Soup Kitchen

Peterborough Soup Kitchen is a charity which was started in 1983. It is run by the Peterborough Soup Kitchen Trustees and headed by a chairperson. There is an annual meeting with occasional team leader meetings in the year. The individual team members are not always religiously based as some are groups of friends, or work mates. The Soup Kitchen has links to many different voluntary groups within Peterborough who provide help to the disadvantaged, including the Peterborough Food Bank which is run by the Trussel Trust.

There are 28 different teams across Peterborough and every 4th week, each team will prepare food on one evening, then distribute it from the soup kitchen van. Typically, each team has a team leader with 3 or 4 other members. Team leaders ensure there are volunteers for their designated evening and can access support from the management team if necessary. One of the team members will drive the van, with

the required driving qualification and other members help with food preparation or setting up the van and helping with food distribution.

There are two teams from our parish, as a legacy from before the 2 parishes amalgamated. This long-standing commitment has existed for decades and is for a Thursday and Friday. Some team members commit to every 4 weeks and some on a more ad hoc basis.

The donated food is prepared hygienically, mindful of food preparation guidelines, the van loaded, driven to the distribution point, food distributed, van cleaned and left ready for the next day’s team. The food provided typically includes sandwiches, soup, hot and cold drinks. In addition, there will be an assortment of crisps, fruit, biscuits or cakes, dependent on donations. On a typical weekday evening, food preparation starts at 5.30pm, the van arrives for food distribution at 7.30pm, by 8.30pm everyone has been served and the van returns to

be cleaned and stored safely, with volunteers home for 10pm. If there are donations of clothes/toiletries, these would be handed out too.

Anyone who is hungry can turn up at the distribution point and be fed. The people we serve often have no-where to sleep and do not have work. There can be between 30 and 50 seeking food per evening, where we recognise half who will have been given food by us on our designated day, the previous month.

Overwhelmingly those we serve are appreciative of what we do and provide.

If you feel you could be a volunteer for part or all an evening, every 4 weeks or 6 times a year, or so, please do think about joining the teams. It’s very rewarding.