Restaurant-style soup kitchen serves patrons with dignity

At Kansas City Community Kitchen, instead of waiting in line for their meal, visitors are shown to a table and served by a waiter.

For those who have fallen on hard times, visiting food banks and soup kitchens can be an embarrassing necessity, and the experience can have a horrendous effect on people’s self-worth. Now, a soup kitchen in Kansas City, Missouri, is attempting to combat this by rethinking the way it operates. At Kansas City Community Kitchen, instead of waiting in line for their meal, visitors are shown to a table and served by a waiter.

The Kansas City Community Kitchen is run by local non-profit Episcopal Community Services, and was revamped earlier this year to create a more dignified experience. Volunteers cook and serve meals with donations from the local food bank. The organization serves hot lunch for three hours Monday to Friday and expects to add a breakfast service later this year. Depending on supplies, the Kitchen is often able to offer its 150-300 weekly patrons a choice of meals.

We have seen other community projects such as The Solidarity Fridge in Spain, attempting to make food-sharing and donations more palatable. Could the Kansas City Community Kitchen’s setup be replicated in other cities?