Hungry for food or hungry for love? Learning from a Belgian soup kitchen

Despite recent progress in reducing poverty, the fight against hunger remai ns a challenge in the United States. Charities have set up soup kitchens in order to reach out to the poor and hungry. Unfortunately, the way in which some soup kitchens are run is not appealing. One may wonder if waiting in line for a bowl of soup provided out of a van contributes to self-esteem. B eyond hunger, the poor suffer from isolation and a lack of respect from soc iety. It may be worth looking at the experience of other countries that pro vide hunger relief in a more humane manner. In this paper, we analyze the e xperience of a soup kitchen in Namur, Belgium, whose cozy atmosphere has le d its customers to come as much for socialization as for food.