Great Food
Soup Kitchen
TUESDAYS 4:30-6:30pm
FRIDAYS 3:30-5:00pm
Tuesday Soup Kitchen
Volunteers show up at around 3:30pm to prepare meals-to-go which they distribute beginning at around 4:30pm. In collaboration with Hollywood Food Coalition, we provide nutritious hot meals to around 70 unhoused neighbors weekly. Tuesday Soup Kitchen also provides safe space in the courtyard for a sit-down dining option along with access to rest rooms and a charging station. Volunteers distribute meals from the Food Pantry and provide support for socializing in the courtyard.
To volunteer for Tuesday Soup Kitchen, contact lead volunteer Ellory Smith at smithellory@gmail.com
Friday Soup Kitchen
Friday Soup Kitchen is the flagship operation for Great Food, in continuous operation for over 20 years. The Pandemic necessitated radical changes to the logistics, but the food distribution never stopped. Friday Soup Kitchen now includes food prep by volunteers beginning at around 2pm. Volunteers open the courtyard at around 3pm for safe socializing, rest room access, and access to a charging station. Food distribution begins in the courtyard at around 4pm. Our unhoused neighbors are free to take dinner-to-go or enjoy dinner in the safe setting of the courtyard. Volunteers distribute between 70 and 100 home-cooked meals every week
To learn more about volunteering for Friday Soup Kitchen, contact Father Jon Feuss at jfeuss@stjla.org.
Thursday Cookfest
THURSDAYS 4:30pm to 6:30pm
On Thursday evenings between 4:30pm and 6:30pm, food preparation for Soup Kitchen takes place in the Parish Hall kitchen. Production includes two pots of soup and a great quantity of pasta, using whatever produce has been donated that week. If time and supplies allow, we also create salads and fruit desserts. The food prepared on Thursdays is then reheated and packaged for distribution on Fridays and Saturdays. We welcome volunteers, no experience necessary. St. James provide aprons and guidance, volunteers provide energy and creativity. To learn more about volunteering for Thursday CookFest, click here.
Food Pantry
THURSDAYS 8:00-9:00AM
Thursday Food Pantry continues to distribute about 140 bags of food to people from the neighborhood around St. James. About three-quarters of the bags contain groceries and supplies for people living with a kitchen, and the other one-quarter contain ready-to-eat single-serving foods for people who do not have access to a kitchen (mostly people experiencing homelessness).
Volunteers come in on Wednesday, generally from 7:45 to 9:45 a.m., to prepare the bags. A team of volunteers then distributes the bags on Thursday mornings beginning at 8 a.m.
To learn more about volunteering for Food Pantry, contact Cathy Helm at catherinehelm2424@gmail.com.
Saturday Socializing and Hot Showers
SATURDAYS 9:00AM-1:00PM
On Saturday mornings, St. James provides space for safe socializing and hosting of the Shower of Hope in the parking lot behind the church. Between 8:30am and 1:00pm, we provide hot meals and clean clothes for around 70 unhoused neighbors, many of whom also attend other Soup Kitchen events during the week. Over the course of the Pandemic, activities have grown to include an art table, board games, a lending library and even lounge chairs that were donated by the students at St. James’ School. The wonderful Saturday volunteer team has made all of this possible.
Over the course of the morning, the non-profit agency Shower of Hope provides up to 40 hot showers. Their staff provides toiletries, towels, and rigorous cleaning of the shower stalls between each use. St. James serves as host for their shower van.
To learn more about volunteering for Saturday Socializing at St. James, click here.
Wrapping up the Shower Event on a Saturday afternoon:
The new Donated Clothing location, known affectionately as The J-Shed after Justin and Joelle, the two volunteers who helped set it up, with help from Scotty Hanna, St James Eagle Scout candidate.
Donating to Great Food
TO DONATE CLOTHING:
We welcome clothing donations. We can most easily receive donations on Saturdays between 9am and 1pm in the parking lot. To arrange for other delivery times, contact Margaret Ecker at mecker@stjla.org.
Our greatest clothing needs:
men’s pants
women’s pants, dresses
men’s and women’s comfortable walking shoes
flip flops
short and long sleeve t-shirts
underwear for men, underwear for women
socks
belts
blankets
sweaters, jackets
We rarely see children and encourage you to make donations of toys and children’s clothing to Alexandria House.
TO DONATE FUNDS:
We welcome financial donations in any amount. Your donated funds help us to purchase supplies for food distribution like to-go containers, napkins, paper bags. They also allow us to supplement supplies of clothing, blankets, hand sanitizer, and face masks.
To donate to Soup Kitchen/Shower programs, click here.
To donate to Food Pantry, click here.
Nondiscrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity
conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
St. James’ Church and its food ministries are an equal opportunity provider.