St. Anthony’s Dining Room, also called the miracle on Jones Street, is the only free meal program in the city of San Francisco that serves a warm meal 365 days a year.  At almost 3,000 meals per day, we serve over 1 million meals per year. For many, the Dining Room is their main source of food. Some of our guests have shelter, some homeless, some have families, some are all alone. Some are employed, some not. Some have a college degree, some never finished grade school. But the thing that all of these people have in common is their need for a meal. And that is our job. To provide all those in need, regardless of their life situations, with a warm meal that was made and served with love. And much of what makes this all possible are the thousands of volunteers that give their time to serve. We have almost 500 regular volunteers (some of which have been serving here for over 25 years!), and almost 10,000 people who volunteer with their school, work, or church.

Sean Chester, a summer intern who spent a lot of time volunteering in the Dining Room as well as some of St. Anthony’s other programs, remembers “my work in the Dining Room included being a bus boy, serving food, directing servers, and eating food. Among all the work and action, I made an infinite amount of friends that inspire me, believe in me, and respect me. I soaked up the experience, embraced the memories, and had such an amazing time.” Theresa Martin, another intern who spent one day/week volunteering in the Dining Room said “The relationships I’ve formed with the guests in the Dining Room, the volunteers and guys from the [Fr. Alfred Center, St. Anthony’s Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Program], and the other interns have been awesome. I feel like I have been welcomed into the community at St. Anthony’s and become a part of the family that it is. For that, I am grateful.” Much like Sean and Theresa, our volunteers often get more out of the experience than they gave. They find themselves embraced by the community here at St. Anthony’s, and quickly feel like they are part of the family.

So we would like to thank all of our volunteers, whether you have been here once or one thousand times. Your work has left a lasting mark on our Dining Room and the thousands of guests who call it their home.

If you or your group (school, company, church, club, etc.) are interested in volunteering, click here.

Every year, the Tech Lab has the honor of supporting a Jesuit Volunteer.  ”Jesuit Volunteers are called to the mission of serving the poor directly. They work for and with people who are homeless, unemployed, refugees, people with AIDS, the elderly, street youth, abused women and children, the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled” (JVC).  For the past year, the Tech Lab has been honored to have Jesuit Volunteer, Julie Arcaro, work with us.

Julie has been a vital asset to the Tech Lab.  Through her work teaching classes, preparing class schedules, coordinating volunteers, and providing support wherever needed; Julie has played a major role in the day to day functioning of the Tech Lab.  Her humor, light personality, and work ethic will be missed in the Tech Lab.  Please take the time to wish Julie the best of luck as she moves on from the Tech Lab in the following month.

The following is a reflection from St. Ignatius students participating in a two week immersion at St. Anthony’s.

Hello!  A lot has happened since we last wrote.  We’ve continued learning in the JEVA (Justice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy) classroom at St. Anthony Foundation.  We looked at the distribution of wealth nationally and realized the large gap between the classes.  We also used the game of JENGA as an analogy to the real world and its structure of laws and rules.  It became frustrating when rules changed and we didn’t have control over the powers that be.  Friday we discussed the different types of service in our society.  Today, Tuesday, we began talking about advocacy and how to get involved either on a legislative level or by the power of assembly.  Today we had the opportunity to meet Sean Elsburnd, an SI graduate and now the District 6 supervisor.  It was interesting to hear him speak about the city’s government and see city hall.  This past weekend we traveled to Santa Cruz for a mid-trip retreat.  We reflected and spent time at the beach.  We spent Saturday night at a hotel, and our group continued to bond and have more fun!  It was really nice to do some laundry at the local Laundromat.  Sunday we went on a nature hike and swam in the river there as well. On 4^th of July we walked to the Ferry Building and watched the city fireworks.  Yesterday we also went to Grace Cathedral and took some time to reflect and pray.  We walked down a labyrinth there.

