Charity kitchen marks its 40th anniversary

THE People’s Kitchen turns 40 this year, and the founder's daughter has been to the Newcastle charity for an ‘emotional’ visit.

- OWEN YOUNGER

Back in 1985, local woman Alison Kay began feeding the less fortunate in the city centre homemade soup, something she was spurred on to do by her own grief.

Today, the charity she founded serves around 350 meals a day every day of the year, and is powered by a team of around 300 unpaid volunteers. To mark this significant milestone, Alison’s daughter Allie Goddard decided to visit The People’s Kitchen, after travelling up to visit family in the North East.

Allie said: "My mum started this in response to grief, as after my younger brother Richard was killed in a car accident. She read in the paper about a homeless man who had died under a bush, alone. She was heartbroken, and she knew she had to do something."