Brother's Keeper Opens Its Expanded Soup Kitchen With a Ribbon Cutting and Open House Nov. 17 in Ocala

Brother's Keeper, the outreach ministry of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, holds a ribbon cutting and open house for its newly expanded soup kitchen on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, at 320 NW 10th St. in Ocala. According to the organization's event flyer, doors open at 3:30 p.m., the ribbon is cut at 4 p.m., and tours of the new kitchen run until 6 p.m. The flyer says the space is designed to help Brother's Keeper prepare more meals and serve more people across Marion County.

The event is listed on the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership calendar and on Brother's Keeper's Facebook page. The flyer names Seacoast Bank as the presenting sponsor. Our events calendar listing has the details in one place.

At a Glance

• What: Ribbon cutting and open house for Brother's Keeper's expanded soup kitchen


• When: Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026; doors open 3:30 p.m., ribbon cutting 4 p.m., tours until 6 p.m.


• Where: Brother's Keeper, 320 NW 10th St., Ocala


• Cost: the event flyer does not list an admission fee


• Host: Brother's Keeper, a ministry of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church; presented by Seacoast Bank


• Soup kitchen phone: (352) 789-8139

What is being built at 320 NW 10th Street?

The City of Ocala's permit portal shows two permits for the kitchen at this address. A building permit described as "Brothers Keeper Kitch Buildout" (BLD26-0512) was issued on Sept. 4, 2026, and a site permit described as "Brothers Keeper Kitchen Reno" (SITE26-0141) was issued on Sept. 15, 2026. Benmar Construction LLC is the contractor on both. As of Oct. 22, the portal lists both permits as issued, and neither shows a final inspection date.

320 NW 10th St. is the address Brother's Keeper gives on its contact page, and it is home to the Brother's Keeper Thrift Store. Older city permits for the building describe it as a NAPA Auto Parts building. Brother's Keeper took out interior demolition and renovation permits there in 2019.

Where does Brother's Keeper serve meals now?

The soup kitchen page on Brother's Keeper's website says lunch, with drinks and pastries, is served from noon to 12:30 p.m. every day of the year at its kitchen in the Interfaith Emergency Services complex, 435 NW 2nd St. Google Maps lists the soup kitchen at the same address. The website's volunteers page gives the lunch window as noon to 1 p.m.

The flyer calls the 10th Street space a "new soup kitchen." Neither the flyer, the CEP listing nor the Brother's Keeper website says whether or when the daily lunch will move from NW 2nd Street to NW 10th Street. The soup kitchen's number is (352) 789-8139.

Will Brother's Keeper serve Thanksgiving dinner in 2026?

The soup kitchen page says Brother's Keeper serves a full turkey dinner on Thanksgiving and a ham dinner on Christmas, and holds cookouts on Memorial Day, Labor Day and the Fourth of July. Its holiday assistance page says the soup kitchen serves about 450 Thanksgiving meals. Brother's Keeper also raises money to give up to 250 families a bag of groceries for a Thanksgiving meal, and it looks for volunteer drivers to deliver Thanksgiving dinners to people who are homebound.

Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, nine days after the new kitchen opens. Brother's Keeper's website still gives 435 NW 2nd St. as the soup kitchen's location, so anyone planning to go should call (352) 789-8139 to check where and when the 2026 dinner will be served. Other ideas for the holiday are in our Thanksgiving in Ocala guide, and holiday office and trash schedules are in Thanksgiving 2026 closures in Ocala and Marion County.

At Christmas, the holiday assistance page says Brother's Keeper collects food and new toys for more than 300 families, including 600 children. It runs an angel tree and raises money to buy a Christmas ham for each family.

How can people volunteer or donate?

Volunteers prepare and serve the daily lunch, working from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The soup kitchen page asks new volunteers to arrive at 8 a.m. and check in with Soup Kitchen Director Sister Concepta, or to call (352) 789-8139 first. It welcomes one-day and regular volunteers, including students working on community service hours.

Food donations are accepted daily from 8 to 11:30 a.m. The most-needed items listed are spices, dressings and oils, canned fruits, soups and vegetables, spaghetti and sauce, egg noodles, iced tea and lemonade mixes, ground coffee, peanut butter, and proteins such as ground beef, cooked ham, pork loin, chicken leg quarters and canned tuna. The Brother's Keeper website also takes donations online.

The thrift store accepts furniture, appliances, household goods, clothing, shoes, books and linens. Brother's Keeper says thrift store sales cover its overhead, so every donated dollar goes directly to helping the poor and homeless. More local groups are listed in our guide to nonprofits and charities in Ocala.

Who runs Brother's Keeper?

According to its About page, Brother's Keeper was founded in 1970 to provide Christmas toys for poor families at Blessed Trinity Catholic Church. The thrift store and soup kitchen followed soon after. It now serves the wider community through emergency services, rental assistance, holiday assistance and a bike shop, along with the soup kitchen and thrift store. Emergency services can be reached at (352) 622-3846, the thrift store at (352) 732-7988, and the main email is info@bkocala.org.

Sources: Brother's Keeper event flyer and Facebook page; Ocala Metro CEP event listing; bkocala.org soup kitchen, holiday assistance, volunteers, about and contact pages; City of Ocala eTRAKiT permit records for 320 NW 10th St.; Google Maps listing for Brothers Keeper-Soup Kitchen. All checked Oct. 22, 2026.