St. John’s Bread & Life is Brooklyn’s largest soup kitchen. Located at 795 Lexington Avenue (that’s Brooklyn, folks), they expect to serve 2,000 meals on Wednesday, a 12 percent increase from last year. Besides serving more than 2,000 meals daily, Bread and Life also provides numerous social services, including nutrition counseling, housing referral services, medical support, education, support groups, a legal clinic and tax preparation.

So while people say that the economy is rebounding (oh really?)the intensity of the need and the services provided at St. John’s Bread & Life proves that there still is a growing number of New Yorkers, who will need emergency food services by the year’s end.

“As our community continues to struggle with lay-offs and home foreclosures, we’re seeing many new faces at the soup kitchen- including families,” said Anthony Butler, executive director of Bread & Life wrote to me in an email.  “Our Thanksgiving tradition ensures that the spirit of the holiday is shared with those less fortunate. We have volunteers up at the crack of dawn to make sure the homeless are not forgotten.”

Due to the ongoing economic issues and the unemployment rate hovering at 9%, the demand for emergency food services in New York City has surged.”

WHEN: Wednesday, November 24, 2010, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: St. John’s Bread and Life Soup Kitchen, 795 Lexington Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11221