1. Soup Kitchens
Soup kitchens in America started around 1929 when the effects of a growing depression began
to be felt. The need for soup kitchens was felt even more keenly when the tailspin in the economy
worsened in 1932, and 12 million Americans — about 25 percent of the normal labor force — were out
of work.
When soup kitchens first appeared, they were run by churches or private charities. The
Capuchin Services Center in southeast Detroit, for example, served 1,500 to 3,000 people a day. That
center opened on November 2, 1929. Volunteers of America also was important in setting up soup
kitchens all over America. By the mid-1930s, state and federal governments also were operating them.
Soup kitchens served mostly soup and bread. Soup was economical because water could be
added to serve more people, if necessary.
At the outset of the Depression, Al Capone, the notorious gangster from Chicago, established
the first soup kitchen. He started it because he wanted to clean up his shady image. Capone's kitchen
served three meals a day to ensure that everyone who had lost a job could get a meal.
Every city and town had a soup kitchen. If a hungry person happened to be out in the country,
he or she would have to travel to a nearby community to get a meal. Kitchens would either be run
outdoors, in churches, cafeterias, or service centers.
Soup kitchens still exist for homeless persons and struggling families across America. Some
organizations that had started with kitchens expanded their services. For example, Volunteers of
America is now involved with children's daycare as well as family, elder, housing, correctional and
emergency services.
Because many people lost their jobs the had to eat in breadlines and soup kitchens. Children
diseases skyrocketed. Hoboes were people looking for work and food. Hooverisms are items
associated with poverty given more optimistic and sarcastic name. An example of a Hooverism is a
Hooverville. A Hooverville is a town with houses made of cardboard. These sarcastic terms were
named after President Hoover. Another result is that many banks failed. The unemployment and
homelessness rate rise. About a fourth of the U.S. was unemployed..