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VolxKuche/VolxKüche (VoKu/VoKü), peoples kitchen, free supper club and kitchen for all are names used for a weekly or regularly occurring group cooking event, at which the meal is served free of charge or at cost.
History
The name derives from the German expression "people's kitchen" (soup kitchen), as a secular counterpart of the Christian
soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the Hunger, hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoo ...
. Volxküchen are found usually in collective and/or self-managed arrangements (pubs, information stores, youth centers or autonomous centers) with politically left self-identity. In general at least one vegetarian meal is offered, frequently also vegan food. Often soon to be
expired ingredients are obtained at cost, or donated by food banks, food manufacturers or community gardens.
The Volxküche in the current sense arose in the West European
squatter
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
scene of the early 1980s.
Squatters in the Netherlands use the name volkskeuken or VoKu, cooking vegan or vegetarian food for sale at a cheap price. This fitted beside other networked activities such as
local exchange trading system
A local exchange trading system (also local employment and trading system or local energy transfer system; abbreviated LETS) is a locally initiated, democratically organised, not-for-profit community enterprise that provides a community infor ...
s,
Food not Bombs
Food Not Bombs (FNB) is a loose-knit group of independent collectives, sharing free vegan and vegetarian food with others. The group believes that corporate and government priorities are skewed to allow hunger to persist in the midst of abundance ...
,
free shops
Give-away shops, freeshops, free stores or swap shops are stores where all goods are free. They are similar to charity shops, with mostly second-hand items—only everything is available at no cost. Whether it is a book, a piece of furniture, a ...
and
food cooperative A food cooperative or food co-op is a food distribution outlet organized as a cooperative, rather than a private or public company. Food cooperatives are usually consumer cooperatives, where the decisions regarding the production and distribution of ...
s.
Squatters in the German city of Hamburg founded a Volxküche at the
Hafenstraße
Hafenstraße is a street in St. Pauli, a quarter of Hamburg, Germany, known for its legalized squats. The squats were occupied in 1981 and became a figurehead for autonomist and anti-imperialist politics. After a prolonged battle with the city cou ...
in 1982.
Students in Vienna occupied a lecture theatre in 2009 and started a Volxküche as part of a longterm plan which included making sleeping areas and rooms for events.
A 'Free Supper Club" was held twice a month in San Francisco, US, as of 2013. It called itself VolxKuche San Francisco.
See also
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Freegan
Freeganism is an ideology of limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, particularly through recovering wasted goods like food. The word "freegan" is a portmanteau of "free" and "vegan". While vegan ...
*
Homeless ministry Homeless ministry is the intentional interaction between Christians and homeless persons, regardless of their faith. The ministering typically occurs in the environment in which the homeless reside. It may include distribution of provisions such as ...
*
List of supper clubs
This is a list of supper clubs. A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselve ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:VolxKuche
Autonomism
Free meals
Giving
Hunger relief organizations
Poverty activism
Restaurants by type
Soup kitchens
Supper clubs