Faith, Food & Friends

Faith, Food and Friends’ is parish sponsored, all-volunteer outreach program that serves a nutritious and appetizing lunch three days a week.  Its Statement of Purpose was written by the guests themselves and is read before every meal:

With hope in God’s goodness, we meet as a group of men who share common problems, pain, sorrows, joys and success. Many of us share problems in addiction, homelessness, poverty, mental or emotional disorders, and spiritual emptiness. We desire holistic healing of our bodies, minds and spirits. We pray that this will be the first step in turning our lives around. WE HAVE HOPE.

Program History

For over thirty years, the parishioners of Old St. Joseph’s Church and other volunteers in the community have responded to the need to feed the homeless and hungry poor in the neighborhood surrounding Old Saint Joseph’s Church. Beginning in 1985, Carewalk was created by Thomas Pesci, SJ, William Watters, SJ and parishioner Al Gury as a direct response to the homeless living on vents near the church. Their collective effort to feed and warm those few quickly grew into a larger more organized program. Our guests line up at 10:00 AM, enter at 10:30 AM and a single seating for lunch is served at 11:00 AM. 

Your Support

Click here to read Faith, Food & Friends 2019 Annual Report. Your might also enjoy reading this reflection by a long-time volunteer. At present, Faith, Food & Friends is operating with a minimum of volunteers, for the safety of volunteers and guests alike. You can still contribute to Faith, Food & Friends through Old St. Joseph’s ParishSOFT Giving, and you can take part in OSJ’s regular collections of essential items for our guests, which is now available here as an Amazon wishlist.