Our History

The Nashua Soup Kitchen was founded by a small group of concerned women and men who noticed there were hungry people in Nashua. The soup kitchen served soup and sandwiches three days a week.

The Nashua Area Shelter for the Homeless was founded. The first shelter was on Temple Street and had only eight beds. In 1986 the Shelter Committee purchased a building on Ash Street, expanding our capacity to 20 beds.

Lisa Christie was hired as the Nashua Soup Kitchen’s first executive director. Six weeks later the soup kitchen merged with the Nashua Area Shelter for the Homeless, and NSKS was created.

NSKS established an Employment Advocacy Program to help our clients help themselves.

Through our Backpacks for Back to School program, we distributed more than 1,600 backpacks filled with school supplies to children in need.

Our annual dinner auction was the most successful fundraiser to date, raising $122,000.

We purchased our first truck to allow us to pick up more food from the NH Food Bank, USDA, and local restaurants.

Our fundraiser “Run for Food and Shelter” is the first road race in New Hampshire to be designated “green” by the Council for Responsible Sport. We are a certified Silver event.

In August, we broke all records for meals served in one month. We served 1,755 breakfasts and 4,384 dinners. That was a total of 6,139 meals served!

Through our Back to School program, we distributed 1,958 brand new backpacks filled with school supplies. The Nashua Board of Education and the Superintendent of Schools recognized our program at their monthly meeting for outstanding accomplishment and outstanding leadership.

The VFW hears about our search for a new building to expand our soup kitchen, food pantry, and programs, and calls to tell us they need to downsize while we need to upsize, offering us their building at 2 Quincy Street. We begin our capital campaign with Lori Lambert and G. Frank Teas as our co- chairs, raising over a quarter of a million dollars by year end.

We collaborate with Greater Nashua Mental Health (Community Council) on a small permanent housing program for chronically homeless adults. A week before the holidays two of our shelter guests move into their own apartments.

By December, we successfully meet our capital campaign goal of $2 Million. Planning for renovations and the move continues.

We begin providing showers and laundry facilities for those without access to these basic needs.

Nashua Meals for Kids kicked off in June after school recessed for the summer. NSKS started delivering twice a week, 6 cooked, frozen dinners to children in the Dr. Crisp Elementary school area who were eligible for free lunch.

In partnership with Saint Patrick’s Parish, NSKS announces its plans to convert the former Spring Street Sacred Heart School into emergency shelter by 2022.

In order to reach individuals experiencing homelessness who are unable, for whatever reasons, to come to the soup kitchen or shelter, NSKS creates an outreach program to deliver essential supplies, from tents to pet food, in the community, and to help people connect with needed services.

NSKS celebrates its 40th anniversary and launches the $8.5 million Spring Street Forward campaign for a new shelter at 35 Spring Street. The new shelter will more than double our capacity and enable us to offer a wide range of on-site services to help clients secure stable housing.