Food Service Job Training
Our staff identifies, trains, and mentors homeless clients to work in our kitchen. Clients are trained in food prep, sanitary methods, inventory management, kitchen maintenance, team work, workplace skills, and more. Clients are mentored to enter the job sector with marketable skills and self-sufficiency.
Feeding The Homeless
The reasons for homelessness are many to include addiction, mental illness and loss of employment. In the summer, it is hot in San Antonio and in colder months, it becomes dangerous for homeless as the fight to keep warm. The homeless in our city have a place to escape the elements where they are welcomed and receive a hot meal.
However, there is one simple thing we can do right now. Provide them food for today.
We have partnered with Haven for Hope which provides all the services the homeless need to get off the streets and back into permanent housing. The great thing about Haven for Hope shelter is it gives the homeless a “hand up” and not just a “hand out.” They offer drug and alcohol treatment, job training, job placement, identity recovery (provides I.D.s), a healthcare clinic, a mailing address, clothing, showers, restrooms, laundry, medication dispensary, haircuts, dental care, bus fare, and sack lunches for the working homeless.
Faith Kitchen
Info@MyFaithKitchen.org
1 Haven for Hope Way
San Antonio, TX 78207-1266
Phone: (210) 919-3195
Erica Gonzalez
Erica Gonzalez, Executive Director of Faith Kitchen, shared that the organization was formerly known as St. Vinny’s Bistro and operated under the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. About a year ago, leadership established an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit named Faith Kitchen. The board envisioned a name and structure that would better reflect the organization’s desire to serve individuals from many different faith backgrounds while maintaining its strong faith-based mission.
Faith Kitchen’s service began when Haven for Hope opened in 2010. Haven for Hope is divided into a North and South Campus. Faith Kitchen prepares and serves meals to clients receiving services on the South Campus, formerly known as Prospects Courtyard. Meanwhile, the San Antonio Food Bank operates a separate kitchen serving meals to clients living in the dorms on the North Campus.
Individuals entering the South Campus must complete an intake process and receive an identification badge. All clients, volunteers, and kitchen staff must be at least 18 years old to access the campus. South Campus clients work closely with case managers who connect them to legal assistance, health care, identification recovery, and substance abuse treatment. In the past, clients slept in the outdoor courtyard, but now are required to sleep indoors.
Faith Kitchen serves meals seven days a week, offering breakfast from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and dinner from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Snacks are also available throughout the day. The dining area provides access to personal hygiene supplies, mental health services through The Center for Health Care Services, and medication support through CentroMed. Recognizing that many clients are working or attending programs during scheduled mealtimes, Faith Kitchen prepares sack lunches to ensure no one goes without nourishment.
Faith Kitchen serves approximately 1,100 meals daily, reaching about 350 individuals per mealtime. Over the past year, the organization provided nearly 400,000 meals. One powerful success story highlights Executive Chef Lorris Gibson, Jr., who has served with the organization for about 13 years. Once experiencing homelessness and addiction himself, Mr Gibson is now a Haven for Hope alumnus who leads the kitchen’s daily operations and supervises a team of eight staff members. 90% of Faith Kitchen’s staff have lived experience with homelessness, offering understanding and mentorship to those they serve. Many clients express interest in learning kitchen skills, and Faith Kitchen actively encourages participation in food service training. Exposure to the kitchen environment allows clients to develop work habits, learn operational fundamentals, and gain confidence that can lead to employment.
