They may not be the Spice Girls people remember from the radio, but in one Chicago suburb, this group still knows how to bring the heat.
A group of friends in the northern suburbs has earned the nickname “the Spice Girls” for the meals they cook for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield.
The women show up every other month, roll up their sleeves and prepare dinner for families whose lives have been interrupted by a child’s illness or injury. It is the kind of simple act that can mean a lot at the end of a long hospital day: a warm meal, made by someone else, waiting nearby.
“We did have one dad who was a little disappointed that we weren’t the real ‘Spice Girls,’” Jane Connolly said.
Still, the group seems to have found its own kind of fan base.
The women have been cooking at the house for years, using their time together to help parents and children who are far from their normal routines. Many of the volunteers are at a stage in life where their own children have grown, giving them a little more room to give back.
“Most of us are empty nesters ourselves,” Cindy Fish said. “So, our kids have flown the coop, and we can help these kids out. We love to give back.”
For families staying at Ronald McDonald House, meals are about much more than food. They can take away one more decision, one more cost and one more errand during a time that already asks too much of parents.
In 2025, Ronald McDonald House Chicagoland provided more than 140,000 meals to families with ill or injured children. The goal is to ease some of the financial and mental strain for families who need to stay close to the hospital.
The “Spice Girls” have added a little fun to that mission. Their visits come with friendship, themed meals and the kind of energy that can make a temporary house feel more like a home.
“They’re a great group, and they themed it up, which is super fun, and just have a great time supporting our families,” Lisa Mitchell with Ronald McDonald House Charities said.
“At Ronald McDonald House we do our best to make it feel as much like home as it possibly can be for families that don’t have the choice to be at their own home.”
That is the heart of the work. The volunteers are not trying to solve everything. They are helping with one thing families should not have to worry about after a hard day: dinner.
And for this group of friends, that has become their own kind of girl power.
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