The History of Jubilee Kitchen

In 1978 Norm Connors formed the Jubilee Kitchen Committee through the Thomas Merton Center.

By appealing to corporations, unions, churches, and individuals, a year later, Sister Liguori and Joyce Rothermel were able to start Jubilee Soup Kitchen at its current location on November 12, 1979, serving fifteen people with ten gallons of vegetable soup on opening day.

Jubilee Soup Kitchen extended its five-day a week operation to Saturdays and Sundays, and has been open 365 days a year since then

Jubilee Soup Kitchen incorporated and became Jubilee Association, Inc.Marilyn Sullivan from Community Human Services opened Jubilee’s Health Clinic. The welfare laws changed so that able-bodies single people were dropped from the welfare rolls. As a result, Jubilee guests became younger. Jubilee Kitchen began providing vouchers for overnight housing at local shelters. Senator Edward Kennedy visited Jubilee Kitchen to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of his brother John’s assassination and retrace his brother Robert’s trip through Appalachia in the 1960s.

Jubilee finished renovating the second floor of its building and opened its Day Care Center with recreational activities, a reading room, shower and laundry. G.E.D classes also began.

Summer programs began for neighborhood children in cooperation with Hill House. Homeless Students Initiatives also started at the same year.

Knowing that Pittsburgh has lots of football fans, Jubilee Association started its Souperbowl Sunday fund-raiser in parishes throughout the diocese.

Job Corner started operating, helping people to seek entry-level jobs by assisting with resume preparation and providing bus tickets.

Atkins program began to help Jubilee Association’s guests match their skills with available employment opportunities. Jubilee’s after-school program began to assist children after they finished school each day.

Jubilee purchased the Soup Kitchen building from the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Parents as Teachers program was also initiated in that year. After Senator John Heinz III died in an airplane accident in 1991, his wife Teresa Heinz provided money to build the John Heinz Family Center adjacent to Jubilee Soup Kitchen.

The John Heinz Family Center dedication ceremony was held in November.

Jubilee started offering English as a Second Language (ESL) and computer literacy classes.

The Curtis Davenport Memorial Scholarship fund started to offer tuition to local private schools for selected children who attended Jubilee’s after-school program.

Jubilee Kitchen celebrated its twentieth anniversary by renovating an abandoned house on Dunseith Street. Jubilee gave the “new” home to a single mother and her son. A house on Moultrie Street was also renovated and was given to a single mother and her two children.

The John Heinz Child Development Center opened in 2000, caring for infants six weeks to five years of age.  The center continues to maintain a quality star rating of 4 out of 4 stars.

The Jacqueline fund was established to provide college tuition for Jubilee’s after-school children. The second floor of the John Heinz Child Development Center was renovated as well as the first floor of the Child Development Center, Jubilee also started accepting infants for day care in that year.

Jubilee started its Latino outreach program. The South Park Runners also began their annual Jubilee race/walk.

Jubilee Association celebrated its twenty-fifth Anniversary

Jubilee launched JubileeSoupKitchen.org

Started our Preventing Homeless Program Keeping people in their own homes presents the disruption of homelessness and preserves the stability and continuity in the lives of our guests.

A job specialist joined our staff providing assistance in getting and keeping a job.

Jubilee Pantry extends service to disabled persons living in the Glen Hazel apartments.

Jubilee Soup Kitchen launches new website!