Whilst our main goal is that no one should go to bed on an empty stomach, our work has grown to include clothing, blankets, school stationery, Christmas gifts, food gardens, and practical hope.
The Soup Kitchen was initiated by a group of women from the Port Alfred Christian Centre during 1998 after an appeal from a local township school. Reports came in that some children had fainted in the classroom after eating paper to still their hunger pains.
They stepped in and started by feeding 18 children. Within a short period the feeding scheme extended to three schools in Nemato, and in 2002 the Soup Kitchen was registered as an NPO.
An interdenominational committee was elected with a major goal: feeding the poor with both food and the gospel, while also attending to general wellbeing through blankets in winter and clothing throughout the year.
The soup kitchen began after an appeal from a township school, where children had reportedly fainted in class after eating paper to still their hunger pains. A group of women from Port Alfred Christian Centre started by feeding 18 children.
The feeding scheme had grown beyond its first schools in Nemato and was registered as The Port Alfred Christian Upliftment and Development Centre.
After outgrowing the church kitchen and moving from Park Road, Debra and Steve offered free premises at 42 Van der Riet Street to keep the work going.
By 2009, meals were being prepared for hundreds of people on Mondays and Wednesdays, with food also supplied to needy families and institutions across the Ndlambe area.
Funding became so tight that feeding had dropped to once a week and closure was close. Stenden South Africa came to the rescue and helped the kitchen continue.
PASK now serves ±3,000 meals each week, supports about 20 satellite kitchens, and helps communities develop food gardens through Farming God's Way principles.
Lockdown was deeply challenging because we were unable to provide meals to those who depend on us. When the work resumed, it opened the door to satellite kitchens led by dedicated community members, our "soup mothers", who prepare and distribute meals within their own areas.
These kitchens have become places not only of nourishment, but of faith, where meals are received with prayer and gratitude.
Alongside them, we support small vegetable gardens with setup assistance, seedlings, and guidance so communities can become more self-reliant.
We welcome visitors to join us on the route and experience what it means when a simple bakkie becomes a vehicle of hope.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday
07:00-13:00
Usually closed Wednesdays unless it is a public-holiday week.
The Port Alfred Soup Kitchen began in 1998 after an appeal from a township school where children had reportedly fainted after eating paper to still their hunger pains.
What started with 18 children has grown into a community feeding, care, and upliftment ministry serving ±3,000 meals each week, supporting satellite kitchens, and helping families grow food through Farming God’s Way principles.
