Our Story

In 1981, Phyllis Hulderman saw a news story about hunger and soup kitchens,  and wondered — does Fostoria have this need too? After visiting the Cherry Street Mission in Toledo and researching local  welfare statistics, she had her answer. On January 24, 1983, the Sharing  Kitchen opened in the basement of Fostoria's Lutheran Church with $300 in  donations and eleven guests. Within months, fifteen area churches had joined the effort. By mid-1983,  the kitchen was averaging 150 people per serving day. In 1990, the Sharing Kitchen purchased its permanent home at 321 N. Main  St. — a downtown location chosen deliberately so that guests who walk or  bike could always reach it. Over the next three decades, Phyllis volunteered  more than 40 hours every single week, without pay, for over 40 years. The Sharing Kitchen grew into far more than a meal service. Guests received  donated food to take home, health screenings, flu shots, and connections to  housing and job resources. If just one person gets a warm meal, Phyllis  would say, it's worth it. In late 2023, after four decades of tireless service, Phyllis passed away.  Her family and the Board of Trustees have stepped up to carry her mission  forward — and to build the new home she always knew this community deserved. Since opening day in 1983, the Sharing Kitchen has counted more than 6,500  days of service and delivered over 625,000 warm meals to the people of  Fostoria and the surrounding tri-county region. We are not done.