St. Anthony Dining Room Chef Annria Rossouw Leads with Her Love of Serving Our Guests

March 1, 2023

Tell us a little bit about you, your relationship to St. Anthony’s. What is your role? How long have you worked or volunteered here?

I came to work for St Anthony’s Dining Room because of my passion for food and feeding people. It has since evolved into a joy of serving our guests with food made with love.

What does Women’s History Month mean to you? I support that women should be acknowledged for their service to others, whether it be feeding people or developing lifesaving medicines and medical procedures.

Is there one or perhaps a few women who have inspired or currently inspire you?

I’ve always been involved in the creative fields, first studying art in college in South Africa, followed by working as a costume artist for the National Theater, so Bette Midler inspires me. She is wildly successful as an artist and has done so much for New York City. Her restoration project has brought both educational and social impact to the Bronx. Midler is the founder of the New York Restoration Project (NYRP), a green space organization that has been revitalizing neglected urban plots since 1995. 

“I came to work for St Anthony’s Dining Room because of my passion for food and feeding people. It has since evolved into a joy of serving our guests with food made with love.”

Chef Annria Rossouw

Which of the organization’s five values do you most enjoy practicing? Personalism, gratitude, community, justice, or healing? 

Community is something that all of us in the St. Anthony’s kitchen practice daily, toward each other and with our guests. We enfold each other, and work and serve with love. 

In San Francisco, one in five adults lacks the resources to provide food for themselves or their families. In the Tenderloin district, that number is as high as one in two. At St. Anthony’s, we help address food insecurity by serving more than 1,000 meals daily. We take pride in the quality of our meals, ensuring that they are not only nutritious and delicious but served with love too. The Dining Room also hosts a weekly Farmers Market. This food distribution program provides groceries to hundreds of low-income Tenderloin residents and seniors.

Our Dining Room has always served more than a meal, functioning as a vital cultural space, where everyone is invited to join in community. Our team provides valuable bridges to stability for our guests by connecting them to other services at St. Anthony’s and beyond. 

We invite you to be the change you want to see in San Francisco. Interested in helping build pathways to stability for those in need in our community? Donate online here. Sign up for a volunteer shift here.