Do secular soup kitchens exist? I’m wondering specifically about America, and even more specifically about Connecticut, but any information would be welcome. My google search for “secular soup kitchen” turned up only thirty-four links, and none of them were particularly informative. Ask.com wasn’t helpful either. Do secular soup kitchens not characterize themselves as such? Do many of them not have websites? Or are they just incredibly rare/nonexistent?
I’ve worked in a couple, but they’re not as secular as you think. Most of the shelters I’ve worked were funded by a secular organization: jaycee’s, knights of columbus (well, I guess that’s non-secular), united way, some type of rotary club, etc. However, the structure it was held in was almost always a church of some sort, and they almost always prayed before meals. I’m sure there are shelters out there that are totally non-religious, like shelters for battered women. However, I don’t recall any that were truly secular.
This isn’t in Connecticut, but in Spain soup kitchens are managed both by Caritas (Catholic church) and by the Red Cross. They don’t pray before meals or anything in either case.