Many charities were set up in the Jewish East End during the Victorian era to help the local people. At this time, many Jewish people had recently arrived from Eastern Europe and often had to face harsh living conditions and hunger.

Founded in Spitalfields in 1854, The Soup Kitchen was set up to help the poor in the Jewish East End. During the very cold months, the Soup Kitchen would hand out meat, soup and bread to the Jewish community twice a week.

Watch this video as our Learning Officer explores many objects in the Jewish Museum’s collection to find out more about charities like the Soup Kitchen in the Jewish East End.