Cathedral Kitchen is a community meal provider in Camden, NJ, providing 400 to 800 meals daily to those in need. In addition to provided daily meals in a sit-down style of service, Cathedral Kitchen provides medical services, a laundry, and a training academy for teaching cooking and food service training to local kids. A large porch structure with a translucent roof provides cover to those waiting to enter. A large communal wash fountain near the main entrance encourages everyone to wash up before entering for Dinner. The Kitchen is designed with plenty of storage to accommodate large quantities of donated food. The Kitchen is also designed to allow volunteers to assist with plating and serving, as well as, accommodate the free training classes in food service.

This new 12,500 SF facility is designed to meet LEED criteria as a “green” facility. The majority of light, approximately 90% is provided naturally through windows and clerestory roof panels. Mechanical systems were designed to take advantage of natural ventilation instead of 100% air conditioning. The building orientation is designed to capture outdoor sun for day lighting and solar heat in the winter months while roof overhangs minimize heat gain in the summer months. Sustainable interior finishes include recycled flooring made of discarded tires, FCS certified wood veneers and low VOC carpets and paints. Rainwater is diverted from roof gutters to planting beds for irrigation, and the site itself is an urban Brownfield site which was redeveloped for the project.