By TEREZ CAIRNCROSS
A group of dedicated women from the Bowker Street Baptist Church give up half a day once a week to cook and dish our soup to those in need of a warm and nutritious meal.
Alerise May started the Bowker Street Baptist Church Soup Kitchen with her sister-in-law in 2016. She began with soup with bread and occasionally received food from the community kitchen, which allowed her to cook more extensive and more diverse batches.
Unfortunately, as time went on, funds depleted.
The pastor of the Bowker Street Baptist Church stepped in to help Alerise and her team by donating R400 every two weeks to buy the ingredients needed.
About 50 people came each week when the soup kitchen started, but more than 100 showed up after the pandemic struck. Of these 100 people, many are unemployed adults, women in need of a meal to take their medicine and hungry children.
Funding is a significant problem, and the kitchen is not receiving any donations.
Alerise says that some weeks she has to send people away because there isn’t enough food, and it breaks her heart.
The kitchen also needs gas and water.
How you can help
If anyone would like to donate to the Baptist Street Soup Kitchen, they can drop food parcels (or gas or water) off at the church or get in contact with Allerise on 0736192385.
