The CHiPS soup kitchen serves as many as 350 meals daily. We are staffed by a group of dedicated volunteers who come together to ensure their hungry neighbors have a place to turn for delicious, healthy meals.
CHiPS offers a friendly environment and our volunteers are committed to making our guests feel at home. We know many of our guests by their names, favorite meals, and birthdays. Guests are not asked to provide identification or to participate in religious activities; our kitchen serves the hungry regardless of immigration status or religious beliefs.
When it comes to food, CHiPS meals are some of the healthiest around. Nearly 80 percent of the food we prepare is donated by the Park Slope Food Coop, which means it’s fresh and often organic. Restaurants nearby sometimes donate entire meals, so guests enjoy fresh-baked breads and even barbeque.
As a part of our menu program, volunteers are creative in making delicious meals from donated foods. Certain volunteers specialize in making dishes that our guests have come to anticipate and love. One volunteer excels in roasting turkeys; another brings in her own spices to make turkey soup from the leftovers; and third makes a yellow rice with her own secret recipe that reminds some guests of home.
CHiPS soup kitchen provides bagged lunches for guests to take with them in the afternoon. These generally contain a sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a beverage. This is dinner for many guests. On Fridays, CHiPS distributes pantry bags of donated canned goods. These bags help tide the needy over the weekend.
In March 2014, CHiPS began serving breakfast as well. Now, guests can get hot coffee and bakery items such as bagels, bread, or pastries in the morning. It’s not much, but it’s enough to give them a nice start to the day.
Our soup kitchen hours are:
Breakfast, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m., Monday – Friday
Hot Lunch, 11:30 am – 1 p.m., Monday – Saturday
To-Go Sandwich Bags, 1 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., Monday – Friday
Pantry Bags, 11:30 am. – 3 p.m., Friday