Soup kitchens have been providing nourishment to the poor and hungry since at least the eighteenth century and remain an important component of private food relief until now. They are places where food is offered to the poor for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups.
Originally they were used to feed the military but soup houses were established throughout Europe, England and the United States to feed the poor. In London, as many as sixty thousand people were fed daily from Rumford’s soup kitchens.
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.
I’m spending my nights at the flop-house,
I’m spending my days on the street,
I’m looking for work, and I find none,
I wish I had something to eat.
Soup, soup, they give me a bowl
of soup, soup, soup. They give
me a bowl of soup.
Depression-era song (1930s)’ (eNotes.com, 2010)
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