Early preview. We are building this in the open. The list is still growing, so some groups are missing and some details may be out of date.
cooking, potlucks, home brewing, food co-ops
51 groups so far
Narrow these down by cost, days and more
Student group 路 Online
Penn's branch of a national student group that studies and promotes plant-based eating for the sake of animals, the environment, and human health. It runs group dinners, conferences, and campus tables.
Last seen active: October 2026
Student group
Penn's student-run food magazine. Its articles cover food and recipes.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
An open group for anyone who likes to bake, at any skill level, that swaps recipes and techniques and shares its baking with others.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 Central
A ministry on South Broad Street in Center City that serves a sit-down weekday lunch to hundreds of guests, runs a clothing boutique, and offers personal care items. It was formerly Broad Street Ministry.
Last seen active: January 2025
Student group
A club for cheese lovers at any experience level. Members taste cheeses, learn about cheesemaking and pairings, and gather for cheese boards and fondue nights.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 Upper North
Neighbors in East Oak Lane who connect residents, local businesses, and groups to help the area live and work well together. Volunteers and youth prepare and deliver meals to older neighbors each week, and the group runs weekly wellness check-ins.
Last seen active: August 2025
Nonprofit 路 River Wards
A Philadelphia nonprofit that cooks meals for people in need, including unhoused neighbors, and gives them to partner programs. It also runs a four-month culinary training program for young adults who were formerly incarcerated.
Last seen active: April 2025
Nonprofit 路 West
A Philadelphia nonprofit with creative learning, cultural activities, and healthy food programs for young people and their neighbors. It runs a youth leadership cohort and community dinners, and it takes volunteers through an online form.
Last seen active: September 2026
Garden
A community food forest in Fairmount Park where neighbors plant, tend, and harvest together, with plant walks, cooking and preserving workshops, and a farmers market.
Last seen active: October 2026
Faith community 路 Central
A Center City church that gathers volunteers after Sunday worship to assemble casseroles for the University City Hospitality Coalition's free meals. Each session is listed as about 45 minutes and ends with time to visit.
Last seen active: August 2026
Faith community 路 Upper Northwest
A United Methodist congregation in Germantown that describes itself as a Reconciling Congregation, hosts a neighborhood meal with the Germantown Community Fridge, and holds a back to school drive.
Last seen active: August 2026
Program 路 Central
The Food Trust runs farmers markets in Philadelphia. Volunteers help at a market each week or in the office supporting one of its programs.
Last seen active: June 2026
Friends group 路 Lower Northwest
A nonprofit that cares for Pretzel Park in Manayunk and runs the park's Saturday farmers market with volunteers. It also hosts drum circles, concerts and kids' story time.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit
A Philadelphia group that sells locally grown produce through Black Farmers Markets and weekly produce boxes. It also keeps a garden open in West Philadelphia and runs wellness events and workshops.
Last seen active: July 2026
Faith community 路 Central
Church members and friends who cook a meal every other month for St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church in North Philadelphia, a neighborhood outreach. Anyone can come help cook and serve.
Last seen active: June 2026
Student group
Penn volunteers who pack snacks, serve hot meals, and talk with guests at a weekly soup kitchen in the Penn Hillel lobby on Sunday evenings.
Last active date not known yet
Club
A homebrewing club for beer makers in the Philadelphia area and its suburbs. It meets monthly to talk about brewing methods and beer styles, and it runs a yearly homebrew competition called HOPS BOPS.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit
A nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness and families in underserved neighborhoods. Its Community H.U.B. offers meals, a clothing closet, a food pantry, haircuts, and computer use, and volunteers help with year-round street outreach.
Last active date not known yet
Program
Volunteer bakers make homemade treats for events and partner groups. Volunteers sign up for baking shifts through a scheduling site, and groups can ask for baked goods.
Last active date not known yet
Neighborhood or civic group
A member-owned grocery on Coral Street in Kensington. The most recent news we found, from February 2023, says members raised money to reopen the store.
Last seen active: February 2023
Faith community 路 Lower Northwest
A Presbyterian church on Ridge Avenue with Sunday worship also streamed on YouTube and small programs, including a lunch series, a games and dinner night, and a men's coat drive.
Last seen active: October 2026
Program 路 River Wards
A monthly community dinner in Fishtown, open to anyone in the neighborhood, held at the Lutheran Settlement House office on Frankford Avenue.
Last seen active: April 2023
Faith community 路 West Park
A nonprofit Islamic educational center on Haverford Avenue, founded in 2000, that serves Iranian American Muslims. Its Friday night program includes prayers, a lecture and a shared dinner.
Last seen active: October 2026
Neighborhood or civic group 路 University Southwest
A member-owned natural foods store on Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. Members buy in with a one-time equity payment, get a vote in the co-op's decisions, and can give a few hours a month as working members.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 North
A North Philadelphia nonprofit with early learning and after-school programs, adult tutoring, and a meals program. Volunteers can tutor adults or help with Mercy Meals.
