SC - Soup Kitchen at Estrella (and other wars)

[Margo Hablutzel]

Thanks, all, for the suggestions, etc.

Bonne is somewhat close for what the Soup Kitchen is supposed to be.  It is
NOT a lunch; it is a keep-the-fighters-going snack.  The waterbearers are in
charge of water and Gatorade; we have a great story from a couple Pennsics
back when the Army was trained to look for the grape Gatorade (Calon purple)
because it was made with either triple-filtered or store-bought water, and
the water a purple-carrying waterbearer was carrying was the same, so our
troops (and friends) did not have to drink the icky, questionable Pennsic
battlefield water.

As they were mixing some replacement stock one afternoon, a couple of
fighters walking by were overheard to say: "That's why the Calontir fighters
fight the way they do - they're drinking woad!"

But I digress.

Soup kitchen supplies have to be (1) easily transportable, (2) something a
large number of persons are going to eat, and (3) preparable by persons with
little or no cooking skill.  One of the usual workers frankly admits that if
it's harder than "open pouch, pour into simmering water, stir lots,
distribute" she cannot handle the instructions.  Even if there is running
water, someone has to haul it to camp, set it to simmer, and make the soup -
and time everything so that the soup is ready, and not scorched from
standing, or cold, when the fighters get back to camp after the fighting.
And when has fighting every stopped on schedule?

Standard Soup Kitchen foods are beef jerky (two flavours), dried fruit
(pineapple is AMAZINGLY popular), and the eponymous chicken noodle soup.
Additions as funds allow include orange, bananas, pickles, snack cakes, and
popsicles; many times a quantity is donated by some generous person or
household.

However, the Soup Kitchen is NOT Kingdom-funded, but runs solely on
donations, primarily the time of the person who makes the jerky, does all
the organization, and either runs the Soup Kitchen or finds someone to do
the job.  When donations run thin, people get soup and jerky and naught
else; when they are fat, add in the other goodies.  Nobody is charged to
eat; the food is there, and in fact everybody is encouraged to eat when they
need it.  (Jerky and oranges are often carried by the waterbearers as well.)
When people can, they donate money, or supplies, and when they cannot they
are still given a snack.

Yes, if the Soup Kitchen charged a set fee per war, or per day of war, it
would be easier to provide the food, and we could have nice feastware for
people to use in eating the soup and all the other details as well.  But it
is not run in that manner, as the person doing it would rather spend her
time making jerky and soup than doing paperwork, and she and everybody
involved in the Soup Kitchen are too bighearted to tell someone "you didn't
pay the fee, you cannot have any soup."

									---=
Morgan


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	                   Morgan Cely Cain * Steppes, Ansteorra


	                     May God have mercy on my enemies
	                     For they shall certainly need it.

	      For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.

                I intend to live forever -- so far, so good!
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