OUR HISTORY
In the early 1900s, St. Leo’s parish priests, sisters of charity, and janitorial staff started up an informal food service for the homeless and for rail travelers with a mission to provide meals to those in need. This informal food ministry continued until the Detroit riots in 1967, when the parish basement became a safe haven, providing emergency food and shelter for the elderly and the homeless. The Red Cross regularly fed over 200 people sheltered there, with the assistance of the Detroit branch of the Black Panther party.
In 1971, St. Leo’s high school closed. Alumni, wishing to continue food service, formed a soup kitchen ministry, which parish pastor Father John Morel modeled after the Capuchin Soup Kitchen operation on the city’s east side. Initially, volunteers prepared food in their homes until two commercial stoves were obtained, allowing meals to be prepared and distributed on site in the parish basement. Campbell’s Soup, Gleaners Community Food Bank and the St. Bonaventure Capuchins were key contributors. By 1976, the facility was feeding the poor five days a week.
In 2017, St. Leo’s parish church closed, and the parishioners merged with the nearby St. Cecelia parish, establishing St. Charles Lwanga parish. St. Leo’s alumni and devoted soup kitchen volunteers formed a board of directors committed to continuing the soup kitchen in the basement location. Approximately 40,000 meals were provided annually to the Detroit community.
When the pandemic hit the nation in March 2020, the Soup Kitchen perservered, preparing and packaging 80 to 100 carryout meals Tuesday through Friday. This continued until June 2021, when summer storm waters flooded and severely damaged the basement rooms housing the soup kitchen. St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen, formerly located at Grand River and 15th Street, where it had fed people for almost 50 years, closed its doors on July 1st, 2021.
Once again, dedicated board members and volunteers vowed to keep the St. Leo’s spirit alive and continue this ministry. After a lengthy search, a new location was found at 8642 Woodward Avenue. St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen is now located in the Works of Mercy Center, which provides medical and dental services, a clothes closet and food pantry, along with job search and counseling, for the surrounding underserved community.
The soup kitchen opened in its current location November 2022, and serves a hot lunch Tuesday through Friday every week. Initially serving 30 carryout meals per serving day, the soup kitchen now provides an average of 150 meals each serving day. Annually, 100-plus volunteers form the heart of the soup kitchen, preparing and serving food to the hungry, and providing a sense of community for the often isolated and lonely.
