How Business Students Learn to Make Ethical Decisions by Studying a Soup Kitchen in One of America’s Toughest Neighborhoods

February 13, 2026 | Source: GOOD | by Tim Swift

For the past decade I have volunteered at St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.

Kensington, for those not from Philly, has long had a reputation for potent but affordable street drugs. Interstate 95 and the Market-Frankford elevated commuter train line provide easy access to the neighborhood for buyers and sellers, and abandoned buildings offer havens for drug use and other illicit activity.

St. Francis Inn Ministries, which was founded by two Franciscan friars in 1979, serves sit-down breakfast and dinner for thousands of people each year, many of whom suffer from poverty, homelessness and substance use disorder. It also runs Marie’s Closet, a charity that provides free used clothing and housewares.

These ministries are operated by a core team of nine full-time members, hundreds of volunteers from local high schools and colleges, and an ad hoc team of folks from many walks of life.

>> Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, Organic Bytes <<