It's lunchtime in the Hamburg district of Jenfeld and a stream of kids head to the "Ark" -- a soup kitchen set up for neglected and poor children. Lunch today includes spaghetti with tomato sauce and tangerine compote for dessert.

Boris has been waiting nearly 40 minutes in the line -- much like everyday after school -- and can hardly wait to get his lunch. With his red hair sticking out of his baseball cap, Boris is one of around 100 kids who come to the Ark soup kitchen daily to get a free warm lunch.

I come here "because the food tastes good and my parents want me to eat here," Boris said, adding that they are unemployed.

Eleven-year-old Manouch is another one of the regulars who heads to the Ark after school every day. "My mum has no time to cook because she has to look after the small child and my father has to work," Manouch said.

The Ark consciously offers lunch free for kids even if some families could afford it.

"It we charged a euro for the food, there would still be kids who couldn't afford it," said Tobias Lucht, a social worker at the Ark. "And even if they had a euro, they would probably rather spend it on candy."

Making sense of tragedy

It may sound like the perfect place for kids with problematic backgrounds, but the Hamburg district of Jenfeld was anything but until last year. Then it gained notoriety year for the "Jessica case." The seven-year-old was confined to a cold, dark room by her parents and denied food. She eventually died by choking on her own vomit.

Jessica's parents were sentenced to life in prison late last year and a shocked German public was left grappling with an emotional debate over the causes of increasing cases of neglected children.

Thies Hagge, the local pastor in Jenfield, however decided to get beyond the moral outrage and actually do something to counter the problem.

"We want to make some sense of this tragedy," Hagge said at the time. Taking his cue from a similar soup kitchen in Berlin, Hagge founded the Ark in Hamburg six months ago. It consists of several rooms where the children can play and even has a big garden.

"There's good resonance. Around 70 kids come here every day," said Lucht.

Dealing with "emotional poverty"

Lucht added that the aim of the Ark is to offer an open place where kids can be fed, helped with their homework and can do sports and crafts.

But more importantly, it's a place where kids get attention and affection, food for both the body and soul, said Lucht, adding that child poverty can't just be measured in financial terms.

"Material poverty is one thing. But there are also many kids who are just not cared for," Lucht said, adding that "emotional poverty" was something he and his colleagues encountered frequently at the Ark.

"Some kids embrace us right from the first day and don't want to let go. That's often a sign that there isn't enough love and affection at home," Lucht said.

According to the German Association for the Protection of Children, some 2.5 million children in Germany live in poverty and the number is rising.