Soup Kitchens?

Hi Folks,

I have developed a strong interest in Soup Kitchens, and how food is distributed so that it makes it’s way in to one of these places so that people can be fed. Not just Food Pantries, but I’m especially interested in the places that provide “Meal Service”.

I know that we have ATS members from all over America and the world, and I am wondering if you would help me to get a better picture of what is actually happening with Soup Kitchens at the community level.

I’d like to know:

Are there any Soup Kitchen’s near you?

If so, are they visible, or “out of the way”?

How’s the food?

How is the line?

Have they ever run out of food, either at a Food Pantry or Soup Kitchen just as you got to the head of the line?

Stuff like that.

Thanks very much, ATS, I appreciate your feedback.

originally posted by: Latro
Are there any Soup Kitchen’s near you?

Yes, several.

If so, are they visible, or “out of the way”?

The one I volunteer at is in a church.

How’s the food?

Good when I cook it. Still acceptable when other people do. We get plenty of fresh vegetables and meat to prepare and there's not a lot of boxed food although there is a good amount of canned products in the winter.

How is the line?

There's usually around 50-75 people each time.

Have they ever run out of food, either at a Food Pantry or Soup Kitchen just as you got to the head of the line?

We always have leftovers which we package up for those who want to eat the same thing the next day.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Wow. Thanks so much.

I was surprised to find that I am in a sort of "Soup Kitchen Desert" where I am at. I initially set out to find a place to volunteer, and then down the rarebit hole I went. Simply put: This community needs one badly, and I suspect the need will increase.

Good when I cook it.

I love this^ I can identify with that. I figured they'd start me washing and prepping, but my good-intentioned desire to volunteer will inevitably be overrun by the simple fact that I own the kitchen.

Anyway, I think you get that.

Thanks again. What a great service you are doing. Honestly, that's a lot of people. Can you give me any insight into how to lay hands on the food? At this point "Cosmic Horror" to me is knowing they (grocery stores) are throwing away stuff I can make taste like God.

a reply to: Latro

The supplies are coming from so many places. The local food pantry, local farms and bakeries, we have a guy who works for Mondelez so we get plenty of free stuff from them, we also take donations. The kitchen is fully outfitted so we can pretty much make anything. When it's my turn to cook I find out a day or two before and come up with a menu idea which is usually a 'one pot' type dish.

decades ago, when I lived on the streets, the soup kitchen was a much blessed respite. $1 or free if you had no money. The soup waas served to us, with crusty bread loafs. we never starved... the hari krishnas even had one, but carrot juice and custard on rice was a bit much... being homeless and often sleep deprived, made their incense and music very weird.. felt cultish, but a feed is a feed.. definitely took a while to get to the front, so id say many, many people in the line.. hari hari!

a reply to: Latro

If you're interested in the bigger picture on food getting to those in need you may wish to expand your search to meals on wheels, senior meal programs, school based programs operating through summer, and food banks. People that are in care homes may or may not be indigent and have meal subsidies as part of their care facility funding via Medicaid or Medicare. These are in many ways early intervention to prevent them ever having to be at a food bank.

Outside somewhat urban areas a soup kitchen is less practical. School lunches can be almost entirely government subsidized in some places, even while those same schools make literal millions on fast food type items on the side.

The programs may use some government funding, but could be contracted through community orgs and offer some of their own crowd sources funding.

I don't know if these facilities routinely run out, but the available materials will obviously dictate what people get. The less available the more dried and can goods are used.

I can't speak to the current situation other then I know numbers have been reportedly increasing for demand.

I'm in an rural area and meals on wheels is the ticket around here. We have a few homeless people in town, and there is several small programs for them, but for seniors who can't come to you, this is a fantastic way to assist, and you meet some really great folks. Involvement can be from delivery to cooking and packaging, to fund raising. There are quite a few ways to get involved.

Once upon a time, there was a great famine in which people jealously hoarded whatever food they could find, hiding it even from their friends and neighbors. One day, a kindly looking stranger came into a village and began asking questions as if he planned to stay for the night. “There’s not a bite to eat in the whole province,” he was told. “Better keep moving on.” “Oh, I have everything I need,” he said. “In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you.” He pulled an iron cauldron from his wagon, filled it with water, and built a fire under it. Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a velvet bag and dropped it into the water.

