Soup kitchen founder confirms kitchen is closing to direct help to those most in need
The rising cost of overheads was also cited as a reason
The founder of Sunderland Community Kitchen, Andrea Bell, has confirmed the charity is closing its kitchen service in a bid to ensure their support “gets to the homeless people who need it most”.
The Soup Kitchen, which is based at Albert’s Place on High Street West, opens its doors to anyone in need of a hot meal every Monday, Wednesday and Friday between 3pm and 4pm, and on Sundays between midday and 1pm.
From May 27, the kitchen will no longer operate, with Andrea saying greater focus and resources will now be ploughed into the charity’s outreach service ‘Davy the horsebox’ as well as an evening warm space.
Andrea said: “We want to get back to basics and supporting rough sleepers who are the most in need. Davy will be going out every Tuesday and Sunday at 7pm at Park Lane and 8pm at Mowbray Park.
“This service is for people who are rough sleeping and in need of our help most. We are also going to expand the offering at our community hub which will provide a warm space with food and games for people rough sleeping.
“This is about providing respite and support to the people who need it most.”
Davy and the community hub will also provide ‘Mack a Meal’ boxes, providing those in need with tinned foods which can be used to make meals during the periods the facility is closed.
Andrea added: “We will also be providing self-heating meals to ensure people who are homeless can get access to a hot meal.”
Andrea and the charity’s chairman Paul Gowland both cited rising overhead costs as another reason behind the closure.
In a post on social media, Paul said: “We are pleased to say that many of the challenges that originally led to the creation and expansion of our kitchen services are now being addressed through wider community support and partnership working.
“In particular, the council’s investment in the excellent community shop on Fawcett Street has created a valuable and accessible resource for those requiring ongoing assistance, helping provide dignity, affordability, and longer-term support to local people.
“As a result, we no longer believe that maintaining dedicated kitchen facilities represents the best use of charitable funds and resources moving forward.
“The operational overheads associated with running and maintaining a kitchen environment are considerable, including utilities, compliance, maintenance, equipment upkeep, staffing pressures, and ongoing operational costs.
“While those expenses were once necessary to meet an urgent community need, we now have an opportunity to redirect funding into areas where it can achieve even greater impact.”
Andrea also thanked the city’s takeaways for providing a range of dishes including pizzas and curries to help support feeding the homeless through Davy the horsebox.
She said: “We would particularly like donations from anyone who can provide pre-packed sandwiches which may otherwise expire and get sent to landfill.”