KOS Arizona
Kitchen on the Street began out of a passion for helping those who cannot help themselves. Many years of volunteering in local shelters showed that children, the most vulnerable of poverty’s victims, never make it to a shelter.
In 2006, Vince, Lisa and Taylor Scarpinato felt a call to form Kitchen on the Street to serve people in need. In 2007 Kitchen on the Street began partnering with Arizona schools to provide Bags of Hope (backpacks of food) to children struggling with food insecurity. KOS currently operates from a school near 32nd Street and Bell Road, serving more than 900 children each weekend through the Bags of Hope program. This ministry has expanded to include the following services:
- Assist partner schools in establishing and maintaining clothing closets on the school campus.
- Host once per month fresh food distributions in partnerships with St. Mary’s Food Bank.
- Provide emergency food boxes (non-perishable food items) to families in need.
- Participate in after school programs with disadvantaged youth in the Paradise Valley Unified School District.
Partner Schools include:
Arroyo Elementary, Acacia Elementary, Imagine Avondale, Imagine Bell Canyon, Cactus Wren Elementary, Imagine Camelback, Imagine Cortez Park, Larry C. Kennedy Elementary, Palomino Primary, Palomino Elementary, Andalucia Middle School, John Jacobs Elementary, Maryland Elementary, Moya Elementary and Sahuaro Elementary.
KOS Texas
In 2010 the De La Luz and Cousin families felt a call to serve children in the San Antonio area. Friendship and love in Christ brought these families to Kitchen on the Street and forged the expansion of KOS to Texas!
Years of volunteering with children and faithful service to churches and non-profit organizations coupled with a true servant’s heart equips these families to serve the hungry of Texas. KOS Texas currently operates from Los Angeles Heights Presbyterian Church and serves children from Fenwick Elementary and Ben Franklin. They are in the process of becoming a partner agency with the San Antonio Food Bank and look forward to providing more services to the San Antonio community as they become available.
