Our Mission

The mission of the South End Children's Cafe is to impact food security, address food equity and food justice, enhance academic success, and positively influence the physical and mental health of children by offering free healthy meals along with homework help, academic enrichment, mentoring, exercise, and the arts.

What We Offer

A young child with a wide smile leans over a wooden rail on a boat. A red life preserver is in the background, and water and trees are visible on the other side. The image has colorful graphic elements.

A Glance Into the South End Children's Cafe

In addition to serving free healthy meals, the South End Children’s Cafe values the academic and artistic enrichment of our children. During the week, the South End Children’s Cafe offers a variety of enrichment programs for our children. We aim to provide a diverse selection of programs to nurture every child’s creativity and interests.

Daily Dinner

Monday through Friday, our children, staff, and volunteers sit down and share a meal together. All meals are balanced, nutritious, and prepared from scratch with fresh and often local ingredients. Children build positive and nurturing relationships with peers and adults by sharing food, stories, and laughs around the table.

A row of black plastic meal trays containing portions of chicken, rice, and broccoli is neatly arranged on a metallic surface. A green fork graphic is positioned on the left side of the image.

A person is helping a young child with a worksheet at a table. There is a computer and various items in the background. A pencil graphic decorates the corner of the image.

Academic Support

After school, children begin with a individualized reading or homework help session with a community volunteer or staff tutor.

Enrichment and Recreation

We offer a variety of programs that are free of charge which include ballet, music, dance, and athletics. The South End Children's Cafe also has many community partners and resources that are available to our children.

An adult and child enthusiastically play with toy dinosaurs on a table, with others interacting in the background on a sports court.

Love in Action

Thank you so much to everyone who participates in the South End Children's Cafe in so many ways. YOU are the main ingredient to our recipe for success.

Our friends who have donated food, funds, gift cards, time, and well wishes to our children and families.
Friends who have coordinated food drives.
Volunteers who pick up donations for us.
Volunteers who help with other tasks like breaking down boxes, keeping our parking lot and front area clean, washing dishes, and helping out in other ways.
Our staff who join us and lead with love every day.

Volunteers who join us every day,
Our Board of Directors who is always there for our team and works to fulfill our mission.
The many restaurants, organizations, schools, churches and businesses that have donated to the Children's Cafe over the years.
Our community partners who impact the neighborhood every day.
Our children, families and community who are Love in Action.

Thank You For Everything You Do For The South End Children's Cafe