On Friday 14th November, we proudly celebrated the 10 year Anniversary of Soul Kitchen.
The celebration was held at Campbell Hall and was primarily made up of invitees who had supported Soul Kitchen on their journey over the past 10 years.
Food is and always has been at the heart of everything at Soul Kitchen, and in the words of our logo – Soul Kitchen is more than just a meal – we offer non-judgemental support, and build individual relationships through mutual trust and respect.
In those early days we were just a group of people trying to help those who were homeless. That aim hasn’t changed but it has become more refined and more focussed. In those ten years we have moved into Campbell Hall, opened a bank account, become a registered charity, and have crowdfunded for a van and funds to install a commercial kitchen in 1, The Mount where we have just taken on a 5 year lease.
During this period of development we recruited new trustees, developed lead volunteers and focused our aims and vision on providing a three stage pathway for those we are helping.
Our 3 stage pathway starts with SUPPORT which is offered via our Saturday night Drop In sessions and our Winter Wednesday Welfare Walkabouts – offering vital support with food, essentials and clothing, but its more than that, it is where we build relationships through engagement, respect and trust.
The second stage of our pathway is EMPOWERMENT. We don’t believe that it is enough to provide support – vital as it maybe, as we want to empower individuals to develop the skills, confidence and self belief which will enable them to move forward with their lives. Empowerment happens through our Soul in a Bowl cookery sessions and as well as the skills of cookery and teamwork, it engenders self confidence and self esteem.
After developing the confidence to cook and having proved reliability in attending the sessions, members can take Level 2 Food Hygiene and other qualifications, and move onto the third step of our pathway – PROGRESSION.
With progression, team members have gone on to take college courses, two are in employment, some are volunteering, two are running our weekly social support café in Ellesmere Port and some have moved on to gain valuable training experience in hospitality at The Chester Town House.
The Progression pathway also means the opportunity to become part of our fledgling social enterprise project – Second Bite – where team members are initially producing ‘shortbread with soul’ – It is currently available to purchase at The Chester Town House on Lower Bridge Street and at the Share Shop on Pepper Street and is proving very popular!
SECOND BITE – our ‘shortbread with soul’.
Every purchase of our shortbread biscuits helps provide training and employment for somebody who is or who has been homeless
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