There’s a wonderfully warm aroma emanating from Joanna Sukkar’s car as she drives to the St Vinnies Kitchen in Lewisham.
In her boot is more than 16 litres of hot soup prepared by parishioners from St Declan’s in Penshurst which will provide a much-needed meal for the homeless people of Sydney on a cold Friday night.
For the entire month of July, the outreach coordinator at St Declan’s and other volunteers have delivered the nourishing homemade soups prepared each day by families and friends as part of the growing parish outreach efforts.
“The idea came when I went out on a Vinnies night patrol run two months ago,” Joanna explained.
“It wasn’t quite freezing yet but still chilly. We gave out sandwiches and there were more than 100 people in line. I thought to myself, ‘what happens in winter?’
“Sandwiches are good, but that doesn’t cut it in the coldest part of the year.”
From there Joanna set her parish a challenge: two batches of soup a day, for 31 days, made by two sets of parishioners, eight litres each, to provide some relief for the less fortunate.
Within two weeks of advertising, the roster was full with offerings of cauliflower soup, potato and leek, chicken and vegetable, lentil, and other varieties.
Adam and Amy Aduckiewicz’s choice: pea and ham soup.
“Cooking is a bit of my love language, it gives me a lot of pleasure to see people fed and I cook every night for my family,” said Adam, who’s previously worked through Vinnies helping with Christmas deliveries and house moves.
“When they announced the initiative I thought it was something I could do. It seemed like the right thing. There are people that could be going hungry, and this might mean they’re not.”
Together with their children Millie, four, Ashton, almost two, and family dog Buddy sniffing around, they spent their Friday night together in and around the kitchen taking in the smells of their slowly simmering stockpot.
“I’ve explained to Millie that we’re cooking dinner for people that don’t have any food,” Adam said.
“It’s always a lovely thing for your kids to see you doing something good for people and for them to be part of it without the need to get anything out of it,” added Amy.
“It’s a nice thing to exhibit to the kids and we’re trying to pass these positive messages onto them.”
Adam, an IT worker for aged care facilities, and Amy, a lawyer who runs a community legal centre, believe there are plenty of avenues for people to help.
It’s just about “finding the right opportunity that aligns with your skillset.”
“People want to give, they want to help out. Sometimes they feel a bit self-conscious about putting their hand up but with the right nudge, you’ll find everyone wants to give in some way,” said Adam.
“Previously there were no avenues for me to cook and provide something for somebody, even though I’d quite happily do so.
“I might not be able to just walk out onto the street with a card table and a big pot of soup yelling come and get it, but St Declan’s in this way have given me that opportunity.”
Organiser Joanna says next year they’ve got even bigger goals: “I feel like we might be able to do the whole of winter!”