Stone Soup

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I know this, you did cut the sentiment short, but it is a great parable..

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

That sounds heavenly, having the fully oufitted kitchen and all of the resource streams in place. That's great with Mondelez, really good to know. I've wanted to learn more about them and this will give me a reason to dig in. I forgot how humongous they are.

I'll be honest, my brain is on fire today thinking about the details of how all of this must work. I am sort of guessing that a close connection to the pantries would need to be developed so whatever they can't give away can be prepared and consumed. Thinking about all of this end-to-end and what makes it work is beyond compelling. I bet the staffing part is a real three-ring circus, a fun one, but likely very complicated (would require a very loose approach I think to avoid the hazards of a fragile, rigid approach. I don't know).

Thanks again, I hope you don't mind if I post Qs as they come up. I love the one-pot dishes, too. I don't know if this would be in the one-pot category, more like "one-pan", but I've been wanting to nail down a good chicken & dumplings recipe. America's Test Kitchen had a good looking one that I'm going to revisit.

Have a good evening and a good supper.

a reply to: jerich0

...being homeless and often sleep deprived, made their incense and music very weird.

Thanks for sharing. That's great stuff. I totally understand how that kind of stress can distort sound (and other sensory stuff). Not hard at all to put myself right there. I'm sorry you had to experience that, but I think we can definitely share a chuckle over the sensory distrotion part. I totally hear you.

Beleive it or not, the first place I thought of right after deciding I'd like to volunteer was the Hari Krishna kitchen. I'm not a vegetarian, but I was lucky enough to work near an HK Temple that had a kitchen. I was also fortunate enough to be able to be a paying customer at the time. The thing is? I've eaten a lot of curries in my time, from all over the world. I regularly make my own, and although my go to is simple, I have experimented with all the crazy grind-your-own spices thing and making weird #e from Mongolia. But, They have all been entirely forgetable, excpet for (mine, and...) that damed tomato-based curry at the HK Temple. I can't recreate it. The flavor lives in me. I was honestly just planning on swiping their recipes.

Thing is though, my options are pretty limited around here. Frankly I am sort of wondering how a state of the union can have an open-door policy for those that can't feed themselves and then they don't feed them. No matter how you slice the politics that's just plain f'd up to me.

Thanks again for posting.

a reply to: network dude

Thank you. I'm happy to hear that you have a good system that is getting folks fed. I'm thinking that Meals On Wheels, or an organization like that, is where I will likely get a start around these parts. I'm looking forward to the people for sure.

I'm going to dig deeper to see what I can find, but it honestly is slim pickings around here and I honestly don't get it. I can go outside and see the effect of not eating on some of our most compromised folks. Homeless and with mental health issues, it's not the night time that's scariest, it's the morning, the beginning of the day. I see it on a daily basis. I just know that the attitude adjustment that comes with a full belly can make every bit of difference between a "good day" (there aren't any) and a bad day.

I just learned this recently, which is why I am trying to decide what to do about it.

Thanks again for the report from the outer-reaches. Have you tasted any of it? Just curious, I can't help but ask. I know it's weird but when you cook it's just on your mind. The food I have tasted has been a little of everything. Surprisingly, the food that was served to me when I was suffering was only fit to kill me. The best has been like jerich0's soup and crusty bread. I'd say the best is the curry, but I paid for that.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

That was my favorite food as a wee child and likely the first recipe that I tried. Several times. Pretty sure it freaked out my parents.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Yes, the numbers for demand are increasing for sure. I'm starting to learn very quickly that despite it all, we need to gently begin to rely more on simple reports from folks that are there (in other words each other. Again. Somehow.) Not sure what I'm trying to say there, but I do know that as prices go up folks around me are already naturally self-organizing themselves so that we can get good prices on ground meat, potatoes and apples, and whatever else is on sale. Just started getting texts: "Hey, XXXX is on sale at XXX". So I jumped in. It's a regular deal now. Also, one of the Pantries that I checked out today is down to hots one day a week or "Until the food runs out". Yep, that's on their website.

