Caridad Community Kitchen

06/01/2026

***IMPORTANT UPDATE: June 9th will be the last Meal Service date at Caridad Community Kitchen. Caridad will continue to operate and prepare meals for our programs, but will no longer serve from our location.***

For 30 years, Caridad has had the honor of serving meals directly to our neighbors.

What began in 1996 as Caridad de Porres, founded by Father Joseph Baker through Holy Family Catholic Church, started with a simple but powerful mission: to ensure that our neighbors experiencing hunger were welcomed with dignity, compassion, and a delicious meal.

Over the years, hundreds of thousands of meals have been had, heartfelt moments have been shared with our guests, and an incredible community of staff, volunteers have made this a safe and comfortable space to so many.

As we honor this chapter of Caridad’s history, we also want to express our deep gratitude to the community partners who will continue serving meals in the area moving forward, including Sharon Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Salvation Army Hospitality House, and the Yousuf Mosque.

While our direct meal service at Caridad will come to a close after June 9th, our commitment to fighting hunger remains strong. Caridad will continue preparing meals that will be distributed throughout the community by our partner organizations, helping ensure our neighbors continue to receive the support and care they deserve.

To everyone who has worked, volunteered, donated, shared smiles, or simply showed up for our Community Meals Service over the last 30 years: thank you. It has been a privilege to serve alongside you.

Please see the updated meal service schedule below, or click the link, for information on where you can find a meal. https://www.communityfoodbank.org/get-help

05/24/2026

All Community Food Bank locations, including Caridad Community Kitchen, will be closed tomorrow in observation of Memorial Day.

Tomorrow, we pause to honor and remember those who served.

Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona (all locations) will be closed Monday, May 25, and will reopen Tuesday for normal distribution hours.

Find food near you at: www.communityfoodbank.org/get-help

05/21/2026

Our kitchen recently made frozen electrolyte “push pops” that are being distributed to partners across town to help people stay hydrated during the extreme Arizona heat. ☀️

Today, Sharon Seventh-day Adventist Church handed them out during their meal service and received great feedback from the community. We’re excited to be part of creative ways to support our neighbors this summer.

05/20/2026

Class 43 learned that making noodles from scratch isn’t as impastable as it seems. Students worked alongside Chef Tysen to learn how to make pasta from start to finish, mixing, rolling, and cutting their own noodles by hand. The result was a beautiful plate of creamy basil pesto pasta featuring fresh-made noodles and the béchamel sauce they perfected in last week’s class.

05/13/2026

Big congratulations to the graduates of the City of Tucson Small Business Center’s Sazón Empresarial 2026 program! 🎉

Today, Mayor Regina Romero gave Caridad a special mention during the graduation celebration. Our own Chef Ismael, who serves on the program’s advisory committee, joined the event to celebrate local Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs completing 12 weeks of training in food safety, packaging, nutrition labeling, and product commercialization.

We’re proud to support programs helping small food businesses grow and thrive! 👏

05/06/2026

Class 43 has begun! Students have already put their new knife skills to the test, chopping more than 350 pounds of onions!

Those onions won’t go to waste, they’ll help nourish our community. Today, our kitchen team used some of the onions to prepare a rich French onion soup with pretzel croutons and melty cheese, dishing up over 150 bowls that will be served by our community partners.

04/25/2026

Fun fact: Roberta makes THE BEST carrot cake in the whole world. …But maybe we’re just biased because we love Roberta so much.

Roberta has been volunteering with Caridad Community Kitchen since 2020 and is a steady, uplifting presence in the kitchen.

She always makes a point to say goodbye to staff at the end of her shift and often shares a joke that brings a smile to everyone’s day. Her daughter also volunteers when she can, and her granddaughter joins when she is home from college.

Roberta values the sense of family at Caridad and is proud to support efforts that help address food insecurity in the community.

We are grateful for Roberta and the positivity she brings to every shift.

Find the right opportunity for you at www.communityfoodbank.org/volunteer

04/21/2026

Volunteers like Geri do so much meaningful work here at Caridad. Thank you to Geri and all of our volunteers. The impact you have on our community is immeasurable!

Geri has been volunteering with Caridad Community Kitchen for three years, showing up week after week for our meal service.

“I volunteer at the kitchen because I love the community and (these) guys.”

For Geri, it’s all about connection. When our Wednesday meal service moved, she continued volunteering at Rescue Gospel Mission just to stay connected with familiar faces. She also goes above and beyond, organizing hygiene supplies for guests and helping bring in sock donations for our community.

Interested in volunteering? Find an opportunity that works for you at www.communityfoodbank.org/volunteer

04/20/2026

Thank you for the mention, Salvation The Salvation Army - Tucson! We appreciate the partnership we’ve built and love to see people getting healthy meals and friendly service.

04/18/2026

Today was the Community Food Bank’s 50th Anniversary Donor and Volunteer Gala. Amanda, one of the incredible cooks here at Caridad Community Kitchen, was invited to share her powerful story of coming through the Culinary Training Program and the success she has achieved since then.