We have kept up our nightly reflections and focused on a variety of topics including charity, justice, service, solidarity, community, and faith.  Our reflection discussions have been vital to this trip.   We are continuing to challenge others and be challenged.  The tenets of living simply, acting justly, community and spirituality continue to be very prominent in our everyday encounters.

The following is a reflection from St. Ignatius students participating in a two week immersion at St. Anthony’s.

Hey There! This is Caroline and Camille writing for San Francisco Immersion on day 4. The past three days we have worked at St. Anthony’s Dining Room, two different senior centers, two clothing distributors, and a homeless shelter. In addition to these, we have attended learning workshops at St. Anthony’s to understand issues surrounding and causing poverty and homelessness.

We have been here for technically three days and four nights. One of the most interesting things we have observed is time. We spend a lot of our days waiting like many people in this neighborhood do every day. Whether waiting for a shower, dinner on a hotplate, or in line at St. Anthony’s for lunch have been on our feet for most of the day. However, through this period of focus we have met many amazing people. As a group we have listened to two recovering addicts speak and realized how easy it is to take our family and friends at home for granted. Personally we have been surprised with how easy it is to make connections to people we are serving. We met an elderly woman who fled Ukraine because of violence and told us many times how much she appreciated us being there. At St Anthony’s we met many people more than eager to give us life advice and who were some of the kindest and smartest people who couldn’t have been more gracious, including a man who traveled all through Europe and a woman who was from Cuba and had been painting art since she was a young girl.

Overall, the past four days have helped us grow closer as a community both within our immersion group and within the Tenderloin. We’re excited to see what happens next.

For almost 20 years now St. Ignatius College Prep has sent a group of rising seniors to spend two weeks living and working in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. This year’s group arrived yesterday morning. They are living in a small room at a local non-profit. They all sleep in one small room on mats on the floor and have small kitchen to cook and eat their meals. They have a small budget to cover their food and other necessities. For many of the students this is their first taste of living on their own; doing their own shopping, cooking and laundry. They spend their days with St. Anthony’s Justice Education Program; doing service in the Tenderloin and participating in educational workshops about poverty and homelessness.

They will be writing about their experience right here on our blog.

Follow-them on their journey of service and solidarity over the next two weeks.

A dedicated team from IBM came to St. Anthony Free Medical Clinic to assist with a much appreciated scrubdown!  IBM is celebrating its 100th anniversary and the whole company is out volunteering.  Way to go IBM!

Google volunteers swarmed St.Anthony’s today! They worked tirelessly serving meals and helping out at our Free Clothing Program. Thanks for the great work!

Supervisor Jane Kim and her staff volunteered in St. Anthony’s Dining Room recently.  Supervisor Kim served guests and had an opportunity to talk with folks about issues that concern them.  Some of the staff had a tour of St. Anthony’s Foundation and had a chance to see the architect’s model for the new St. Anthony’ Dining Room.

Midori Inomata and members of the Japanese Consulate General in San Francisco were in the Dining Room at St. Anthony’s on Thursday, June 8th to help serve 3,000 meals.

St. Anthony Executive Director, Shari Roeseler, was on hand to welcome the team of volunteers and shared one of the organization’s core beliefs: that everyone has value and must be treated with dignity and respect.

Mrs. Inomata, wife of Consul General of Japan, Hiroshi Inomata, said she was very happy to volunteer at St. Anthony’s because American response to Japan’s March 10th earthquake and tsunmai has been so heartening to the people in Japan.

We are very fortunate to have had this kind and compassionate team of volunteers assist us.

Our dear volunteer and USF student, and now alumnus graduated on Friday from the University of San Francisco. Toby can lay claim to helping in the computer switchover when the lab upgraded to new machines in March. He also spearheaded an advanced level class in Lynux operating systems.

Toby’s parents came to America for the first time every to witness Toby’s special day. Ryan, Chris, and former TTL volunteer and USF graduate, Shir was also their to lend their support.