The Soup Kitchen launches 40-day fundraiser in Victoria

For 40 years, dedicated volunteers at the non-profit Soup Kitchen have put out over one million meals for those in need. (CTV News)

The Soup Kitchen in Victoria has launched a campaign challenge with a goal to raise $24,000 in 40 days.

For 40 years, dedicated volunteers at the non-profit have been working away, putting out over one million meals for those in need.

It says the money raised will provide nutritious meals for seniors, low-income workers, unhoused people and anyone else who needs it.

Currently, the kitchen is open five days a week and puts out 3,000 to-go meals a month from its location in the basement of St. Andrew’s Cathedral on View Street in downtown Victoria.

With rising costs, the non-profit hopes you can help them help others.

“Folks who come in here are so incredibly grateful and appreciative of this, of receiving this nutritious meal,” says Teri Hustins, the Soup Kitchen’s past board chair.

"It’s six dollars worth of food and it will feed someone for about two meals during the day.”

Each meal is prepared fresh each day and contains things like a protein-rich sandwich, soup, yogurt, a boiled egg, fruit, sweets and bottled water.

Originally the kitchen served its meals inside, but due to the pandemic it started bagging them up and handing them out.

The society is a registered non-profit, non-denominational charity, completely run by volunteers. It opened on Nov. 12, 1982, and was founded by Murray and Edna Black.

At Tuesday's kick-off to the fundraising campaign, volunteers and donors gathered around a new 250-pound bread slicer, the result of a $5,000 donation from the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

The automated bread slicer will save time, allowing volunteers to transform fresh loaves of donated bread from Cobs Bread Bakery into sandwiches for the hungry.

By Tuesday, the Soup Kitchen had raised $3,040 towards its $24,000 goal.