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The Politics of Food: Soup Kitchen
Saturday, February 23, 10:30 a.m. - 12 noon
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
Soups are great to make year round but are especially warming and satisfying in the cooler months. They stem from the need to be resourceful...using only a small piece of meat to flavor and enrich a broth filled with potatoes or other vegetables to feed a family. Chef Shellie Kark of KitchenCue prepares a hearty White Bean and Bacon Soup with Paprika Oil. Sample it with a delicious, crusty bread. And KitchenCue has just released an entire DVD dedicated to making soups for all occasions, from hearty chowders to delicate purees and chilled soups for the heat of the summer. Recipe and samples included. For more info on Chef Kark, go to kitchencue.com. |
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A Brief History of Soup Kitchens by Patricia McGrath Morris
Soup kitchens have been providing nourishment to the poor and hungry since at least the eighteenth century. Though no longer serving solely a fare of soup and bread, they remain an important component of private food relief three centuries later. Falling in and out of favor throughout the decades, it was not until the Great Depression that there was resurgence in soup kitchens. Along with breadlines, soup kitchens became a daily part of the life of millions during the 1930s. They were immortalized in numerous poems, songs and stories. Their heyday, however, waned as government income support and food assistance programs were established. In the early 1980s, when numerous reports of increased hunger surfaced, soup kitchens once again opened in large numbers.
The modern soup kitchen meals are typically free, and unlike public food assistance programs often do not have income or other eligibility requirements. The majority of soup kitchens are affiliated with larger nonprofit organizations, most often that of churches, which usually supply the facility and equipment, financial resources, food and volunteers to staff the operation. Additional resources, most often in the form of food, are obtained from the local food bank, government commodity distribution programs, community retail outlets and community food drives. Many soup kitchens extend their assistance beyond feeding to include such services as information and referral to other social assistance programs.
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Throughout their history soup kitchens and other emergency feeding programs have frequently been met with opposition. In the early years, critics claimed that soup kitchens encouraged pauperism and contributed to the moral decay of individuals. Contemporary critics claim that, at best, soup kitchens provide a short-term Band-Aid remedy to hunger but do not get at the root causes of hunger such as poverty, low wages and affordable housing. Many soup kitchen supporters concede that their approach may offer only a short-term response to hunger, but they argue it plays a vital role in trying to meet immediate food needs of the poor.
Morris, Patricia McGrath. "An Evaluation of the Nutritional Quality of Meals Served in Soup Kitchens in New York State and an Examination of the Factors that Determine Quality." Master's Thesis, Cornell University, 1988. |
