York HOPING homeless street kitchen celebrates year at new home

University of York Vice-Chancellor Professor Charlie Jeffery joined award-winning York charity, HOPING, to give hands-on help at the street kitchen, exactly one year after they moved to their new home at the University’s King’s Manor grounds in the heart of the city.

Charlie and his team first stepped in to help when the street kitchen found itself homeless last year. Changes in council traffic rules meant the charity couldn’t return to their pre-pandemic home in King’s Square.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, Charlie Jeffery, with HOPING volunteers (Image: HOPING)

With support from The Press, HOPING’s Jayne Venables put out the call for a new site and the University of York quickly offered their city centre space.

“The location is ideal,” says Jayne, one of around thirty HOPING volunteers who cook and provide nourishing hot meals to the homeless, refugees and those in need, every Sunday night.

“It is accessible and gives us a safe space not just to set up and feed people, but also to engage with them, to listen to their stories and to help them find solutions to the many challenges they face.”

Growing need The charity is run entirely by unpaid volunteers and receives no local or central government funding. It relies entirely on donations from business organisations, some grants and lottery funding as well as individuals to meet what is a growing need as poverty bites deeper. A year ago, just twenty people came for meals. This year, the average is around 50 each week and peaked in the Autumn at 70.

HOPING’s co-ordinator, Helen Meadows, expects that number to increase: “We know that more and more families are in the ‘only just coping’ category. The recession and cost of living crisis is pushing more local people into poverty. We are really touched by York residents’ and businesses’ generosity in making donations, but we also know that we couldn’t deliver the comfort and support we offer without organisations like the University of York stepping in to help.”

To show his hands-on support, Charlie Jeffery donned an apron gifted to him by the charity and joined the HOPING team serving food on Sunday night.

“As a York institution, we are absolutely committed to playing our full part in supporting the local community. Students and staff engage with a range of charities. HOPING stands out because it reflects the real spirit of our great city – volunteers selflessly offering practical help and caring support to those in desperate need. We are so proud to be able to provide the city centre space from which they can work effectively. In these times, helping the homeless and those in need is more vital than ever,” he says.

Last week, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress made an anniversary visit to the kitchen.

The Lord Mayor of York, Cllr David Carr, with HOPING volunteers (Image: HOPING)

Lord Mayor, Cllr David Carr, said: “It fills me with great pride and encouragement to see what splendid work the HOPING people are doing to look after those in our city who are less fortunate than many of us.”

The street kitchen’s excellent community work was recognised recently when it won The Press’s York Community Pride Award for Best Community Project 2022.

HOPING has also been nominated for Morrison’s Christmas Gifting Tree 2022, which facilitates public donations via Morrisons at Foss Island.