Last active date not known yet
Program
A yearly communal dinner in Philadelphia where several chefs cook one shared menu. Proceeds go to local groups that serve immigrant and refugee families.
Last seen active: February 2026
Garden 路 Lower North
A neighborhood-run ecology campus in North and West Philadelphia with free urban farming, education and wellness programs. It also runs a weekly market for local sellers of natural products.
Last active date not known yet
Faith community 路 Upper North
A community church in Oak Lane with Sunday worship, youth Sunday school, and community events such as a Soup and Sandwich event and a Winter Warmth Drive.
Last seen active: October 2026
Faith community 路 Central
A United Church of Christ congregation near 4th and Race streets that worships on Sunday in person and on Zoom, hosts Sunday suppers, and runs historical tours.
Last active date not known yet
Program 路 River Wards
A Sunday cooking program in Kensington for teens ages 12 to 19. Teens learn to cook, plan meals, and build life skills, and they are paid for taking part.
Last seen active: December 2023
Program 路 Central
A community kitchen at 1149 South 9th Street that cooks free meals for people in need and runs a community fridge. A 2023 news report described daily volunteer kitchen shifts.
Last seen active: January 2023
Nonprofit 路 South
A regional food bank that supplies community partners across Philadelphia and nearby counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Volunteers can pack and sort food, cook in its community kitchen, or make cards from home.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 Central
A youth-run healthy food business where high school students develop healthy food products, sell them to schools, and work with kids on cooking and hands-on learning.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 South
A small charity that gives meals and non-perishable food to older adults and people in underserved communities facing food insecurity, and offers culinary scholarships to aspiring chefs.
Last seen active: October 2020
Faith community 路 Central
An Episcopal parish on Locust Street that serves a Saturday meal called the Soup Bowl to about 140 guests each week. It also runs a food cupboard and a choir with public concerts, and holds a Newcomer Brunch.
Last seen active: September 2026
Nonprofit
A faith-based charity whose Greater Philadelphia unit uses volunteers for meals, holiday service, and disaster response. In February 2025, its volunteers served meals to first responders during the plane crash recovery and at the Eagles parade.
Last seen active: April 2025
Nonprofit 路 Lower North
A charity that gathers clothing, food and toiletries and hands them out to people who are homeless or going through hard times. Volunteers help serve warm meals and pack toiletry bags.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 Central
A Philadelphia group for women who work in food and hospitality. They offer mentoring, networking, food fairs, happy hours and workshops.
Last seen active: July 2026
Nonprofit 路 Queen Village
The Philadelphia chapter of the Slow Food movement. It runs social and learning dinners and gives a Snail of Approval award to local food businesses that meet its standards for good, clean, and fair food.
Last seen active: October 2026
Neighborhood or civic group 路 South
A community-owned grocery on South Juniper Street in South Philadelphia. Neighbors who become members own a share of the store, and anyone can shop there.
Last seen active: October 2026
Faith community 路 Central Northeast
A Lutheran congregation on Fillmore Street in Fox Chase with a Sunday 9:15 am service that includes Holy Communion. Its site has a section for newcomers.
Last seen active: October 2026
Faith community 路 Upper Northwest
A Presbyterian church on Greene Street with 10 am Sunday worship in person or on Zoom. It runs Elder Diner, a home-cooked lunch for people 55 and older, and collects supplies for blessing bags for people experiencing homelessness.
Last seen active: September 2026
Program
Free dinners open to anyone at four churches in Northwest Philadelphia. St. Martin-in-the-Fields began the program in 2012, and the four churches serve five dinners a month between them.
Last seen active: May 2019
Faith community 路 University Southwest
A progressive congregation on Chestnut Street that worships in person and on Zoom and holds a community meal on the third Saturday of each month.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A Philadelphia volunteer group that cooks and serves meals, hosts fundraisers, and gives out school supplies and winter coats, hats, and gloves.
Last seen active: April 2024
Faith community 路 South
A church-based soup kitchen on South Broad Street that serves dinner to people and families facing financial hardship, with volunteer sign up on its website.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 West
Makes meals in a home kitchen and brings them by cart to people in need around Philadelphia, and gives out clothing and other essentials.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A community development group in Mantua that serves meals through its Bread 4 Life program and helps high school seniors with college applications.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A volunteer-run group that serves free hot meals and sandwiches to people in West Philadelphia's University City, with church and campus partners hosting the meals. It also works to ease hunger and homelessness in the neighborhood.
Last seen active: August 2026
Nonprofit 路 West Poplar
A nonprofit teaching kitchen on Spring Garden Street that runs public cooking classes and nutrition education for people of all ages.
Last seen active: December 2024
Club
A member-owned food co-op in Northwest Philadelphia with a Farm Market that the public can shop. Members help run the store by volunteering their time.
Last seen active: October 2026
Includes: cooking and baking together, community meals and potlucks, home brewing, beer and wine, farmers markets and food co-ops, food adventures and tasting groups, heritage and family recipes.