Soup kitchen offers food and friendship

Hollie Mackie and Paige Searancke will be filling saucepans and bellies with hot warming soup at the Well Cafe on Sunday evenings.

Hillary Kieft, owner of The Well Cafe in Stratford, says recent encounters with homeless people have inspired her to do something to help.

"A young woman came into the cafe last week. She was homeless and all she wanted was a listening ear. I talked with her for three hours. Then a day or so later, a man had been eating breakfast in the cafe. When he left, he left a bit of food on his plate. A man came in having looked through the window, and he asked me if he could finish the food as he was homeless and hungry. I sat him down and gave him a fresh cooked breakfast."

Helping people, says Hillary, has always been part of the ethos at The Well Cafe, but she wanted to do more than just put a meal in one person's stomach.

"I talked to my husband, and we came up with the idea of offering hot soup and some company on a Sunday night."

The "soup kitchen" will begin this Sunday, and Hillary says it is open to everyone.

Whether you are homeless, lonely or in a time of specific need. Call in and enjoy some friendship and soup.

Hillary Kieft, owner of The Well Cafe

Soup is as hearty and filling as it is economical, says Hillary, who is asking for donations of fresh vegetables from the community to help her continue to feed the hungry in the community.

Homelessness is an issue across the country, says Hillary. "People don't realise that it can happen in a small town just as much as a big city. We also get people who are passing through the area, and have nowhere to stay or eat. Every bowl of soup we can give out means one less person hungry in the country today."