During the Great Depression Al Capone started one of the first soup kitchens, called “Free Soup Coffee & Doughnuts for the Unemployed.” Capone’s soup kitchen served breakfast, lunch and dinner to an average of 2,200 Chicagoans every day
One of the pioneering initiatives of Al Capone was the establishment of one of the earliest soup kitchens. Although the kitchen employed only a few individuals, it provided nourishment to a significantly larger number of people. This was especially crucial given that, prior to the enactment of the Social Security Act, “soup kitchens” like the one founded by Al Capone were often the sole source of meals for many unemployed Americans.
These soup kitchens gained prominence in the United States during the challenging period of the Great Depression. One of their primary and evident benefits was providing a haven where the homeless and impoverished could access free food and momentarily escape the hardships of surviving on the streets.
Al Capone, infamous for his involvement in bootlegging and accumulating a fortune during the prohibition era, possessed a semblance of the Robin Hood mystique as he exhibited charitable acts with some of the proceeds from his criminal enterprise.
Engaging in bootlegging (the illegal production and distribution of alcohol) during Prohibition (the period from 1920-1933 when alcohol was prohibited in the USA) was somewhat romanticized and viewed as a daring and glamorous pursuit by the general public. However, it is well-documented that Capone resorted to brutal tactics, including murder, extortion of local businesses, bribery of public officials, and witness intimidation.
Al Capone’s motivations for establishing a soup kitchen were partly driven by a desire to improve his public image. In December 1931, the Chicago Tribune headline read, “Capone Free Soup Kitchen Serves 120,000 Meals.” Capone’s soup kitchen in Chicago became a sight unlike anything witnessed before by the city’s residents. A multitude of ragged and famished men gathered three times a day outside a storefront at 935 South State Street, indulging in the generosity of Al Capone.
They raised their glasses to his health and proclaimed to the newspapers that Capone was doing more for the destitute than the entire U.S. government. He even offered employment opportunities to some of them.
Capone exploited his philanthropic acts to gain as much positive publicity as possible. He personally descended among the men, the most downtrodden members of society, extending handshakes, warm smiles, and words of encouragement from the esteemed Al Capone.
From November to December, Al Capone’s soup kitchen maintained regular hours, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Thanksgiving Day in 1930 marked a particular public relations victory for Capone, as he proudly declared that he had fed over 5,000 hungry men, women, and children with a hearty beef stew. Although the kitchen was demolished in the 1950s, it formerly stood at the intersection of 9th and State Street. Today, the site is occupied by a parking lot.
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