Free · Every Monday · Rapid City, SD
Table Nights
Every Monday at 6 PM, fathers in Rapid City sit down together. Some weeks it is The Round Table, a peer circle where men say true things out loud. The other weeks it is Dad's Table, where fathers cook together and take home meals for themselves and their kids.
The two nights alternate, so a father can come every week. Both are free. You do not need to sign anything, prove anything, or be doing well to walk in.
When
Mondays at 6:00 PM Mountain. The Round Table and Dad’s Table alternate weeks.
Where
The Round Table meets at the Kids Deserve Dads office, 429 Kansas City Street, Suite 14, Rapid City, SD 57701. Dad’s Table meets in a partner church kitchen in Rapid City; the address comes with your confirmation.
Cost
Free. The food is free and never sold.
6:00 to 7:30 PM
The Round Table
A circle of chairs. No tables, no slides, no head of the table. Coffee, a check-in round, one discussion card, and one commitment each man carries into the week.
The cards run in a 12-part cycle, so you can join any week without being behind. A few of the topics:
- Anger as information
- What your kid sees
- Shame versus accountability
- Money and manhood
- Loneliness
- Who you are becoming
The rules, read aloud every time
- What is said here stays here.
- No advice unless a man asks for it.
- No bashing the mother of your children.
- Show up sober.
- Phones down.
Trained volunteers facilitate, with one facilitator for every eight fathers.
6:00 to 8:00 PM
Dad's Table
Check in at the table, watch a short skill demonstration, cook in stations, eat dinner together, then pack a take-home kit and set one goal for the week. Each father leaves with food for himself and his kids.
A cycle is eight sessions. Lessons draw on the free Cooking Matters curriculum, and every volunteer in the kitchen holds a food handler certification.
- Five things a dad should be able to cook
- The $75 grocery week
- Batch cooking
- Protein without being a chef
- Breakfast that isn’t cereal
- Kid-approved that isn’t beige
- The lunchbox
- Cooking with your kid (bring your children)
Seats in each cycle are limited by the kitchen and the food budget, so tell us you are coming.
Save a seat
Name and a way to reach you. Someone from Kids Deserve Dads will confirm before Monday and send the address. Rather talk? Call or text 605.389.3369.
Prefer email? Write to zac@kidsdeservedads.org
Straight answers
Does it cost anything?+
No. Both nights are free. The food at Dad’s Table is free and never sold. Kids Deserve Dads is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3), and donors cover the cost.
Do I have to be religious?+
No. Dad’s Table meets in a partner church kitchen because they lent us the kitchen. There is no religious requirement and nobody will preach at you.
Do I have to talk at The Round Table?+
No. You can pass on any round. Most men listen the first night. Coming back is what counts.
Can I bring my kids?+
The last Dad’s Table session of every cycle is a night fathers cook with their children. Every volunteer on a kids night is background checked, and two adults are always present.
Is this therapy or legal advice?+
Neither. The Round Table is a peer circle run by trained volunteers, not treatment. We are not lawyers. If you need a counselor or an attorney, we will help you find one.
What if I am in crisis right now?+
Call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, any hour. On a Monday night, tell the facilitator. Nobody leaves the room alone with it.
I am not in Rapid City. Is there something for me?+
Yes. The Morning Coffee Hour is a free call every morning at 5:30 Mountain that fathers join from anywhere.