Our Work
More than 93 years later, Franciscan Bread for the Poor continues to serve the needy and the hungry on their breadline; they continue to light eyes afire with good food, and, more importantly, with hope.
More than 93 years later, Franciscan Bread for the Poor continues to serve the needy and the hungry on their breadline; they continue to light eyes afire with good food, and, more importantly, with hope.
Early every morning, on weekdays, weekends, holidays, through snowstorms, heatwaves and even hurricanes, over 300 homeless, disabled, unemployed, a large number of women and children migrants, veterans, and those fallen on hard times – all of them poor and hungry – gather along West 31st Street in New York City. The bells of St. Francis of Assisi Church ring at 7 a.m. sharp, signaling that the Breadline is open. Franciscan friars and volunteers offer everyone a Sandwich Bag. No questions asked. No one is turned away. They receive a roll stuffed robustly with meat and cheese, a hearty PB&J sandwich (their favorite!), a can of juice, piece of fruit, and a cup of coffee. Sometimes, depending on the time of year, there’s extras like oatmeal, cereal, granola bars, snacks, handwarmers, and hygiene products.
Our Sandwich Bags are served with warm and friendly greetings, dignity, respect, hope, lots of smiles – and the joyful spirit and compassion of St. Francis of Assisi!
The laughter and cheerful conversation are sounds you’d expect to hear at a neighborhood coffee shop, not where people are lined up for what is often their only meal of the day. This is the Breadline since Sept. 26, 1930, when a Franciscan friar, through a simple act of compassion and generosity, gave sandwiches and five-cent coins to women and men who came to the friary on 31st Street begging for food, clothing and money during The Great Depression. Your generous support helps the Breadline fill Sandwich Bags. Your generosity lets our guests know they are not being ignored. The words of our guests let you know what they think about the Breadline and your generosity.
People sometimes could use a little help with extra food for their refrigerator and pantry. That’s often the case with guests who have a home but struggle to make ends meet and face food insecurity. The Food Pantry Grocery Bags are a lifeline for hundreds of others who come to us in need of supplemental food assistance. Our Food Pantry is open three days a week, offering guests the opportunity to obtain one day’s worth of meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) once a week, or a monthly visit for Grocery Bags filled with four days of meals. We engage our guests with dignity and respect. We provide a menu so they can order the groceries and food they enjoy eating. They relax in a comfortable waiting area while volunteers shop for them in our pantry, pack the Grocery Bags, and then greet and engage them in conversation.
Guests leave with eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy and grains – and, on a rotating basis, beef, pork, chicken, and seafood – as well as extras like coffee, tea, pancake mix, chocolate, cookies, and cake mix. Every Grocery Bag comes with the love, compassion and giving spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. Your generous support helps the Breadline Food Pantry fill Grocery Bags. Your generosity lets our guests know that others care about them. The guests you help feed at our Food Pantry would thank you for your generosity if they had the opportunity.
They can’t come to us, so Breadline Delivers Food Pantry brings groceries to homebound elderly and disabled in need of food assistance. We engage them with the same dignity and respect of our Food Panty guests. They have the opportunity to select the food they enjoy because our Breadline Delivers Food Pantry coordinator contacts all of our homebound neighbors in need and helps them put together their grocery order, which includes the same selections at our Food Pantry – eggs, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, grains and, on a rotating basis, beef, pork, chicken, and seafood – as well as extras like coffee, tea, pancake mix, chocolate, cookies, and cake mix. Our coordinator takes an interest in everyone and spends time talking about their dietary needs.
Our volunteers pack the Grocery Bags and deliver them to the front door of our homebound with hope and dignity, and with the compassion and spirit of St. Francis of Assisi. But it’s more than handing off groceries. What does Breadline Delivers Food Pantry and your generosity mean to our homebound guests?
The Breadline is reaching thousands more struggling and poor families and individuals by sharing the blessings of your generosity with other Franciscan-minded not-for-profits and churches. Breadline Outreach provides more than 2,500 Sandwich Bags and Grocery Bags to programs in Harlem; a parish program in the Bronx for families in need; a program whose volunteers encounter substance-addicted in the streets of the South Bronx, using the compassionate act of offering food to try and connect them to rehabilitation and assistance; a church soup kitchen on the Upper West Side; and food pantries in
Midtown, the Lower West Side, and Upper Manhattan that collectively serve 900 families. Your generosity is helping Breadline Outreach turn our ordinary work into something extraordinary for sisters and brothers living on the margins.
There are other ways to feed the human spirit and address the needs of the poor and homeless – which is why we opened Franciscan 360 in February 2023. It began as a day-time drop-in for a cup of coffee and use of a computer station. It has become a welcoming and dynamic environment – a resource for our guests. The coffee is always on and the computer bank is available for guests to catch up on news and emails, contact family members, and update resumes for job pursuit. A case manager is available on site to assist migrant guests with securing identification cards, identifying job placement, and addressing other immigration issues. Our case manager also connects homeless and poor to social services, potential housing, and assistance from other non-profits. Our Franciscan 360 programs foster creativity, offer practical skills, encourage spiritual exploration, and provide a holistic approach to serving those on the margins. And it’s your generous support that has enabled the Breadline to expand our services through Franciscan 360.
