Soup Kitchens in Madrid!

youtube!

A friend of mine has just returned from Madrid after a business trip, he told me during the few days he was there he kept seeing long queues on various streets near the centre, when he asked one of his team what they were all lining up for he was told they were because people needed to eat! Needless to say he was very shocked and still doesnt quite know wheter to believe it. The official unemployment rate is up around at 5 million,but it is common knowledge there are at least another 2 million who were never on the books as such, the whole economy is a basket case and way worse than reports you might hear about on the news. I wonder if we could see the same thing here? Scary stuff!

OutlawPete

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/sign-of-the-times-as-queues-for-soup-kitchens-grow-1532778.html

cml387

It will take a lot of soup to turn Spain protestant (little historical joke there).

Pauleta

Its grand, we can eat cake.

phasers

I remember reading on here that people were going to some church providing free meals for the poor on their lunch breaks cos they didn't want to pay for a roll in Spar.

Chuck Stone

Mmmm soup and crusty bread.

LighterGuy

Theres soup kitchens in Ireland too.

Its funny, Jerome Hughes did that undercover living on the streets documentary on tv3 a few months ago. Was watching it with my dad. He laughed really hard when Jerome spent 9 euro on his breakfast INSTEAD of going to a soup kitchen :pac:

Just goes to show you I guess. Certain people would be totally clueless if forced onto the streets. I'm suprised a news reported didnt even know about soup kitchens!!!

bonerm

Where's Alison O'Riordan when you need her? She could tell us what it's like to live on soup for a week.

phasers

LighterGuy wrote: »

Theres soup kitchens in Ireland too.

Its funny, Jerome Hughes did that undercover living on the streets documentary on tv3 a few months ago. Was watching it with my dad. He laughed really hard when Jerome spent 9 euro on his breakfast INSTEAD of going to a soup kitchen :pac:

Just goes to show you I guess. Certain people would be totally clueless if forced onto the streets. I'm suprised a news reported didnt even know about soup kitchens!!!

9 euro on a breakfast!? What was he eating, gold plated rashers?

youtube!

I suppose I really should have not been surprised that we already have soup kitchens in Ireland,but I think the point my friend was trying to make to me is that in Madrid it is a HUGE problem that there are literally thousands of folks now depending on these services,I got the impression from him that it is very much worse over there.

For Forks Sake

bonerm wrote: »

Where's Alison O'Riordan when you need her? She could tell us what it's like to live on soup for a week.

Clown college.

LighterGuy

youtube! wrote: »

I suppose I really should have not been surprised that we already have soup kitchens in Ireland,but I think the point my friend was trying to make to me is that in Madrid it is a HUGE problem that there are literally thousands of folks now depending on these services,I got the impression from him that it is very much worse over there.

While many who use the soup kitchens are on the streets. Some are not :eek:
To mention my Dad again, he would often see a guy who he worked with waiting in line at the soup kitchens to get a free meal. This guy was working full time & and getting very decent wage and this was BEFORE the recession. He was just a mean fecker obviously.

I'll always remember my dad telling me that. Really confirms the old saying "greed has no bounds"

youtube!

LighterGuy wrote: »

While many who use the soup kitchens are on the streets. Some are not :eek:
To mention my Dad again, he would often see a guy who he worked with waiting in line at the soup kitchens to get a free meal. This guy was working full time & and getting very decent wage and this was BEFORE the recession. He was just a mean fecker obviously.

I'll always remember my dad telling me that. Really confirms the old saying "greed has no bounds"

That is the very definition of stinginess!!

LighterGuy

Its really one for the "stingest thing you've ever seen" thread on here.

bonerm

For Forks Sake wrote: »

Clown college.

Columbia University isn't a clown college. Although that may change should she make the alumni.

For Forks Sake

bonerm wrote: »

Columbia University isn't a clown college. Although that may change should she make the alumni.

