Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (HASK) is an emergency feeding program of the Church of the Holy Apostles, located in the Chelsea section of Manhattan. HASK provides hot meals as well as counseling and referrals services to the neediest citizens of New York City.
Contents |
The mission of the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen (HASK) is to feed the hungry, to comfort the afflicted, to seek justice for the homeless, and to counsel and provide a sense of hope and opportunity to those in need. HASK serves the poorest New Yorkers, primarily the homeless and jobless, and helps them find the means to leave the soup kitchen line forever. HASK also advocates on behalf of the hungry and homeless so that their voices are heard.
The Soup Kitchen opened on October 22, 1982. It is the outreach program of the Church of the Holy Apostles, which was founded in 1844 and designated a NYC Landmark in 1966. HASK is the largest feeding program in the Episcopal Church nationwide. The Soup Kitchen is run by a staff of 24. Helping also is a cadre of volunteers who number 55-60 each weekday. The Vestry of the church is responsible for the Soup Kitchen's fiscal and programmatic oversight.
On its first day, HASK served 35 local homeless individuals camped out across the street from the church. HASK quickly grew in a matter of weeks to 300, and four short years later it was serving more than 800 meals each weekday. By 2007, its 25th Anniversary, the Soup Kitchen had served more than 6 million meals.[1] As of 2010, HASK has served over 6.8 million meals and serves currently on average over 1,200 meals each weekday (including holidays).[2]
After a fire gutted the roof and much of the interior of the church nave in 1990,[3] the Soup Kitchen served 943 meals the next day. HASK has not missed a single serving day since its inception. Vastly improved accommodations made after the fire allow the hungry individuals coming for hot meals to eat in the nave of the church itself.[4]
Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen provides hot, nutritious and well-balanced meals, Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Soup Kitchen also operates counseling and referrals services which help with other essential and basic needs by giving information as well as referrals to other organizations. In addition, there is an annual spring Writers' Workshop, which was founded in 1995 by noted writer Ian Frazier.[5] About two dozen participants, recruited primarily from the Soup Kitchen line, enroll each spring.
HASK was honored with:
Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen has drawn distinguished visitors throughout the years. They include:
Scores of press outlets from all over the country and the world have also come to film documentaries, news stories, and features.