Our physical location: MAP
619 E. Houston Street
Sherman, TX
Mailing address:
PO Box 3173
Sherman, TX 75091
PHONE: 903-957-0264 FAX: 903-957-0248
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Grand Central Station – The Dining Car is located at 110 Throckmorton in Sherman, TX.
We opened Oct. 11, 2010 and have served 233,351 meals through December 2017 with 55,900 volunteer hours. We are all volunteers, many repetitive teams from churches and businesses in the community. The exception is the presence daily of two paid workers from Experience Works, a local organization that hires our older population who want to continue training and working. We have 10-12 licensed Food Managers, one is on duty every day.
We have over 150 trained food handlers licensed by Grayson County Health Department. We have over 200 volunteers who have worked in the kitchen through the year that we have been open. We are a 501C-3.
We serve approximately 100-150 per day with food prepared from scratch by our volunteers. It is a happy place where people can come and spend the morning. There is much socializing by our visitors as they help one another. Many say it is an oasis.
1.What days and times do you serve lunch?
Monday-Friday we open at 9:00 AM and serve lunch 11-1, closing after cleanup. Saturdays we open at 9 AM and serve brownbag lunches from 9-10 am. They can be picked up and taken or eaten at Grand Central Station.
2. What do you serve?
During Winter we serve a variety of soups, sandwiches, desserts, salads and breads. During the summer months we use pasta and meat salads to substitute for the soup.
3. Are there other services offered?
Yes, we have showers available for our guests, and provide toiletries and towels. We also have a washer and dryer that our guests can use to do two loads of laundry per week, with laundry soap provided. These services are available Monday – Friday.
We have a local dentist that sees 5 of our visitors a month to give them dental care. We also get support from another dentist and oral surgeon in emergencies. We are grateful to all our dentists who donate toothpaste and brushes for our toiletry bags.
We have clothing available that visitors can take (2 items per day), Free Coat Day (1 coat per visitor), and when there is extra food donated that cannot be used, we give it to visitors. Every other Friday we hand out toiletry bags with donated travel size products.
4. Can your visitors get assistance with some of the social services offered in Sherman such as Food Stamps, Indigent Health Care, Dental assistance, and other services?
Yes, through our Advocacy Program, we have volunteers working once a week to help guests who need assistance with applications for various services offered in the Grayson County area.
5. Are there items that Grand Central Station needs?
Yes, we have a Wish List that is attached with this document. It is updated regularly to show needs as they change.
6. Do you need additional volunteers?
Yes, we can always use more volunteers. In order to work in the kitchen preparing and/or serving the food, one needs to have a Food Handler’s license. This is available through the Grayson County Health Department free of charge for Grand Central Station Volunteers.
Health Department, click on Online Resources, click on Online Food Handlers. It is about a 45-1 hour read followed by a brief test. If one passes the test, a certificate is issued. Bring certificate to be filed at Grand Central Station. We also have a video that we ask you to watch. Here is a link to access that video. When you have completed both of these, contact Dorothy McKee at dodiemckee@gmail.com
7. Do you collaborate with other organizations in the area that serve the same population?
Yes, we are members of Grayson County Social Services Association and Texoma Homeless Coalition. In addition we work closely with Four Rivers, Share Ministries, and Key Care to help provide services needed by our population. We also receive assistance from Experience in the form of two men who are training as our janitorial assistants.
8. Do you have work that can be done by youth and/or adult volunteers that do not have Food Handler licenses?
Yes, we have work days on Saturdays after serving lunch. At this time youth groups and adult groups can come to Grand Central Station and assist with “deep cleaning” tasks. We have used groups such as SOS, Great Days of Service, Austin College Kappa sorority, various church youth and adult groups, and Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.
9. Do you serve meals on or near special holidays?
Yes, we try to have special meals and celebrations on Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. These celebrations may take the form of a special meal, goody bags, decorations, cake and ice cream, gifts at Christmas, Santa for the children, and other things.