History St. Francis Table began operation on Holy Saturday, April 10, 1982 during the period when Franciscans Friars staffed the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta. The name, St. Francis Table originated with the Franciscans who live their lives in imitation of St. Francis of Assisi. St. Francis Table was started in response to the fact that there was a need for food for the hungry on Saturday. While various churches offered food during the week, there was no food program running on Saturday. Currently, St. Francis Table feeds 300 to over 500 people every Saturday. The only requirement for the people to be fed, is that they are hungry. Several organizations including parishes, religious denominations, colleges, high schools and companies participate in preparing the food. Large groups of volunteers are encouraged to schedule their volunteer time through the Shrine office. The maximum number of volunteers that are scheduled to work each week is 40. Please contact the Church Office at (404-521-1866) if you want to schedule a group to work on a Saturday.