A cafe owner whose business was closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown is spending his time cooking up hundreds of meals a week for the vulnerable.
Aaron Hanna is one of a team of volunteers bringing dinners to more than 150 people in the South Belfast area since Coronavirus social distancing guidelines left many older people stuck indoors and unable to get to the shops.
The team, based at the Elim Church on Donegall Pass, cooks up a range of meals twice a week before they are delivered to people in the Sandy Row and Donegall Road areas.
Volunteers from organisations including the Donegall Pass Community Enterprise, South Belfast ACT, the Village Festival Committee and the South Belfast Young Conquerers, are all involved in the preparation and delivery of the food.
The owner of King Street Kitchen in Bangor, who is working along side Ian Shanks from South Belfast ACT, told Belfast Live he is “more than happy to help out”.
He added: “We were gearing up at the cafe for Mothers’ Day, then Boris made his announcement that everything was closing so we lost a massive day for the business. But I know Ian from working with him in a homeless project previously, so when he approached to say about helping out with this project I said ‘no problem’.
“I’d be here from 8am and Ian will have the food bought in from the cash and carry. We’re doing dinners like sausage and mash, there fish some days or even roast chicken, peas and gravy. We usually get all wrappen up by about 12.30 or 1 then the lads will go out and deliver it in the vans. There’s 150 to 160 meals going out then on a Tuesday and a Thursday evey week mainly to elderly people but to people who are vulnerable. There’s no real criteria other than people needing help. The feedback has been really positive and people are just really appreciative of what we’re doing.”
Ian Shanks said the ‘soup kitchen’ has been operating on charitable donations so far, including £500 from the South Belfast League.
He said: “We’ve been going up until now with donations. We can feed 150 people at £1 each. But it is all happening thanks to volunteers like Aaron who drives up from Portavogie to help out.”
