Swan Bank Soup Kitchen

Swan Bank Methodist Church has been a longstanding beacon of hope in a community where there is a lot of deprivation, poverty and housing needs. The Soup Kitchen is one of their projects alongside the Community Grocery and the Food Bank that has a significant impact on the community.

Amid the chatter and the clunking of forks, a young woman arrives at Swan Bank Soup Kitchen with a baby and a toddler. She is staying at a local hostel and is looking for warm food for herself and her children. Keith, the Team Leader, finds her a quiet room where she can enjoy breakfast with her children and bring home sandwiches.

That’s the spirit of Swan Bank Soup Kitchen in the Chester and Stoke-on-Trent Methodist District: to provide a warm and safe space for everyone to enjoy a free, hearty and personalised breakfast.

“I was very much aware how many rough sleepers from the area were knocking on the door of the church and asking for food. I also knew not much could be done so I felt prompted to do something. I listened to my heart and what God was saying to me,” explains Keith, who is a member of the church.

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

So in October 2024, he contacted the minister to set up a Soup Kitchen. Keith sorted it out from the finances to the volunteers. Swan Bank Soup Kitchen opened on a cold November Thursday and was an immediate success.

“The feedback that I we received from the guests, is that it's more than just filling us with food. It's how you make us feel. It's how we're cared for, how you respect us, the warmth that we show, the love that we give out, and that makes me feel nice inside, because we are more than just a soup kitchen,” adds Keith.

It was supposed to end in March but, in between the community need and the eagerness of the volunteers, not only did they decide to stay open all year long but now they are open two days a week.

For Phill, one of the volunteers, “It's an amazing initiative. We've upped it from one day a week to two days a week. We've extended the hours. We've moved to brunch. We can't do enough. Swan Bank is massive in the community and it's a big part of our lives. It is an amazing initiative to carry on.”

For Olga, volunteering is fulfilling, “at the end of the day, we're giving them at least that one ray of hope.” Sometimes she cooks, other times she goes around and chats with the guests.

“We have an amazing energy to try and go the extra mile to help someone who might find themselves in need in one way or another. We do have a heart to be able to help people wherever possible. I see God at work in this work, we're able to have some amazing conversations, be present in people's lives and be alongside people,” concludes Revd Kathryn Stevens, one of the ministers at Swan Bank Methodist Church.