Trying to make ends meet is a constant worry that seems to be the grey cloud over many people’s mornings during tough times. If you think that you are alone in facing this daily struggle and feel afraid to get support, think again.  

For over 5 years, Soul Kitchen have been working tirelessly to cater to the needs of the local community and have opened their doors to anyone in need.  

Syed Hasan, the founder of Soul Kitchen, explains why he wanted to set up the charity.  “With rising levels of poverty and hearing about children at school who would only eat one hot meal a day due to financial difficulty at home, I just knew I had to do something to help.” 

Syed has a background in the food and hospitality industry and wanted to use his skillset to make a difference, but needed help and a venue. Initially based at Harrow Central Mosque on Station Road, Soul Kitchen expanded to operate out of churches and community centres, now offering their services at Kenmore Park Children’s Centre and the Salaam Centre in North Harrow.  

“We began with the need for a venue that had a kitchen and the capacity to cater for many people. Harrow Mosque has a very big hall that was not used much outside of congregational prayers. I approached them and in 2017, got together with some other volunteers and started our first soup kitchen.” 

“There was a need in the community from all faiths, so we felt that we had to fill that gap. As a team, we are all from different backgrounds which empowered us to reach more people.” 

Due to Covid-19 lockdowns, the charity had to make changes to continue catering to even more people in need, including those who had relied on free school meals and vulnerable adults. However, this has turned out to have positive effects.  

“The challenges of the pandemic only fuelled our desire to do more and working with the council, we managed to identify more people who needed our services. We couldn’t operate the soup kitchen and so started doing home deliveries and offering in-person packages. We’ve continued this and now Soul Kitchen is a soup kitchen, food bank and a surplus food market.”  

To match their slogan, “Great food, great company,” Soul Kitchen believes that everyone should have access to everyday essentials, as well as high quality, nutritious food, something they now work with supermarkets to help provide.  

“We initially started with a sit down, hot meal service and have grown to provide so much more,” Syed Hassan says. “We want people to have fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh bread. We also provide a friendly ear, good conversation and check in on people whenever possible to make sure everyone is OK.” 

Soul Kitchen is open to all in need and are funded by donations and goodwill. To find out more or help them serve up more meals, visit their website at https://www.soulkitchenuk.co.uk. 

Soha Omar, Young Reporter