Penny Dinners worth fortune to the hungry

Paddy, a regular at Cork Penny Dinners for the last eight years, has witnessed first-hand the impact the recession has had on the marginalised and vulnerable.

Single, unemployed and struggling to get by on reduced disability and fuel allowances, he was among the almost 90 people who called in for a hot meal at the Penny Dinners’ small soup kitchen on Little Hanover Street, off one of the busiest streets in Cork city centre, yesterday.

“When I first started coming in here, I would be sitting down with about 30 people,” he said.