Brother Benno's Kitchen (Original Location) - Oceanside, CA, USA

In 1983 Harold and Kay Kutler started a non-profit foundation to help the poor.  It was called the Brother Benno Foundation after Brother Benno (born Thomas) Garrity, O.S.B., a Benedictine monk at the St. Charles Priory in Oceanside.  Brother Benno had a reputation for helping the poor with food, furniture and in whatever ways he could.  He baked bread in the kitchen at the Priory and gave much of it to area merchants in exchange for goods he could distribute to those in need.  The Kutlers started a soup kitchen near downtown in this house built in 1923.  It was in operation from 1983 to 1991 at which time services were moved to a larger facility in the San Luis Rey Valley, the Brother Benno Center.  It is estimated that 470,887 meals were served at the original Kitchen, with an average of 84 meals a night the first year growing to 210 meals a night in 1991.  The original structure was rehabilitated and on October 21, 2001, the 18th anniversary of its opening, it was dedicated as an honorary historical site. 

Located at 307 Minnesota Avenue.