Our History

In 2015, Founder/ Executive Director Tracie Killar - along with her family and community - opened the doors to the South End Children’s Cafe just blocks from one of her childhood apartments. From serving healthy meals and love out of a local church kitchen to our current space at 25 Warren Street, the Children’s Cafe has nurtured strong relationships and investments throughout the Capital Region community.

In March 2020, when the pandemic hit, the Children's Cafe pivoted from in-person programming to an Emergency Delivery Program. We served 500 healthy meals a week and groceries – volunteer-delivered to about 150 families. In March 2021, we reopened our opened our program, safely serving 40 children and youth. We have continued to serve over 120 meals a day from our kitchen.

In 2024, the South End Children's Cafe purchased a building at 33 Rensselaer Street, Albany and began renovations. On November, 2024, we moved into our new space, featuring a new commercial kitchen, gym, education center, play area, dining room, Zen room and more. We invite our community to come and take a tour of our new space. If you are interested in touring, please contact Tonya Terry, our Community Engagement Coordinator, at tonya@southendchildrenscafe.org or (518) 491-7383.