The idea of feeding the poor has been existent since the Old Testament. Genesis chapter 41 to 45 (The Holy Bible) contain the biblical account of Joseph, the right-hand to Pharaoh, who in spite of his hardships was able to save Egypt, and subsequently his people (the Israelites), through resource management. After interpreting a dream, he predicted that following seven years of surplus in Egypt, famine would strike, he implemented a plan to store excess crop for the time of shortage to ensure there was enough food to go around. Because of this, neighboring countries were able to survive along with the Egyptians. Saving and reallocating scarce resource to minimize waste is a pivotal step in serving the indigent. Although the grain and food items were not dispensed free of charge, the work he did still prevented the wealthy from being the only ones with access to food during the famine period. Many food distribution services, such as food pantries or soup kitchens, are founded upon the ideas established in the story of Joseph. People since the beginning of time have prioritized servings other, especially those in need. Due to the important nature of such an enterprise, a structure is required to prevent the rich from overusing or wasting finite goods.

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One of the first soup kitchens in the United States was enacted by Al Capone during the Great Depression. Al Capone, known for his "bootlegging, prostitution and gambling operation upon a foundation of extortion, bribes and murders" (Klein) in the 1920s and 30s, was also a major philanthropist. He was featured in the Chicago Tribune in December of 1931 in the article, “120 000 meals are served by Capone Free Soup Kitchen." Hot meals would be served multiple times a day and was a great help during this time period. Regardless of claims that this was a publicity stunt, Al Capone helped save many from hunger by establishing this program. By enacting this he fulfilled the aforementioned aspects of food distribution services, he took care of people in need and shared his wealth and resources.

 

However, how would the indigent access food outside of specified meal times at soup kitchens? How could people have access to food they could cook at home? These kinds of questions sparked the creation of the first food bank in the United States. John Van Hengels, a worker and user of soup kitchens in Phoenix, Arizona, established St. Mary's food bank in 1967. He attributes the idea to "a woman with 10 children and a husband on death row. She rummaged for food in refuse bins behind grocery stores and suggested that what was really needed was a place to both deposit food and check it out -- like a bank" (Sullivan). After doing the rummaging himself, he began to request that the supermarkets donate surplus food. This had unforeseen growth with supermarkets and companies donating finances, and unsalable but edible food to Van Hengels and eventually to St. Mary's food bank. It is rumored that "1,000 food banks around the world came from" (Sullivan) Van Hengels over the course of his life. He used his first-hand experience and knowledge of this industry to develop a system that is used around the country and world. This has led to organizations like "Feeding America...[having] a nationwide network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs" (How Do Food Banks Work). These food banks store donations while pantries were established within communities to distribute them. Van Hengels did what he could to help establish grass-roots pantries or banks in numerous communities because he wanted to take care of people. In addition, the way he went about it was to use what was being wasted, for good. This was not only idea with a good intention but was great economically as well. Using the food that businesses would have otherwise wasted in order to give the poor free access to food was revolutionary because it made it a lot easier to help others or to do charitable works.

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These movements led to other religious organizations hopping on board and aiding in efforts. Specifically, Recovery House of Worship (RHOW) in Brooklyn has multiple ministries to serve the poor in practical ways. They have a food pantry three Saturdays a month, Community Breakfast multiple times a week, Baby Ministry to provide essentials to mothers and, Narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous programs. RHOW looks for the need in their community and does as much as they can to help. They go about it in a consistent and accessible manner, which is a trait that other organizations can emulate.

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