St. Francis Mission Soup Kitchen or “Loaves and Fishes” is an emergency feeding program with 501c3 status operating every Saturday out of St. Francis Mission on Clinton Avenue in Albany. Our mission statement is, “Bring People to Jesus!’ and our purpose is to, “Feed the Body, Heart, Mind, and Soul.” Matthew 25:35-40
As a Christian ministry we pray we live out Christ’s love for the poor.
Three parts of the Baptismal Covenant guide the work we as a feeding ministry try to do: with God’s help we seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves; we strive for justice and peace, and respect the dignity of every human being; and by doing these, we hope that by example we “proclaim the Good News of God in Christ.” We know that, “Almost certainly, the first component of social justice is adequate food for all.” *
We served 14,451 meals in 2023, a 160% increase from our pre-pandemic figures. Many of the recipients are homeless, live in shelters or low-income housing and do not have adequate resources to food or the means or knowledge to prepare nourishing food. Our commitment is to provide nutritious, wholesome food because we know that without adequate sustenance, the ability to meet one’s greatest potential is hindered.
During the pandemic we adapted our format to take-out only which enabled us to both stay open and to serve many more people. We have maintained this practice. Meals are prepared and plated in to-go containers and handed out with ‘goodie bags’ containing other pantry supplies and personal care items.
The work we do to provide food, clothing, and other necessities is completed by a team of faithful servants who attend churches within the diocese of Albany. Approximately 1000lbs of product is ordered and picked up from the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY every week. Volunteers make daily trips to the food bank to source fresh produce and dairy items. Bread, pastries, and cookies are donated by Freihofers Bakery Outlet and picked up weekly, and churches run drives for clothing and other supplies that we distribute multiple times a month.
We are blessed to partner with the Regional Food Bank and the staff there who work tirelessly to address food insecurity in our communities every day through advocacy campaigns to maintain SNAP** benefits, fund HPNAP*** and Nourish NY****, and expand access to free school meals, to name just a few.
Volunteers make this program work, so we invite you to help with this vital ministry!
Click on this link to choose a day and time to volunteer, or email us here.
Feel free to come for all or just part of the day. In addition to kitchen work, there are opportunities for helping on the floor, packing goody bags, greeting guests, and distributing essential items.
If you are so called, you may help support our efforts to alleviate the injustice of food scarcity by making a tax deductible donation to the program. Please email us for more details.
You may also donate directly to the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern NY’s ADOPT A PROGRAM and request that your donation be put on our member agency account. For more information on this, please follow this link to the Food Bank’s website or call member services on 518-786-3691. Our agency name is St. Francis Mission Soup Kitchen.
