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Peckham Soup Kitchen searching for new home

BBC Dean Foster, a young men wearing a back cap and black clothes, standing in a room in front of boxes of fresh foodBBC
Dean Foster from Peckham Soup Kitchen is appealing for help finding a new space before it needs to move on 24 January

A soup kitchen in south London, which says it is a "lifeline" to the community, may be forced to close its hub.

Peckham Soup Kitchen was established in 2021 to help people struggling to afford food and basic essentials.

It has been based in an unused unit in the Aylesham Shopping centre on Rye Lane since 2023, but now needs to move by next week because the owners of the unit need to redevelop it.

Southwark Council said it did not have anywhere suitable for the kitchen to relocate to, but continued to work with the organisation to try to help.

In a normal week, the soup kitchen supports more than 500 people, and often on Fridays there are people queueing around the block waiting on a hot meal from the hub.

Dean Foster, co-founder of Peckham Soup Kitchen, said: ''The soup kitchen is a lifeline to some people here.

"It is not just groceries, not just food, but we put on sports camps, gym camps, fitness events and classes for the kids, we give out trainers and clothing if needed.

"We also run a community allotment programme which teaches people to grow and harvest their own food."

A close-up image of a box full of tinned food, with someone in the background packing tins into a bag
In a normal week, the soup kitchen supports more than 500 people with food as well as clothing and other support

"We always knew this space was temporary and we are very thankful of the owners to allow us to use it for free for so long," he continued.

"We thought the council could help us find something permanent while we were here, but nothing came up."

Berkeley Homes said the soup kitchen had free use of the space since 2023, with the developer paying its business rates and service charge for the duration of the time in the space, and funding the kitchen's Christmas Day lunch programme in both 2023 and 2024.

Peckham Soup Kitchen now needs to leave by 24 January and at the moment it has nowhere to go, so it is appealing for anyone in the area who might have spare space to contact the organisation.

Amelia - a young woman with tied back hair wearing a black t-shirt with the organisation's logo on in and an ankh necklace. She is standing in front of stacks of boxes containing food
Lead volunteer Amelia Naraine said: "We know we have to leave here but we will find somewhere, and if we don't we'll work from the street"

The initiative is run by volunteers who give their time to help support those in the area.

Lead volunteer Amelia Naraine, 28, who was born in Peckham and still lives there, said she started volunteering there after the pandemic.

She said as well as helping others, it has helped her with her own mental and physical health.

"Peckham often gets a bad reputation in the national media, but that's not true, we have so many volunteers here helping others," she said.

"We are part of the community. We know we have to leave here but we will find somewhere, and if we don't we'll work from the street."

She said they would ideally want a space with a kitchen on site so they can cook their own food.

Labour councillor John Batteson, cabinet member for climate emergency, jobs and business at Southwark Council, said: "We are aware that Peckham Soup Kitchen, a well-loved community organisation, is looking for new premises.

"We are continuing to work with organisations in Peckham to meet the needs of our most vulnerable residents, and we wish Peckham Soup Kitchen every success in finding a suitable premises."

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