a reminder that free lunches actually existed from before the civil war into the 20th century, and were the single most effective method of alleviating poverty in american cities. while privatecharities and government programs failed, saloons distributed massive amounts of food for little or no charge.
@mallaidh But the catch was the food was all really salty, and there were no free drinks.
@mallaidh I would like to read more about this. Got a resource handy?
@Jssra If I recall correctly, it's mentioned around page 139 in "If Christ Came to Chicago."
@mallaidh And it was the busybodies in the temperance movement that killed em off