FEATURE STORY
Members and friends of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in White River Junction, VT, rallied to help provide food
to victims of Hurrican Irene, which struck the area in August 2011. Photo courtesy of St. Paul’s.
More Than Just Soup Kitchens:
Rethinking Food and Sacred Places
Food and sacred places have always gone hand
in hand. Whether serving their congregants
after worship or the local community in
general, congregations have long been hubs
for food. Indeed, two of the most common
social programs run by congregations are food
pantries and soup kitchens.
But five congregations across the country
are actively reshaping this conventional
model by thinking about how to utilize their
spaces in innovative ways. With partners in
13 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Summer 2012
urban agriculture, community development,
and disaster relief, these congregations are
creatively redefining how food shapes their
relationships with their neighborhoods. They
are pursuing their goals in very different
ways, and at times, their methods seem to be
polar opposites. But they are united in their
creativity, dedication, and determination to
reassess how congregations use food and their
spaces to engage their communities. One thing
is certain: when it comes to food in sacred
places, it’s more than just soup kitchens now.