So, here's a bone-headed noob Q: Can the families (back to school lunches) decide where they spend the meal vouchers? I mean like, "Hey, yeah, thanks very much, but Jr. will use the voucher over here, thanks". Know what I mean? Seems impossible as I look at what i wrote there but what do you think?

I am beyond curious about the food and moving it, but I also understand that you can only expect to get what you get. I also know how satisfying a meal can be if it's prepared with love by someone else. So, Yeah, I'd want the good stuff, but I am realizing that I would have to make myself and those that want to jump in a nexus for the good stuff and I don't know how to do that beyond "Charm their pants off".

Thanks again for posting. Sincerely. More please.

a reply to: Latro

The summer feeding programs I'm aware of took a government subsidy to maintain meal service for kids in the summer. It was extended to the family as well.

Breakfast and lunch items were often packaged and could be taken with them to some degree but there was no voucher. The program fell under the USDA I believe, which can be a hassle depending on the kind of food service you intend to do. Usually for an independent local thing you'll be relying on either grants or straight donations.

A lot of the larger programs use individually packaged foods. The costs of properly training and staffing a working kitchen for more than a handful of people is difficult, so they rely on volunteers. So they get mass produced hermetically sealed preservative-filled junk and hand it out.

If you're attempting to start a program like this you can PM me and we can exchange emails. I have a fair bit of experience with licensing, planning, and the operation of food service establishments from the regulatory side. It varies state to state, but if you're rural it's probably not too overwhelming to get a license. It may even be exempt and if you have somebody walking you through the application process it would be easier. If you seriously intend to start a program I'll provide whatever help I can and will find the location specific regulations you need to be aware of.

I know the two big names around here are City Union Mission and Harvesters. Harvesters is the big food pantry operation. They're hooked up with all the local grocery chains and work with a lot of local food drives. I know you can often go into a store and find pre-packaged donation bags that you can just pull off a shelf or display for a specified amount $5 or $10 that has items they are in particular need of already inside. They will do that when they have a definite need not being supplied by random donations or you can pull scan coupons off pads at checkout to add to your own total for just a monetary donation. That gives them flexibility to supply what they're short of.

City Union Mission is probably more like what you're after. They operate close to downtown and mainly serve the homeless in that area. They're a full service mission I think. They will work with all kinds of service groups for staffing, My son's private school would spend a day in service there for example helping with the kitchen.

We also have Salvation Army and smaller groups that operate their food pantries and similar. We also have Meals on Wheels.

originally posted by: jerich0
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I know this, you did cut the sentiment short, but it is a great parable..

I wasn't going to post the whole Grimm's fairy tale, that was just a teaser. I don't want to spoil it for those who might try the link and read the rest.

I wouldn't be surprised to know not many people today have heard that story. It's a classic tale that fits this thread well well IMO. It will be a good one for when hyper inflation and famines begin.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

There are a lot of kids who don't know the classic fables and fairy tales. It's just one more facet of our culture that's being lost.

a reply to: ketsuko

It's just one more facet of our culture that's being lost.

It sure is. Pretty sure there is real, actionable knowledge in the stories that is lost and then not lost again. Maybe out of necessity, I am thinking, because something tells me that story just got some new shoes.

Getting back to your previous post soon, I just sort of got myself all worked up over this and I'm down shifting for the evening. I appreciate you being here.

a reply to: Ksihkehe

Hey thanks,

This post has been the icing on the Soup Kitchen cake for today, for me. Damn. Well? I think I have had a pretty good go of it for Day 1. All I can say is that despite how complex it looks, I'm pretty sure I've dealt with worse. So, yes, by the way, I'm just going to experimentally let this idea take over and see where this goes. Go out. Get a volunteer position, and start to see what's going to happen. So yeah, I've gone ahead and let it become "Hey kids, let's start a Soup Kitchen".

That being said, for the sake of signing off for this evening, Yeah, you bet. If this gets real you will be the person I go to first. How could I possibly say no? I know that might seem weird, but but weirdness is a beacon in the dark. Most of the time.

Now it's really time to stop.