For over 46 years, the St. Augustine Soup Kitchen, located at 1501 W. Washington Street on South Bend’s west side, has strived to meet the gospel mandate to feed the hungry. Staffed completely by volunteers from throughout our community, the Soup Kitchen serves those in need–many of whom are working poor from the neighborhood–every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11am-12:30pm.  We prepare and offer soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bread and sweets as available, fruit, seasonal produce and a cold drink. All are welcome.

The Soup Kitchen was founded by parishioner Francis Hubbard in the mid 1970’s. What started out as a one-man operation quickly grew to involve more volunteers in order to serve the growing number of guests. After Francis was forced to relinquish management due to failing health, other parishioners stepped forward to keep the operation going. Cooking teams were organized for each day of the month that the kitchen was open and many folks from different parishes all over South Bend became involved. Eventually a team of once-a-week volunteers was established for Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

While it has remained a parish project since its founding, the Soup Kitchen maintains its own funding and governance structure. In 1990, a board of directors was established which supervises the operation. At that time Peter Smith was named and continues to serve in a volunteer capacity as director, overseeing day-to-day operations and facilitating biannual board meetings. The board consists of representatives from each team and two at-large members.

We rely on individual and group financial donations, discounted purchases from the Food Bank and in-kind contributions from individuals and area businesses and organizations. Our fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30. Until recently, an annual appeal to previous donors had sustained our operation but increased need and expenses is necessitating additional fundraising efforts. The cost of food purchases and supplies increased 51% in 2023 over 2022. In 2023, we served 38,203 cups of soup (a 25% increase over 2022) to guests facing much hardship with the increased cost of groceries.

Contributions–financial and in-kind– and volunteers are always welcomed. Memorial contributions to honor a loved one, living or deceased, will be acknowledged. Checks should be made payable to St. Augustine Soup Kitchen and mailed to P.O. Box 3198, South Bend, IN 46619-0198.

For more information or to volunteer, contact Peter Smith, [email protected], 574-289-2126 (H) or 574-532-3720 (C).