Memphis’s longest-running soup kitchen feeds souls On Apr 21, 2021 St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen, believed to be the oldest continuously run soup kitchen in the United States, partners with corporations, local students from elementary school to college, parishioners and others, who volunteer and donate to serve 200 to 300 of the most vulnerable people in Memphis, Tenn., every day. Share Emily Dagostino Six days a week, Martin Johnson starts his morning at 3 a.m. at St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen in Memphis, Tennessee, with prep work on soup and coffee. By midmorning, the line to the kitchen is snaking out the door of the building, sometimes as far as 50 yards. When the doors close at 10 a.m., somewhere between 200 and 300 of the most vulnerable people in Memphis will have received soup, coffee, pastries, sandwiches, and a treat for the road.