The Kitchen served its first meal on October 15, 1990. It was named after the Saint, Vincent Pallotti.

A small group of people saw a sad thing happening in Oshawa. They saw that many people were hungry and had no way of eating a nutritious meal. They also saw that there were businesses who were throwing out good food. They wanted to provide a place where those who needed a meal could come.

This small group sent a letter to all the churches in Durham Region inviting them to come to a meeting at St. Mary of the People Catholic Church Hall. They expected 25 people to attend but were very surprised and pleased that 250 people attended the meeting. From that group volunteer teams were formed as well a board of directors.

The location was discussed and Downtown Oshawa was decided upon because of its central location. 51 King Street East had a vacancy in the basement but the work involved to set up a restaurant that was fire safe was a tremendous task. Many hours of planning and work went into making that basement the St. Vincent's Kitchen dining area we know today.

Bill and Sally Francis were two people who worked extremely hard to ensure the opening of St. Vincent's Kitchen. Other founding members were Myrna Lack, Father Thomas Melady and Father Richard Love.