Saint John’s Romero House Soup Kitchen is expanding its facility to better serve the community, thanks to a $1.1 million donation from Clow Canada.
The addition will create secure storage for food, helping the organization manage donations more effectively and serve meals more efficiently.
With a 27 per cent increase in demand between 1997 and 2019—and an 80 per cent surge from 2019 to 2024—the expansion comes at a critical time.
Evelyn McNulty, executive director of Romero House, shared how the project fulfills a longstanding dream her late mother had for the organization.
“The last thing on my mother’s list was to have secure, good storage for the food coming in,” she said.
“It’s huge for me as the director and as her daughter to see the last thing on her list realized.”
Romero House has served over three million meals since its founding in 1982, providing not only food but also a place where people can feel valued and cared for.
McNulty highlighted the broad range of people who rely on their services, from seniors to working individuals struggling to make ends meet.
“There’s a misconception that the only ones who use places like this are people with no income,” she explained.
“There’s people who come here that work. But they work and they make minimum wage and they make enough money to pay their rent and that’s it. There’s no money left.”
She also reflected on the deeper hope behind their mission.
“It’s always been Romero House’s hope since we began that we would eventually not be needed,” she said.
“Unfortunately that hasn’t happened, but there’s always hope. If you don’t have hope, you have nothing.”
Rick Benoit, president of McWane Canada, spoke about the $1.1 million donation provided by Clow Canada, a subsidiary of McWane.
As part of the parent company, Rick helped secure the funding that made the expansion possible.
“Putting out over 400 meals a day requires a lot of logistics… and because they rely on donations, which typically come in bulk, they need space to store all that,” he said.
Rick, who grew up in the Saint John area, shared how personally rewarding it has been to support Romero House.
“It feels good to be able to provide this kind of funding to such a deserving group of people,” he added.
The expansion will also help Romero House continue initiatives born during the pandemic, such as its takeout service, which now supports seniors and others who may feel uncomfortable dining inside.
Volunteers remain at the heart of the operation, which Evelyn describes as a place full of life, resilience, and compassion.
Construction on the addition is expected to be completed by early summer.
As Romero House enters this new chapter, it remains a cornerstone of care and dignity for Saint John residents
