Soup Kitchen Turns Five

Happy Birthday Soup Kitchen!

The Gathering's Soup Kitchen began on 14 May 2015 (so we're a little late) and is now just a tad over 5 years old.

It's amazing and encouraging to see how the Soup Kitchen has grown since we first started back then and it feels a little like it has come full circle as we began serving the soup in yogurt pots and since lockdown we've been back to serving it in yogurt pots.

Five years on and things are a bit different, we now use a 70lt pot to make the soup rather than the old 5lt pot, and we use so many yogurt pots each week that it's quite a struggle getting enough to keep up. Back then we fed 16 people, today we feed well over 100 each week making sure that we deliver soup to some of the oldest community members. Also, in the beginning it was just myself with occasional help from another church member & Joel. Today The Gathering has really bought in to the Soup Kitchen and get the heart of what it's about and that is a tremendous blessing.

Last night was a particularly tough Soup Kitchen because we had several regulars waiting out in the rain from about 4:30pm, but because of the lockdown restrictions I couldn't let them in. I got chatting to them later and they told me about their new squat which is thankfully dry but very cold, but also very makeshift. They also told me about how they live in constant fear of the police finding them and moving them on. It was gutting to hear, but one good thing was that Paula made a quick call and later today we're picking up three street-sleeper bags for them.

I can't wait 'til we can open up again properly and allow people the simple pleasure of taking a load off and enjoying a few moments in a warm, dry & safe space.

60+ yogurt pots and more got used last night


Creamy chicken soup about to be blended


Creamy chicken soup after blending


Moving with the times, this is now an essential piece of kit and will be used on Thursdays for our Soup Kitchen and  also on Sundays before we allow folks in to our Gatherings.


On that first Soup Kitchen five years ago I ended the post with a shot of the stunning sunset we were treated to that night, last night we were treated to another stunning sunset just before we served the soup with a spectacular rainbow in the other direction. It felt like such a blessing from God.



Stunning rainbow over Firgrove