes recovery if they are ill, gives them dignity and independence, and is far safer and cheaper than a hospital stay. A one-day stay in the hospital is the equivalent of a year of meals. Plus it extends and improves the quality of life for seniors.

*Source: MOW national, Brown University’s Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research Study commissioned by AARP Foundation

Since 1976 our mission at Friendship Trays has been to deliver nutritious meals to elderly or infirm individuals in the Charlotte community who are unable to obtain or prepare their own meals. We cook and courier a meal to the doorstep of over 700 recipients. But we deliver so much more than that. We deliver human connection to those that are isolated and lonely. We deliver peace of mind to the families of our recipients. It’s so much more than a meal.

FRIENDSHIP TRAYS

Mail: PO Box 241046 Charlotte, NC 28224-1046

Offices: 2401-A Distribution Street Charlotte, NC 28203

Voice: 704.333.9229 Fax: 704.333.5947

Operating hours: 8 am – 3 pm