In the kitchen, it is Brian Pedersen, former teacher at Tech College – now kitchen manager at Det Kærlige Måltid, who oversees the day's production. He ensures that the week's menu – including quinoa stew, fish cakes, summer salad, and tartar sauce – becomes a reality.

In the common room, Kirsten Møller sits and catches her breath after peeling and chopping six kilos of carrots. She has been a volunteer since the organization established its department on Thistedvej in Nørresundby.

– It is very life-giving to be a part of, states Kirsten Møller, who in 2017 – after 55 years in Vejle moved to Vodskov – and needed to create a new social circle.

– I felt that this was a meaningful community. My husband died of cancer, and I have experienced how illness affects the family, says Kirsten Møller, who is on the so-called 'prepper team', i.e., those who prepare the ingredients so they are ready for the group of volunteers who come in to prepare the meals.

Deliveries with care

Currently, volunteer couriers deliver loving meals each week to around 80 recipients in Aalborg Municipality. Each delivery is accompanied by a handwritten greeting, and often the couriers receive a drawing or a card in return, where the recipients express great gratitude for the help.

Behind the initiative is Charlotte Thyberg, who in 2016 experienced how her mother became seriously ill and lost the ability to cook – even ordering ready-made meals became a challenge. Inspired by the USA, she chose to leave her steady job and establish 'Det Kærlige Måltid'.

The organization, which today has branches in Aarhus, Odense, and Aalborg municipalities, has two purposes – to deliver nutritious meals to families affected by life-threatening illness and to give young people aged 15-25 the opportunity to master their own lives and health through volunteer work.

– In addition to having young and adults who become part of a community, we also include volunteers with their own challenges. Here they experience recognition and feel that their efforts have a significant impact on others, says Charlotte Thyberg.

A community with meaning
For Maya Valeur, the volunteer effort was about creating a network when she moved from Zealand to Aalborg to study psychology.

– I see it as a free space to come here. I meet people I would never have met otherwise, and that means a lot. When we occasionally meet the recipients of the meals, we can feel how big a difference it makes – it really gets under your skin, says Maya Valeur, who has been a volunteer since 2022.

The foundation experienced the effort up close

The Fonden Sol og Strand, founded by Margit og Kjeld, has made a donation of 150,000 kroner to Det Kærlige Måltid. Recently, the foundation's founder, Margit Andersen, visited the kitchen to get an impression of the organization's work.

She met several volunteers and read some of the acknowledgments that the recipients have sent as thanks for care and support during a difficult time.

– It was very touching to see the impact that the meals have on the individual recipients. There was an incredibly cozy atmosphere in the kitchen, and it was positive to experience how everyone is passionate about the task – whether they are chopping carrots or frying meatballs. It is a project that makes a concrete difference for both the volunteers and for the families who receive four meals prepared with care each week, says Margit Andersen.

Since the beginning, Det Kærlige Måltid has prepared and delivered more than 150,000 meals – of which over 51,000 alone in the department in Aalborg Municipality – thanks to the efforts of over 900 volunteers.

The organization has just won the award "When Life Hurts" in the Region of Southern Denmark – Det Kærlige Måltid was nominated by the families who have experienced the significance of a loving meal during a difficult time.

– The reward for the volunteer work is to see the smile in others' eyes, he says.