With just days to go before they have to exit their current base, Peckham Soup Kitchen is still looking for a new home to keep feeding the area’s most vulnerable.
The organisation has until ‘mid-January’ to leave their unit on Rye Lane, which developer Berkeley Homes was letting them use for free.
After the News published their story last month, the group said they were inundated with support. Currently, they are looking into whether any of the spaces are viable.
A spokesperson from Peckham Soup Kitchen told us: “We’ve had so many people reach out trying to help, suggesting places for us to check out.
“We are just in the process of seeing if any of the places are appropriate.”
We reached out to Southwark Council to ask what they were doing to support the group, but they said there were no suitable spaces around the area they could use.
Cllr John Batteson, cabinet member for climate emergency, jobs and business, said: “We are aware that Peckham Soup Kitchen, a well-loved community organisation, is looking for a new premises.
“The council does not currently have any suitable properties available around Rye Lane that they could look into.
“We are continuing to work proactively with local 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.”
As well as their Friday evening soup kitchen, on Wednesdays they hand deliver food parcels to every house at Caroline Gardens Estate on Asylum Road.
During one of their weekly drops, residents on the estate, many of whom are pensioners living alone, told us they ‘looked forward’ to it every week.
Co-founder Fos said they were feeding a ‘minimum of 350 a week’.
On the group having to leave, a spokesperson from Berkeley Homes said: “PSK has had free use of the unit since 2023 and they have the unit until mid-January. We have paid their business rates (they’re not a charity so not exempt) and service charges for the duration of their occupation. As in 2023, their Christmas Day lunch programme is taking place at Mercato Metropolitano in Southwark, which Berkeley is funding (having also funded it in 2023).”
The group says they were given a three-month notice on October 24, meaning they would need to vacate by January 24. However, no exact date has been confirmed beyond ‘mid-January.’
If you know of anywhere Peckham Soup Kitchen can use for their Friday hub and storage point, please contact them here.