Bearing in mind who we're talking about here, it was probably a typo, or maybe an outright lie, I'll wager she's gone either here or here

Rainbow Cannon

¡FREE TACOS FOR EVERYONE!

bloopy

Was in Madrid last week and there are a lot of young (20 - 30 year old) protestors in the center of the city in Puerta del Sol. They had been there a week already when I was there and, as far as I know, they are still there. They have taken over the centre with a lot of tents and cardboard shelters. Is it possible that the soup is for the protestors.

Would add photos but am not sure how to embed them in a comment.

southsiderosie

bloopy wrote: »

Was in Madrid last week and there are a lot of young (20 - 30 year old) protestors in the center of the city in Puerta del Sol. They had been there a week already when I was there and, as far as I know, they are still there. They have taken over the centre with a lot of tents and cardboard shelters. Is it possible that the soup is for the protestors.

Would add photos but am not sure how to embed them in a comment.

From what I've read, local businesses and residents have been donating food; I know one of my friends went down there with a few cases of water. And the tent city is extremely organized.

EDIT: Ok, scratch that, here is an article on food kitchens. I think a lot of the poverty is concentrated in the suburban areas with large immigrant populations; the unemployment rate of migrants is higher than the native population, and they have fewer alternative resources.

bloopy

southsiderosie wrote: »

From what I've read, local businesses and residents have been donating food; I know one of my friends went down there with a few cases of water. And the tent city is extremely organized.

I haven't read anything lately about soup kitchens in Madrid, but I wouldn't be surprised. The only long lines I remember seeing when I was there a few months ago were at the unemployment offices.

There was a good athmosphere there last week. Seemed to be very peaceful anyway. We were out knacker drinking in another part of the city (past Athoca) and the local young people were all talk about it. We had very little spanish and they had very little english but it seems the youth unemployment level is about 50% and they are gettin a bit pissed off.
By the time we left on Monday though, it appeared that the protest was startin to get hijacked by a bunch of left wing nutjob groupings (anarchists, socialist parties and the like). The original excitement was starting to wane.
They were very interested, however, in wanting to know why we (the Irish) were not doing the same.

Chairman Meow

LighterGuy wrote: »

While many who use the soup kitchens are on the streets. Some are not :eek:
To mention my Dad again, he would often see a guy who he worked with waiting in line at the soup kitchens to get a free meal. This guy was working full time & and getting very decent wage and this was BEFORE the recession. He was just a mean fecker obviously.

I'll always remember my dad telling me that. Really confirms the old saying "greed has no bounds"

The kitchen on church st is beside where i work. Every wednesday i see them. At first it was just homeless people id see, but not its a bit of everything. Drunks, homeless, and mostly now its people who dont look homeless int he slightest. Seen young people walking out of there carrying their bags of free food having a laugh and a joke.

starbelgrade

It's probably a Gazpacho kitchen.

Lazy Spanish bastards can't even be arsed heating their soup up.

Deus Ex Machina

I can see myself living with the help of charity organisations in the not too distant future, hopefully our soup won't be totally gross.

southsiderosie

Chairman Meow wrote: »

The kitchen on church st is beside where i work. Every wednesday i see them. At first it was just homeless people id see, but not its a bit of everything. Drunks, homeless, and mostly now its people who dont look homeless int he slightest. Seen young people walking out of there carrying their bags of free food having a laugh and a joke.

There are a lot of people who don't "look homeless" who are having a really hard time putting food on the table. Not everyone who needs help looks ragged, nor should they be expected to ask for help wearing sackcloth and ashes.

Lapin

LighterGuy wrote: »

While many who use the soup kitchens are on the streets. Some are not :eek:
To mention my Dad again, he would often see a guy who he worked with waiting in line at the soup kitchens to get a free meal. This guy was working full time & and getting very decent wage and this was BEFORE the recession. He was just a mean fecker obviously.

I'll always remember my dad telling me that. Really confirms the old saying "greed has no bounds"

Why didn't the soup people just tell him to fúck off ?

The stingy bastard.

ringadingding

If only Spain had the foresight of our government to initiate the free cheese last year.

Chairman Meow

southsiderosie wrote: »

There are a lot of people who don't "look homeless" who are having a really hard time putting food on the table. Not everyone who needs help looks ragged, nor should they be expected to ask for help wearing sackcloth and ashes.

