Come in and be welcome!

Open every Friday from 1 to 5pm, September through June, the Friday Café is a space where homeless and housed neighbors can meet, relax, and break bread together.

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Our Mission

The Friday Café is a welcoming space where homeless and housed neighbors can gather and get to know each other. It offers food and coffee, rest and resources to people living on the margins – but most importantly it offers community. At the Friday Café, people experiencing a wide variety of life circumstances can relax, share a meal and talk together as friends.

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Testimonials

Here’s what our guests and volunteers are saying about the Friday Cafe.
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It’s nice to be treated with respect and dignity. Always good food and company.

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Thank you for everything. I don’t know where I’d be without the Friday Café. I wake up happy every Friday, thanks to you all.

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This Café has been a lifesaver for me. It’s a day that I don’t have to worry about where or how I’m going to eat. The community of volunteers and guests are the most kind and beautiful people.

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Yo tengo mucho hambre, y aqui la comida es muy rica, y me siento muy tranquilo. Gracias. I’m very hungry, and here the food is very delicious, and I feel at peace.)

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I’ve been going to the Friday Café for over 2 years. I struggle a lot keeping a roof over my head. I’m a street survivor. Without the help and support I get from the Friday Café I wouldn’t be able to keep my housing. God bless.

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I like the Friday Café cuz it gives street people the chance to rest and regroup. The food is excellent, and keeps people from stealing food, or starving from the lack of it. It provides clothes so people don’t freeze. It provides shelter for 4 hours so people can get out of the weather. It even has some mattresses so exhausted people can sleep safely for a few hours. They also help people with resources of all kinds so they can better themselves. God bless the Friday Café.

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I look forward to participating in Friday Café more than anything all week long. The food is always fantastic, which is something I don’t always get to experience anymore. Friday Café gives me faith in humanity, and is a bright spot and a beacon of hope in my life.

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I love the Friday Café. Healthy variety, home-cooked food. Delightful. Thank you.

Community Partners

The Friday Café is a program of and for the Cambridge community. We want to offer a special thanks to the following organizations for their ongoing support.
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Leadership Team

Rev. Kate Layzer

Director & Founder

Kate Beers

Carmon Davis

Laurie Friedman

Devin Hansen

Rev. Tom Hathaway

Barbara McLean

Neil Peterson

Susan Reynolds

Alex Steinert-Evoy

Volunteer

Whoever you are and whatever your gifts, there is a place for you to serve at the Friday Café

Kitchen Shift

11:00am-2:00pm

Kitchen volunteers transform our donated foods into a feast. Under the direction of the kitchen manager, you help will prep soups and salads, and think of creative ways to use the ingredients we receive.

Opening Shift

12:00pm-2:30pm

Opening shift volunteers set up and ready the hall for our guests. After our doors open, they help serve food, manage donations, and do other tasks that keep the café running smoothly!

Closing Shift

2:15pm-5:15pm

Closing shift volunteers begin about halfway though our day. They serve food, manage donations, and, at the end of the day, help put away tables and chairs.

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Cook

At its heart, the Friday Café is a community that breaks bread together. Your food donations are what make that possible.

Are you a master macaroni and cheese maker? A gumbo guru? A soup savant? Whatever your gift, we need your culinary expertise!

If you’re interested in cooking something for the guests of the Friday Café, we ask that you sign up by clicking the button below. Then, on the day of, please drop your delicacy off at the kitchen of First Church in Cambridge by 12pm.

 We can nourish our community better together.

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Contact

Don’t hesitate to reach out – we’d love to hear from you!

Email Us

kate@thefriday.cafe

Call Us

617-547-2724

Visit Us

11 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138