Hot Lunch

Paul’s Place serves a hearty, nutritious meal five days a week for anyone in need. Paul’s Place began solely as a soup kitchen, and the number of meals served each year has grown steadily in 25 years of service. In FY09, Paul’s Place served more than 69,000 meals – nearly double the number of meals served in 2000. Our emphasis on nutrition ensures that our Hot Lunch guests eat at least one balanced meal a day. Our Hot Lunch program opens the doors to other opportunities for our neighbors in need – 65% of Hot Lunch guests access other programs Paul’s Place offers.

Emergency Food Pantry

Paul’s Place provides boxes filled with three days of food for 120 families each month who cannot afford to buy groceries in partnership with the Department of Social Services and the Maryland Food Bank. Paul’s Place also distributes bread, produce, and non-perishable food to our Hot Lunch guests; expanded food storage space, completed during renovations, has increased our capacity to provide food for families to prepare at home

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Market Place

The Market Place (formerly the Clothing Bank) at Paul’s Place is open three days a week for community members to shop for gently-used clothing and household items for themselves and their families at no cost. In FY09, the Market Place was open for just over 5,400 shopping visits – more than ever before. The redesigned Market Place, opened in October 2006, has clothing and display racks and a waiting area that give it the look and feel of a department store, complete with a designated clothing sorting area for volunteers. The changes to the Market Place improve the experience of shopping for our guests and enable us to serve more shoppers a day

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Laundry

Paul’s Place volunteers will wash up to four loads of laundry per week for a family, in exchange for one hour of volunteer service. The laundry service volunteer washes, dries, and folds the clothing, using laundry detergent and dryer sheets provided by Paul’s Place. In FY09, volunteers washed over 1,000 loads of laundry for community members.

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Emergency Assistance

Paul’s Place provides emergency assistance to prevent eviction or utility cut-offs in partnership with the Fuel Fund of Maryland, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Baltimore Gas & Electric. In FY09, Paul’s Place maintained its emergency utility assistance program for the first and third Fridays of the month serving residents of the 21223 and 21230 zip codes. 122 evictions and 166 utility cut-offs were prevented in FY09.

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Affordable Housing

Paul’s Place is partnering with Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity to purchase and renovate or rebuild houses on our block of Ward Street in order to address the need for truly affordable housing options in our gentrifying neighborhood. With Ward Street Stabilization funds raised through The Campaign for Paul’s Place, Paul’s Place has helped Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity acquire 10 properties for renovation. To date, 6 new homeowners have moved to our block as a result of this unique partnership.

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Holiday Programs

On the day after Thanksgiving day, Paul’s Place serves a traditional turkey dinner and invites the entire community to join our Thanksgiving celebration. In FY09, Paul’s Place served just over 250 Thanksgiving dinners. Paul’s Place also distributes baskets filled traditional holiday foods, including a turkey or ham, and bags of food that do not require cooking (for the homeless in our community) at Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. In FY09, Paul’s Place distributed 115 Thanksgiving baskets and 220 holiday baskets. In addition, adults “shop” for gifts for their children, and children make gifts for their parents at our Holiday Gift Shop. In FY09, 120 families shopped for over 3,200 gifts.

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