Did you know that the All Saints’ Anglican Church, located at 501 Hamilton Road in Chermside, now has a soup kitchen and may soon have other facilities to help the homeless? The new feeding program takes place once a week to supplement their hamper donation drive and other programs that the church members deliver to the community.
Organized by Fr Daniel Jayaraj, the soup kitchen is open every Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. It’s held at the church halls and welcomes the homeless, the needy and the lonely to partake in a meal of vegetables, meat, coffee and cake.
Since the soup kitchen started over a month ago, the volunteers said that they saw people coming back.
“They feel comfortable, welcome and accepted,” Margaret Coombs said. “[The soup kitchen] reaches out to those in the community who need care, who need a meal, a time for fellowship with other people in the community.”
Fr Daniel, who arrived from Gladstone to Chermside sometime before Christmas in 2018, saw the need to open the soup kitchen when he realized that there are people sleeping outside the church. He also learned that the Chermside community has plenty of old people who dine alone in their homes.
“We want to fight against hunger and loneliness. The congregation is really excited about it and willing to help,” Fr Daniel said.
The soup kitchen complements the church’s grocery hamper donations to struggling families. This has been the practice since 30 years ago.
The church also plans to set up a charity shop, as well as a laundry and shower facility. Once installed, the needy may get coffee or second-hand clothes at the shop for $5, or take a shower and wash their clothes.