by Shaun Loh
Several students and I from Temple University Rome volunteered at the Soup Kitchen with the Caritas Diocesana di Roma, a diocesan charitable organization that has been serving the city’s most vulnerable for decades.
Having just arrived in Rome two weeks earlier, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Coming from Singapore—a young country where history is drawn in decades rather than millennia—I found myself constantly awed by Rome’s marble facades and cobblestone streets as well as distracted by rich carbonara and perfectly crisp pizza. As I approached the weathered stone building near Termini Station that morning, I realized how little I understood about the food insecurity that existed alongside the city’s culinary abundance.
The Soup Kitchen
The experience was eye-opening for me, especially as I gained new insight into who comprised the clientele of the Soup Kitchen, how the operations worked, and how Italy’s welfare system works.
The morning rush began at eleven. From my position at the entrance of the kitchen collecting tickets, I watched the queue form—a diverse tapestry of human experience that defied any generic categorization of need. Many faces bore the unmistakable marks of recent arrivals: the alertness of those still learning to navigate unfamiliar streets, clothing that spoke of journeys across borders, and conversations conducted in Hindi and French that punctuated the Italian chatter. I learn that many of them might be asylum seekers in Italy and might still be in the bureaucratic process of securing documentation to seek employment and income.
Standing at the entrance of the kitchen, I witnessed countless interactions that revealed the human complexity behind the institutional process. Each person approached with their small white ticket. The tickets themselves told stories; tucked into prayer books, clutched in trembling hands, or preserved in little bags.
I was surprised to see many younger-looking individuals come to the soup kitchen. Carrying large backpacks, my first thought was that they were backpackers touring Rome, looking for an easy meal. Only later did I learn from a staff member that there are criteria to become a client of the soup kitchen, and these individuals were most likely moving around, carrying their entire lives in a single backpack.
As the morning wound down and the last meals were served, I noticed that the soup kitchen gave plenty of food to each client. I was heartened to see not just bread or snacks, but meat and fruit on the trays of every client. Back in college at Duke University, I conducted a research study on food deserts in Durham, North Carolina. My partner and I had found that many members of lower-income communities tended to eat food high in carbohydrates and sugar. It was inspiring to see that the soup kitchen offered nutritious, protein-filled meals for all of their visitors.
Volunteering at the soup kitchen in Rome has reminded me that every city and country has its challenges with equity and food security. While studying abroad here, we must also appreciate – and feel gratitude – for each plate of pizza or pasta we have. Instead of looking at Rome through a rose-tinted lens, we must see Rome for all of its grandeur and challenges and find ways to make our own humble contribution.
The volunteers at the Soup Kitchen