Masbia is a network of kosher soup kitchens in New York City. Its three locations in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Borough Park and Midwood, as well as the Queens neighborhood of Rego Park, serve over 500 free, hot kosher meals nightly. Masbia is the only free soup kitchen serving kosher meals in New York City. The organization receives 10% of its budget from government aid, relying heavily on private donations of money and food to meet its $2 million annual operating budget.
Alexander Rapaport in 2014
A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup kitchens are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church or community groups. Soup kitchens sometimes obtain food from a food bank for free or at a low price, because they are considered a charity, which makes it easier for them to feed the many people who require their services.
A soup kitchen in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1931
Count Rumford, painted by Thomas Gainsborough, 1783
Unemployed men outside a soup kitchen opened by Al Capone in Depression-era Chicago, Illinois, the US, 1931
Chilean women preparing soup kitchen meals in 1932