No **** Professor Science, but when you see people who look like college kids coming out with free food and having a laugh and a joke, it starts to look a bit sus

southsiderosie

Chairman Meow wrote: »

No **** Professor Science, but when you see people who look like college kids coming out with free food and having a laugh and a joke, it starts to look a bit sus

So they are supposed to leave crying? When I used to volunteer at a food pantry, we would try to at least be friendly and pleasant to people who came; it's galling enough for a lot of people to come as it is. We also had some volunteers who delivered food to elderly people who couldn't pick it up themselves, which may explain why there were young people going in and out who didn't look as beat down by life as a lot of food recipients do.

I'm so sick of seeing stupid rumor-mongering and cries of fraud on boards whenever a thread comes up about people needing some kind of assistance. Can we give it a ****ign rest for once?

Chairman Meow

Chairman Meow wrote: »

No **** Professor Science, but when you see people who look like college kids coming out with free food and having a laugh and a joke, it starts to look a bit sus

Plenty of college students are broke- obviously they aren't entitled to the dole and it's even more difficult to find work as a full-time student. Even in the good times, I knew quite a few people who spent the year sleeping on the floor of a sibling's room and going to charities for free food.

sunflower27

phasers wrote: »

9 euro on a breakfast!? What was he eating, gold plated rashers?

Full Irish, Temple bar area...

I watched that documentary. Very contrived.

gerbear1

Lapin wrote: »

Why didn't the soup people just tell him to fúck off ?

I used to volunteer in the Capuchin soup kitchen around Smithfield. Anybody can walk in, you're not going to ask somebody what their income is. I guess when you're doing something decent like that, you expect the same back from the people claiming the food.

sbsquarepants

Luciano Old Grater wrote: »

Plenty of college students are broke- obviously they aren't entitled to the dole and it's even more difficult to find work as a full-time student. Even in the good times, I knew quite a few people who spent the year sleeping on the floor of a sibling's room and going to charities for free food.

Jesus, would these "siblings" not feed them? Now that's stingeyness personified!

gerbear1 wrote: »

I used to volunteer in the Capuchin soup kitchen around Smithfield. Anybody can walk in, you're not going to ask somebody what their income is. I guess when you're doing something decent like that, you expect the same back from the people claiming the food.

Am i the only one who has a mental picture of hobos being served soup by little helper monkeys?:D

ScumLord

southsiderosie wrote: »

I think a lot of the poverty is concentrated in the suburban areas with large immigrant populations; the unemployment rate of migrants is higher than the native population, and they have fewer alternative resources.

There are no alternative resources in Spain once you lose your job your on your own as far as I know.

Lapin

gerbear1 wrote: »

I used to volunteer in the Capuchin soup kitchen around Smithfield. Anybody can walk in, you're not going to ask somebody what their income is. I guess when you're doing something decent like that, you expect the same back from the people claiming the food.

Thats fair enough, but if there are suspicions about the merits of someone receiving the assistance, I think its ok to take him to one side and have a quiet little word. If he has genuine reasons that aren't outwardly apparent thats fine.

But if it turns out he is freeloading when he can afford to feed himself, he should be flung out of the place.

Not only is he denying others who are more deserving.

But he is cheating those who donate to various the centres.

up for anything

LighterGuy wrote: »

While many who use the soup kitchens are on the streets. Some are not :eek:
To mention my Dad again, he would often see a guy who he worked with waiting in line at the soup kitchens to get a free meal. This guy was working full time & and getting very decent wage and this was BEFORE the recession. He was just a mean fecker obviously.

I'll always remember my dad telling me that. Really confirms the old saying "greed has no bounds"

Lapin wrote: »

Why didn't the soup people just tell him to fúck off ?

The stingy bastard.

Maybe the guy was using all his very decent wage to pay gambling debts before his legs were broken, maybe his wife had left him and taken the children and he was paying through the nose to support them with little money left to live on himself! There could have been lots of reasons for him to be there.

Lapin

And maybe he's taking the píss.

If I was donating to this place I'd be annoyed by that.