Soup Kitchen

One aspect of the SNAP Challenge that I found particularly interesting was that we were required to eat once at the local soup kitchen. I had volunteered at soup kitchens in high school, but I had never eaten at one as a guest.

Kristie and I went to the Soup Kitchen together, and I was really nervous at first. I didn't know what to expect, and I was unsure of how I would feel once inside. We were told not to wear any RWU gear or to bring a nice purse, or dress nice, so that we would fit in and not prompt a lot of questions. So we left all our belongings in the car, walked in, and hoped for the best.

When we first walked in, we entered the kitchen, where we were given our grocery bags. Later at home, we discovered that the bag was filled with similar items to what we had purchased at the grocery store the day before. I think this similarity is due to the fact that these items are inexpensive and easy to make. Some of the items included canned vegetable, canned fruit, peanut butter, and canned pasta (resembling Chef Boyardee). In addition to the canned goods, we were given a choice of hot dogs or chicken, and since we had already purchased chicken, we chose hot dogs.

One interesting thing that happened while we were at the soup kitchen was that we recognized someone once we walked in. A student that we go to school with was volunteering in the kitchen. He looked at us, and we looked at him, and we are pretty sure we recognized each other, but neither of us said anything to each other. We didn't want to say hello and "blow our cover" or make it obvious that we were RWU students, and I'm sure he was confused and didn't understand why we were eating there.

Kristie and I were worried that people at the soup kitchen would try to talk to us and ask us where we were from, and that we would have to make up a story or avoid answering questions about ourselves. In fact, the opposite of that occurred. We noticed that everyone at the soup kitchen pretty much kept to themselves. There would be several people sitting at a table, but there were rarely conversations going on between them. Everyone kept to themselves for the most part.

Being at the soup kitchen and actually sitting with the people who eat there made me very sad but also hopeful at the same time. It was very sad that this many people (there were about 25-30 people there when we went) are in need of assistance when it comes to food, which is a human necessity. At the same time, the fact that they have a resource such as the soup kitchen and the food pantry are a true blessing. I commend the workers and volunteers at the soup kitchen, and at other charitable food providers, for the help that they give to so many people. In today's economy, many Americans are struggling, but it is nice to know that people in dire need are getting assistance.