SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA CO. (WOLF) — As part of today’s Sinclair Day of Service, the FOX56 team stepped into the heart of the community, volunteering at Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen to highlight its mission and the growing demand for services.
From serving hot meals to stocking the pantry and sorting donations for the free clothing store, volunteers experienced firsthand the daily work that supports hundreds of people across northeastern Pennsylvania.
Executive Director Rob Williams says the kitchen was designed with something more than food in mind.
“Our founder purposely put round tables in the dining room, and there are 5 or 6 chairs around each table. So if you think about it, really pragmatically, we provide food to those people who come through the doors. But if you think about the bigger picture, a lot of people tell us that this is the one opportunity all week where they can sit across the table with people,” Williams said.
That connection, he says, can be just as important as a meal.
“We had a woman one time that was sobbing at the table she said ‘the volunteer not only knew my name, she not only looked me in the eye, but noticed I was gone for two weeks and asked where I’ve been,” Williams said. “For somebody just to give them that dignified exchange with another human, it’s beyond words how important it is.”
The need continues to grow. The kitchen served 75,000 meals in 2023, 94,000 in 2024, and more than 117,000 hot meals in 2025.
Longtime volunteer Jerry Burns of Throop has seen that increase over his 20 years of service.
“It’s just amazing to see the number of people who’ve been coming, I’ve seen it grow from less than 100 meals to sometimes 200 meals a day,” Burns said. “It’s really a remarkable place in terms of the service that it provides to a community that is poorly served in this area.”
Burns says the volunteers are what make the mission possible.
“There’s a real cadre of people who are here on a regular basis that we’ve grown to become more like a family than just volunteers,” he said. “The real heart of this place is the volunteers who are here on a regular basis.”
The people served reflect a wide range of needs, about one-third are experiencing homelessness or living in shelters, another third are working but struggling to make ends meet, and the remaining third are living on fixed incomes.
In addition to daily meals, Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen offers a wide range of services, including a client-choice food pantry, a free clothing store, and a mobile clothing trailer that brings essentials directly into the community. The organization also provides three evening suppers each week in Scranton and hosts weekly meal programs at parish sites and housing locations in Carbondale, Olyphant, Archbald, and Roaring Brook Township.
During extreme cold, the kitchen partners with the City of Scranton and Keystone Mission to support the “Code Blue” initiative, providing hot soup and assistance to those seeking shelter.
To help sustain its work, the kitchen also runs a “Host for a Day” campaign. Individuals, businesses, and organizations can sponsor a day of service, helping fund meals while also volunteering on-site to serve guests and see the impact firsthand.
Williams says the community’s continued support is critical.
“Here in this region in northeast Pennsylvania, people are tremendously generous tremendously supportive of places like Saint Francis,” he said.
And as demand continues to rise, that generosity and the volunteers behind it remain the backbone of the mission.