Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK) serves over 4,000 people experiencing homelessness or living in poverty annually by providing food assistance and services that promote health, community, and equity. DESK is a progressive and forward-thinking organization.
Over the years, our program and services have grown to respond to an increase in the need with more complex services, progressive strategies, and empathic approaches. Originally a program of Downtown Cooperative Ministries, DESK was incorporated as an independent, non-denominational organization in 1989. In 2003, we expanded to serve dinner five nights per week and added a weekly Food Pantry program. In 2021, DESK opened New Haven’s first low-barrier, Downtown Drop-in & Resource Center for people experiencing unsheltered homelessness at 266 State Street.
As we look toward the future, we are creating innovative approaches to move our Guests beyond homelessness and poverty. Through collective impact and collaborative strategies, DESK will ensure that our people have the resources needed to reach stability and a greater well-being. In this way, we are all fostering a truer sense of equity in Greater New Haven.
