| St. Anthony Foundation | |
| Type: | Charity |
| Founder: | Alfred Boeddeker, O.F.M. |
| Focus: | homelessness, poverty |
The St. Anthony Foundation is a nonprofit social service organization in San Francisco, California. They are best known for their operation of the St. Anthony Dining Room in the Tenderloin District.[1] [2] [3] It was founded in 1950 by Franciscan friar Alfred Boeddeker to serve free meals to the poor in an ordinary restaurant-like setting. The Dining Room has served as many as 2,500 plates of food a day,[4] and over thirty seven million meals since its creation. The foundation operates a residential drug and alcohol treatment program for men, the Father Alfred Center, whose residents provide volunteer labor for the Dining Hall.[5] Other social services are provided.[6] Local political figures honoring the foundation include Representative Nancy Pelosi, who served the thirty five millionth meal in 2009.[7] The Foundation's dining hall is scheduled to move to a new building in 2012.