The Quakers Who Fed a Starving Nation

In 1846, as the Irish Potato Famine tightened its grip, Parliament debated policy and churches held solemn days of prayer and fasting. Meanwhile, a tiny community of Quakers — barely three thousand in all of Ireland — started cooking. The Society of Friends formed relief committees in Dublin, Cork, and Waterford. They set up soup kitchens across the countryside, eventually serving hundreds of thousands of meals.…