Soup kitchen serves up hundreds of festive meals

Mackems made Christmas merry for hundreds of people across the city as community teams pulled together to cook up hundreds of meals.

Sunderland Community Soup Kitchen was a hive of activity, using its new Albert’s Place base in High Street West to co-ordinate its volunteers as well as a host of other helpers and organisations to ensure no one went without this festive time.

On Wednesday, packs of Christmas dinner ingredients to feed 357 people were delivered across Wearside and into East Durham, bought with donationsof£40fromsupporters, with treats, vouchers and handmade cards added in to make it extra special.

Meanwhile, volunteers prepared dinners and breakfasts to go out to hundreds of people, including meals for people who have moved to the city from countries including Iran, Turkey and Romania.

Organisations including domestic violence agencies, St Mary’s RC Church, Southwick Neighbourhood Youth Project (SNYP) and Sunderland Minister have all been involved, with four chefs also lending their skills.

Andrea Bell, who runs the soup kitchen, said: “There is no better feeling in the world.

"It is relief that they are not going without, but for me, it’s the children, that’s what breaks my heart, knowing that they could have been going back to school without a Christmas dinner and everybody asking what they had and what they got.

"But they have got their meal and some lovely surprises.”

It comes as an appeal launched by the Roker Report reached more than £27,000 allowing the team to buy good quality food for those most in need for a long time to come.