"We were created by Love,
for Love, to become Love."
(Simone Weil)
April 7, 1982 saw a small group of Catholic Worker volunteers make 65 egg salad sandwiches and pack them up in their car for distribution on Soledad Street in Salinas, an area known for abandoned buildings and abandoned lives. April of 2007 marked 25 years of service for the group that became the Franciscan Workers. This same organization of Worker Community, Board, volunteers, and donors created Dorothy's Place Hospitality Center, initiated numerous outreach projects such as Margaret’s Place and Camp St. Francis, re-envisioned an intentional community of Companions of the Way, and finally succeeded in creating an emergency shelter for street women in Salinas.
We are now in the midst of a neighborhood revitalization process facilitated by California State University Monterey Bay (the Chinatown Renewal Project). We are confidently walking into a blessed future of great possibilities for all our guests, our neighbors, the City of Salinas, and Monterey County as a whole. Although we are delighted to have served more than 1.7 million meals in 25 years, we are even more excited to have so many more opportunities to practice the Way of Love everyday!
Your participation in the life and projects of the Franciscan Workers has a direct and daily impact upon the lives of many, many people – one person at a time.
Samantha was a bright teenager living with her parents in their car on Soledad Street. She used to come into
Dorothy’s Place for breakfast everyday, cradling a cup of hot coffee with cream and sugar in her hands to get warm. One day after breakfast, she walked out onto Soledad Street to discover her parents had left. And they didn’t come back.
When Samantha was abandoned at age sixteen by her parents, she had no 
hope left in her life. She thought that her life story had ended. She ran from her deep inside pain to drugs and then prostitution to pay for drugs. When not in jail, she was a guest of Dorothy's Place, and slowly began to trust again and become part of our family. She finally found the courage to truly live once more. Samantha became drug free, engaged in a healthy, trusting relationship, employed and self-sustaining.
Your interest in and support of Dorothy's Place was profoundly important to Samantha, as it continues to be for countless others. We encourage you to explore our web site . . . consider the many ways in which you might be able to help or join us . . . and ponder the deep themes of Compassion, Justice, Equality, and the Way of Love that animates our lives and keeps us opening our doors and our hearts. Welcome!
Dorothy’s Kitchen
Dorothy's Kitchen opens at 8:30 in the morning for a hot breakfast for our guests, serving around 85 each day. The Kitchen also serves a hot lunch everyday of the week at 1:00. Food boxes are distributed between 10:00 - 2:00 Mondays through Fridays. We average 200 lunch meals daily.
There is no charge, obligation (other than good behavior), or discrimination. We don’t ask names or request IDs. Those that come are our guests, and are treated like family.
During the week, Dorothy’s Kitchen is staffed by the Companions of the Way, guests, and volunteers from throughout the community. Click here to volunteer! Guest volunteers play an integral role in the life of Dorothy's Place, treating it as their home, giving of themselves to help others. On the weekends, local faith communities, schools, and civic organizations take over the Kitchen operation, and we are eternally grateful. Click here for a list of weekend organizations and contacts.
The Kitchen serves the marginalized of the Salinas area. Many of these folks live on the streets, some in camps near the Salinas River, in cars or in motels. The majority of our guests are men; however there is a steady stream of women and children whom we also serve. We see many mothers with children, especially in the breakfast service, walking from neighborhoods in East Salinas. We see many seniors that come to eat and socialize with the people they know and trust. We have served approximately 1.7 million meals since our first day of service in April 1982.
Anyone is welcome to come and join in the work of Dorothy's Kitchen. It is most important to bring smiles with you and pass them out to everyone! Remember: we do try very hard to serve good food, but our real purpose is to love!
"Where there is no love, put love, and you will find love."
(St. John of the Cross)
"I follow the Way of Love. Wherever love's caravan rests, that is my religion, my faith."
(Ibn 'Arabi)
