From our first days in Siena we were struck by how many restaurants there are. Being here in the winter made it seem as if there were too many for the population to support, but we would probably have a different idea had we come during peak tourist time. Our focus here is on places to buy food to prepare at home and also where to go when you have no money to buy food to prepare at home, and maybe you have no home.

 

 

 

SUPERMARKETS

Since most of us lived only a few meters from the supermarket, Conad City, we did much of our shopping there. The small orange shopping carts made sure that you only bought as much as you could carry or load into your own shopping cart—no parking here. 

A larger supermarket is the Coop, but one has to take a bus to get there, since it is outside the city walls. Prices are better there and so is selection.

Origins of the produce are clearly visible and most all of it is from Italy. We were impressed with how good fruits and vegetables tasted, even from the supermarkets.

WEDNESDAY MARKET

Every Wednesday morning until 1, there is a market right across from the AHA Center. While food is a minor part of the market, there are several booths selling preserved foods, meat and fish as well as lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Most everything is from Italy, but the sellers are not generally the producers. The food booths line up along the walls of the Medici Fortress.

FARMER DIRECT MARKETS AND STORES

Every Friday morning in the Piazza del Mercato, there is a smaller market where farmers sell their own produce. This includes fresh and cured meats as well as fruits and vegetables, jams and honey, wine and olive oil. Many of the producers are organic. There are also some shops where farmers have gotten together to sell their goods in a permanent place. One, "La Colombaie," is at the end of Via Paradiso. Another, "La Biotegga," is located on Via Porrione, just off the Piazza del Campo.

 

SIENA'S SOUP KITCHEN

Ryan

 

In the heart of Siena lies the Church of San Girolamo where Sister Gineta distributes food to the needy of Siena. She and other nuns work every day to serve a free lunch. With a group of hard working volunteers, about 5 people each day serve the locals a quality meal. I had the opportunity to spend my Tuesdays there for the past 2 months helping Sister Gineta.

 

Sister Gineta’s organization does not prepare the food that they serve. Each day they get the meals made earlier that morning in a kitchen run by the city of Siena. The food is delivered to the food distribution center at the church. All they need to do is heat it up in the oven or on the stove and serve it to the patrons. There are 3 main rooms where all of this takes place. The main room seats about 40 people with 8 tables. Each table has paper place mats, a large bottle of water, and a small tray with olive oil, salt, pepper, and paprika. On either side of the room lie two small rooms, one with a stove, oven, and sink. There we can heat up all of the hot food and prepare the main courses to serve. On the other side is a small room where all of the sweets, breads, and fruit are stored. There is a large refrigerator too with juices and yogurt. This is where I spent most of my time, making sure there were enough pastries and sweets for each person in the dining hall and to accommodate those who wanted seconds.

 

Once it is 12:00, people start coming inside, hanging up their scarves and big coats inside the warm dining hall. After sister Gineta finishes the prayer, the food can be served. The primi, secondi, fruit, desert, and bread circulate the 40-person room together. Each course of the food is brought out at once and served at the same time. I always am in charge of serving the fruits and desserts. Usually this means a few fresh pastries, some yogurt, and a banana or pear. The primi is always served in a bowl and is usually a pasta or soup dish. Some of the soup dishes are zuppa di pane and ribollita, a famous Tuscan soup with onions and beans. Both soups are made with leftover bread. The pasta dishes always vary by both types of pasta and sauce. The most common sauce is pomodoro or tomato, but some weeks they serve pesto or a ragu (meat) sauce with the pasta. The secondi is either a meat or quiche with vegetables. Typically it is a side of green beans and chicken or beef. They have quiche as well most of the time for the vegetarians. One day they had a basket of hardboiled quail eggs. They are very good about serving people with all kinds of food preferences, whether it is vegetarianism, or diets around religions. Each person is given as much food as they can eat. I saw someone ask for 7 pieces of bread.

 

At around 1:30, we start cleaning up the dining room. We wash down each table, put the chairs away. We set one table with a nice tablecloth and bring out silverware. All of the volunteers sit around the table and enjoy lunch together.