Soup for the Soul
From the very beginning, Soup Kitchen OFM Valletta recognizes a greater hunger beyond the hunger for food and our goal has always been to provide our guests with more than a hot meal. We are going to serve up the following range of programs to nourish the soul as well as the body.
Reading, Meditation, Music and More
Offering a much-needed reprieve from the everyday stresses that come with being food insecure or homeless, reading, meditation and music provide guests with true nourishment for the soul.
Computer Classes & Discussion Groups
Recent additions to our program, both groups empower guests to learn new skills to move their lives forward as well as break out of isolation.
Food Service
Soup Kitchen OFM Valletta will provide a hot, nutritious, well-balanced meal 3 times a week in the first phase, while later on we will offer meal 5 days a week, from 11.30 am to 1.30 pm. Soup kitchen guests come from Valletta and Floriana.
Although we only serve for two hours, the day at the soup kitchen is much longer than that. It starts bright and early at 7.30 am., when our chefs arrive to begin to prepare the meal for the guests they will feed that day.
But it’s not only the quantity of meals served that’s important—providing nutritious food that will sustain and nourish our guests is also key to our approach. Each meal is designed with health in mind and is made up of the recommended balance of fruit, vegetables, grains, protein and the Mediteranian cuisine.
Serving begins promptly at 11.30 am when the doors open and the first of the guests begin to stream in. Each guest picks up a tray from the food line, stops at the beverage station for a drink, and takes a seat at one of the tables set up in the beautiful old franciscan refictory built 1584. We hope that our guests will enjoy music performed by other guests or musicians who are willing to donate their time. After or before lunch, they make take advantage of one of the other programs on offer, such as reading, meditation, computer classes or on-site health services.
By 1.00 pm the last of the guests have received their meals. Staff and volunteers, tired and eager to sit down, line up for their own lunches. By 2.30 pm the volunteers have departed. Then the cleaning begins. By 4.00 pm the last of the mops disappear into the closet, the machines are shut down and all is quiet until 7.30 am the next day, when it starts all over again.
Giving your time has a way of giving back
It doesn’t take a big commitment to make a big impact. Together, with millions of other food bank volunteers in the world, your time adds up and makes a difference for those who struggling with lack of sufficient food. Joy is the reward when helping us to distribute food in the hands of those who need it most.
Food today. Food security tomorrow.
In a country that wastes millions of kilos of food each year, it’s almost shocking that anyone in Malta goes hungry. Many don’t believe that this a reality in our country. Yet every day, there are children and adults who do not get the meals they need to thrive. We work to get nourishing food – from farmers, manufacturers, and retailers – to people in need. At the same time, we also seek to help the people we serve build a path to a brighter, food-secure future.