【Activity Report】St. Joe’s Soup Kitchen – A Small Step That Can Change Someone’s Day

On Saturday, February 15, we volunteered at St. Joe’s Soup Kitchen, a nonprofit organization located in Manhattan. A soup kitchen is a support service that offers free warm meals to people experiencing homelessness or financial hardship.

This time, three volunteer participants and four staff members from NY de Volunteer assisted with the afternoon meal service (serving and cleaning up).

What is St. Joe’s Soup Kitchen?

St. Joe’s Soup Kitchen is a nonprofit organization that has been serving warm meals every Saturday afternoon in New York City for over 40 years. The guests are not only people experiencing homelessness, but also seniors, the unemployed, and others facing various life challenges.

The entire operation is run by volunteers. The venue is provided free of charge by The First Presbyterian Church and is supported by donations from the local community and businesses, along with the dedication of many volunteers.

Volunteer Orientation

Volunteers at St. Joe’s Soup Kitchen are divided into morning prep volunteers and afternoon meal service volunteers. We participated in the afternoon shift this time.

The location is about a 10-minute walk from Union Square in Manhattan, at The First Presbyterian Church. In the church’s spacious hall, tables and chairs are set up for guests to dine between 1:30 and 3:00 PM.

Once all the afternoon volunteers arrived, a director gave an orientation, which included an introduction to the day’s menu, explanation of the tasks, and role assignments.

Meal Service Begins

We took our assigned positions and began preparing to welcome the guests. The NY de Volunteer team was in charge of providing snacks and drinks.

The menu changes daily, and during special holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, items like roast chicken and cake are served. Since it was the day after Valentine’s Day, heart-shaped cookies were offered—an example of the thoughtful, seasonal touches that make the experience special.

Snack volunteers continually replenished trays with bananas, energy bars, and cookies from boxes, ensuring that guests could help themselves freely. There was no limit on quantity—some guests even took two or three bananas—so the restocking never stopped.

What stood out that day were the many natural moments of conversation. The guests came from diverse backgrounds in age and nationality. Some asked, “Where are you from?” or told us, “I can speak Japanese!” Others shared memories of their visits to Japan, creating small but heartwarming exchanges.

Reflections – “Small Actions” Can Create Big Change

For some of the first-time volunteers, it was initially a bit nerve-wracking. However, the staff at St. Joe’s Soup Kitchen welcomed us warmly, and the atmosphere quickly became relaxed and friendly.

One participant shared, “I imagined a more tense environment, but it was actually warm, calm, and felt very homey.” Another said, “Receiving words of thanks and kindness from the guests gave me a true sense of purpose.”

At first, some guests seemed hard to approach, but once we started talking, many were curious about NY de Volunteer’s work and engaged with us in a surprisingly friendly and open way. This half-day experience reminded us of the importance of seeing, listening, and connecting with people firsthand.

What we did may have only been a few hours of volunteering. But that small act might have given someone the strength to get through their day. More importantly, it was a step toward realizing that each of us has the power to make a difference in our community.

Volunteering doesn’t require any special skills—just a bit of your time and a compassionate heart. With that, anyone can be a change-maker.

We plan to continue organizing regular soup kitchen volunteering activities!

If you’ve ever thought, “I want to take action” or “I want to help someone,” we encourage you to take that first step.

Your step could be the one that changes someone’s day.

We look forward to your participation next time!

Report by Mone

Staff Member, NY de Volunteer