Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen $3.9M Expansion Project Kicks Off

NEW HAVEN, CT — Wall-breaking downtown. It's not what you think.

Tuesday the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen, known as D.E.S.K, held a “wall breaking ceremony,” kicking off its renovation project at 266 State St.

Since 1987, the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen has been serving individuals experiencing homelessness or living in poverty with food assistance and a variety of other programs and services, including operating New Haven’s first Downtown Drop-in & Resource Center since 2021.

The $3.9 million capital renovation project, financed through a combination of myriad city, state, federal and private funds including $1.4 million in HUD funding, is described as a project that "will transform the facility into a more comprehensive homelessness services hub."

The renovations include the building of a full medical clinic, a new commercial kitchen, and additional offices and programming space to meet the needs of staff and community members, among other improvements.

More information about the project can be found at deskct.org/capital and the expected completion date is projected to be in the summer of 2024.