The kitchen and reception area at Southport Soup Kitchen have been transformed to meet growing demand to support vulnerable local people and families.
The brand new facilities at this life-saving centre, on London Street in Southport town centre, have been “supercharged” by the fundraising efforts of Andrew Carney, who has raised £4,000 through a four day coast-to-coast cycle ride from the West coast to the East coast of England, from Carlisle to Berwick-Upon Tweed – a gruelling journey of 200 miles.
Andrew then raised a further £10,000 through a moving speech he gave about why Southport Soup Kitchen needed urgent support at the Voluntary Aid Club in Liverpool.
Southport Soup Kitchen relies entirely on voluntary donations to help people when they need it the most.
The growing number of local families calling on the volunteers for help meant they were struggling to cope with the limited facilities they had, with an urgent need for an upgrade.
The charity is led by Marie Buchanan, who in April was honoured for her 20 years of work with Southport Soup Kitchen as a Finalist in the Main Award category in the 2026 Grand Pride Of Sefton Awards at The Grand in Southport.
A Southport Soup Kitchen spokesperson said:
“Two weeks ago, a long held vision and necessity became a reality at Southport Soup Kitchen.
“The number of people that we support has been steadily growing each year. We realised a few years ago that we needed to reconfigure our kitchen to help accommodate the increase in food that we needed to cook and prepare.
“However, these things cost money, and as a small local charity with no government funding, that was a tall order.
“We began fundraising last summer, ever mindful that we also needed to meet the rising costs of food and prepare for the extra support our guests would need over winter.
“Step forward, Andrew Carney who supercharged our dream of a new kitchen and took it upon himself to make it a reality.
“Over four sunny days in July, Andrew and his team of intrepid fundraisers completed a gruelling coast to coast bike ride from Carlisle to Berwick-Upon Tweed – a journey of 200 miles.
“ In total Andrew raised a whopping £4,000 for Southport Soup Kitchen. He then raised a further £10,000 through an inspiring presentation to the VAC in Liverpool.
“From that point on, our vision of a revamped kitchen began to take place and we have SO many people to thank!
“Howdens who kindly donated new kitchen cupboards and worktops
“The wonderful Lee Groves – our heroic kitchen fitter who spent three days, from dawn to dusk, taking out the old kitchen and fitting the new in record time so that we could still open that week.
Electrician Mike Doyle who disconnected our old cooker.
“MKM Building Supplies who donated wooden flooring for our cooker area,
“Dom Antrobus who came to the ‘Soupie’ at very short notice and wired in the new cooker in time for us to serve food at the weekend.
“Andrew Smart of Kitchequip who measured up, advised and put us in contact with his brother at Howdens.
“Andrew Brown of Stand up for Southport for his invaluable advice and support.
“The volunteers who worked together to ensure that we never had to close or stop serving hot food.
“Volunteers Nigel, Giles, Faye and Bina who took away crates, recycling and bulky items, freeing up much needed space,
“Our amazing Managing Director, Marie, who spent hours cleaning, sorting and painting to complete the Southport Soup Kitchen glow up.
“Everyone that checked in and offered help over the week.
“And of course, Andrew Carney who saw an urgent need and challenged himself to raise the funds needed to transform our kitchen.
“The kindness and support of these wonderful people has blown us away. We now have an amazing kitchen with so much more cupboard space and a cooker that helps us cook and prepare delicious food for the increased numbers of guests that need our support.
“To everyone that helped make this vision a reality, thank you SO much. We are so grateful to you all.”
- If you would like to support the work of Southport Soup Kitchen please visit: Southport Soup Kitchen – A helping hand for those in need. Serving our community since 2002.
- PleaseFollow their Facebook page: (20+) Facebook
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