More than 200 years after first opening its doors, The Mendicity Institution still welcomes around 130 people every day.

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The city around it has changed beyond recognition, yet people continue to come here seeking many of the same things: food, safety, support and dignity.By two o'clock, the lunchtime rush has passed. The dining room is quiet. A handful of peoplesit watching a film, phones charge in the corner and a cupboard of board games lines one wall. Sunlight pours through the windows, softening a room painted in bright colours. In a few hours, it will fill again. Dinner will be served, conversations will begin, and another day at The Mendicity Institution will continue much as it has for more than two centuries.

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Founded in 1818, Mendicity is Dublin's oldest working charity. Original food order books sit alongside photographs from decades gone by, while the former workhouse still stands next door, a reminder that although the city has transformed, the organisation's commitment to treating people with dignity has endured."Like it is mad," reflects Head of Operations Kate. "We're literally still doing the same thing."She explains that people once came to Mendicity to work in exchange for food while being encouraged into education and employment. "They promoted employment and education, which we still do today." Today, around 130 people come through Mendicity's doors each day, sharing almost 190 meals across breakfast, lunch and dinner. Across June alone, the team served more than4,000 meals. But food is only the beginning."Most services, people come in, they eat and they leave," Kate says. "Whereas they stay here with us, so we're able to convert that contact into actually helping them."For some, that means support completing housing applications or attending the volunteer-led employment clinic and writing a CV. Others come for a shower, clean clothes, internet access or simply somewhere safe to spend the day. Progress looks different for everyone. "For someone," Kate explains, "it might mean having a shower or eating something. That's the win for them." Those small steps can grow into something much bigger.

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In Mendicity's workshop, colourful timber garden planters are carefully crafted by Joseph, who was sleeping rough when Kate first met him. Now living in permanent accommodation, he still returns, spending time in the workshop and continues to be part of the community. Kate also speaks about Jackie, whoh as spent more than four decades preparing meals in Mendicity's kitchen, serving generations of people who have walked through its doors.

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Despite supporting people experiencing homelessness, addiction and complex needs, thereare no security guards at the entrance. Instead, there is a calmness built through consistency, respect and relationships. "It's important for people to have somewhere that they can go all day, stay, and it's all free," Kate says. "And get a warm welcome and feel safe." Food helps make that possible.

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As a FoodCloud Community Partner, Mendicity receives around 200kg of surplus food each week, alongside monthly essential grocery supplies through the ESF+ programme. Fresh meat, dairy, cereals and pantry staples help keep the kitchen running, while grocery items also support the organisation's food parcel programme. The kitchen team adapts every day, creating meals around whatever arrives."We'll make a meal from whatever FoodCloud gives us," Kate says simply. "WithoutFoodCloud, we’d really struggle”. Looking ahead, Kate wonders what another two centuries might bring. "I'd love to know... in 200 years, what will it be like? But I just think the numbers are going up. We see people coming into homelessness, but we see very few people going out." It is a sobering thought inside a place that has weathered famine, revolution, economic crises and a global pandemic. Yet the overwhelming feeling at Mendicity is not despair, butdignity. It is found in a warm meal, a freshly washed set of clothes, a completed CV, or simply a place where someone is welcomed without judgement.

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More than 200 years after opening its doors, Mendicity continues to prove that lasting change often begins with something as simple as giving someone a reason to come inside.

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