Our History

35 years of warmth and food

The Trinity Jubilee Center, now a secular non-profit, was originally a project of the Trinity Episcopal Church. The Church’s Urban Ministry Training Center (UMTC) opened in 1991 in the hall beneath the church. Three meals a week were cooked by staff, volunteers, and nuns; emergency food filled the pantry.

Established by the Episcopal Church, Jubilee Centers exist across the United States and are a “social justice ministry of advocacy and service for the poor and oppressed.” In 2001 the UMTC was recognized as the first Jubilee Center in Maine. As programs continued to grow and new programs were added the newly-renamed Trinity Jubilee Center officially incorporated as a separate, secular 501(c)3 non-profit in 2001. The Center today continues to rent the basement of the church.

After 2001 the Center continued to grow, becoming a United Way agency and hiring its first full-time Executive Director. The informal practice of allowing people to come in out of the cold while meals were prepared officially became a Day Shelter, now open year round. As refugees began to arrive in the city, they began participating in programs. The Soup Kitchen expanded to prepare lunches Monday-Friday, now serving over 30,000 meals per year. The Food Pantry expanded to include a Diaper Bank, now distributing over 40,000 diapers per year. Services expanded again with the addition of the Free Clinic, providing medical attention to those in need.

The Center is now open five days a week and operates six programs:

• Soup Kitchen
• Food Pantry and Diaper Bank
• Day Shelter
• Free Clinic
• Employment Navigation Services
• Resource Center

More than 4,000 people are served by these programs every year