Free Hot Meal

Every Friday the Friday Night Supper Program (FNSP) provides a free hot nutritious meal to anyone who would like one. No registration or sign up is required, no questions are asked. While the majority of our guests are currently male, everyone, including women and children are welcome.

Where

Our meal is served out of the basement of the Arlington Street Church in Boston every Friday between the hours of 5:00pm-7:00pm. Guests can begin to line up in the public alley off Arlington Street at 4:30pm.

What to Expect

Our doors open up at 5:00pm. Guests come into the hall and choose their own seating. For the first hour you can have soup and juice/coffee. Sometimes we have free snacks.

At 6:00pm we serve the main meal. We will bring the meal to your table and serve you in a restaurant style. The meal always consists of meat, vegetables and a starch (potatoes, rice, or pasta). Dessert is served at 6:30pm.

At 6:00pm we close the doors so that we can serve the people who are in the hall. If you arrive after 6:00pm you will be asked to wait until we are finished serving. We will then bring a meal to you at the door at which time you can enter the hall and find a seat.

The FNSP only serves one meal to our guests on any given Friday. We do not provide second servings of the meal. However, if we have extra food at 7:00pm we will distribute this food to our guests in to go containers on a first come basis at 6:55pm.

Guests are asked to leave at 7:00pm so that we may close our doors and begin clean up.

Clothing Closet

The FNSP has a clothing closet from which we can provide clothing, shoes and toiletries. The clothing closet opens up at 6:30pm. Guests line up at the closet and our volunteers will do our best to meet your needs. We ask that guests limit their requests each week to two items of clothing so that we have enough clothing to help everyone.

Other Services

Resource Cards

The FNSP has a series of People Cards that provide information on free resources in Boston. We have one for Food and Shelter Resources, Health Care Resources and Useful Resources (Employment/Education Services, Legal Assistance etc). If you would like a copy of one or all of these resource cards, please ask our staff and/or volunteers on Fridays.

Guest Newsletter

Each month the FNSP publishes a newsletter for our guests. This newsletter contains our monthly menu, updates on what is happening at the FNSP, and other useful information. We encourage our guest to participate in this newsletter. If you would like to tell us your story or write a piece for our newsletter, please speak with our staff on Fridays.

Dining Rules at the FNSP

We ask all guests to conduct themselves in a manner that is respectful and courteous to other guests, volunteers and staff. No shouting, use of inappropriate language, drinking of alcohol, smoking or use of other drugs is permitted while you a guest at the FNSP. Any guests involved in a physical altercation will be asked to leave. A to go meal will be provided and those involved will be allowed to return the following week. At the end of the meal guests are ask not to congregate in the alley or in front of the church, but instead to move on to their intended destination. The FNSP provides one Women’s and Children’s Table. We ask that our male guests do not sit at this table.

Questions

If you have questions about any of the above, please ask for Caroline (Director) or Jenna (Kitchen Manager) on Fridays and we will be happy to help you.