Working in a Soup Kitchen

Once or twice a week, the members of the Rome community volunteer at a soup kitchen near St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome. The soup kitchen is organized by a group from the Catholic Church. They serve hundreds of people lunch each day. The people are low income and homeless citizens and also many immigrants from Africa and the Middle East. We help by cleaning tables and trays, refilling water pitchers, serving food, providing salt and pepper as requested and checking documentation as they enter. We also have many opportunities to socialize with the people and get to know them. Other volunteers include nuns from various orders and high school student groups. The groups of students usually volunteer for one whole week, while the other volunteers are scheduled one or two days a week over a long period of time.