Cathedral Kitchen, the largest congregate feeding program in Camden, N.J., has been serving meals to the poor and hungry since 1976. This month alone, the organization will serve 8,000 meals. For much of its history, the nonprofit operated out of the gymnasium of a former Catholic high school with food operations contained to a tiny kitchen. In October 2008, after much fundraising, Cathedral Kitchen cut the ribbon on its new home, a 15,000-square-foot facility designed by DAS Architects of Philadelphia, which includes a 2,500-square-foot commercial kitchen and a dining room with space for nearly 300 diners per seating.  With more space, Cathedral Kitchen can now expand its offerings, and it has already launched a culinary arts job-training program. Case-management and health-care programs are planned for the future.  

There is another way the organization is benefitting the community and operating more efficiently.  Its new building is “green.”  Designed to achieve U.S. Green Building Council LEED-certified status, the soup kitchen accessed today’s most-innovative designs to help maximize cost savings and efficiency.

The new dining room has space for nearly 300 diners per seating.

From the start, DAS Architects made the necessary steps to position Cathedral Kitchen as a certified green facility by requiring that 20 percent of building products brought to the site were manufactured locally, reducing trucking and transportation costs. The design plans also called for the facility to be built on a site where an abandoned building once stood, allowing Cathedral Kitchen to reclaim land and rejuvenate the area.   

Recycled materials were used to build flooring for the new facility. To keep electricity bills low, efficient appliances and lighting were installed throughout the space. In the summer months, Cathedral Kitchen benefits from light color metal roofing, which helps reflect heat.  Outside, drought-resistant landscaping is irrigated by water runoff from the roof.  

Natural light is available in 75 percent of the soup kitchen’s interior space, both saving energy by reducing use of artificial light as well as providing guests with views and a sense of well-being. Cathedral Kitchen reused table and chairs donated by local businesses to furnish the new facility. By recycling, rather than buying new, they kept materials out of landfills.

There are other ways Cathedral Kitchen’s new, green facility is making a positive impact not only on the environment but also on the community. The new facility has more storage space enabling the soup kitchen to accept more food donations. Cathedral Kitchen also has the opportunity to prepare a wider variety of meals with more fresh, nutritional ingredients than their small kitchen had once allowed. Food products are able to be purchased in bulk and stored in new commercial walk-in refrigerators and freezers.   

The layout of the new dining room allows for an increased number of volunteers to efficiently prepare and serve meals. As a result, clients are served more quickly --  increasing the turnaround time between seatings and allowing more people to be fed per meal.      

“There are a lot of ways to do good work in your community,” Talarico says. “Sometimes, it’s providing a unique and special dining experience for guests in need. Sometimes it’s designing and operating in a way that not only benefits you but also the environment.  Happily, in the case of Cathedral Kitchen, it’s both.”

Sidebar: Cathedral Kitchen Project Team

Architect/Interior Designers: DAS Architects Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.
Contractor: Clemens Construction, Philadelphia, Pa.
MEP Engineer: Phiscon Enterprises Inc., Audubon, N.J.
Civil Engineer: Marathon Engineering & Environmental Services Inc., Swedesboro, N.J.
Structural Engineer: O’Donnell & Naccarato Inc., Philadelphia, Pa.
Kitchen Designer: JEM Associates, Pleasantville, N.J.

The Recipe for Green

* Reclamation of site of former abandoned buildings 
* Bicycle storage, changing rooms, and public transportation are available; possible future shuttle bus * and dedicated staff car-pooling spaces.
* Landscape areas added to reduce solar heat due to shading.  
* Light color metal roofing reflects heat during summer months. 
* Site and exterior lighting is designed to limit light spill.
* A portion of the stormwater runoff is drained into landscape beds to minimize irrigation requirement.
* Low-flow plumbing fixtures with automatic controls reduce water usage.
* Storage facility for collecting and storing recyclables.
* Construction waste was managed and recycled.
* Majority of interior finish products have recycled content. 
* A minimum of 20 percent of the building products are manufactured locally.
* Smoking is prohibited in building.
* 75 percent of interior spaces offer natural light and views.