Luton soup kitchen serves 120 meals in under 20 minutes

A soup kitchen has handed out 120 food parcels in under 20 minutes.

Luton Sikh Soup Kitchen, a regular fixture outside the town hall on Sunday evenings, has served 30,000 hot meals since its launch.

Volunteer Gurch Randhawa, said: “It shows you, sadly, how the cost of living crisis is affecting people.

“In the queue some people are homeless, some in hostels, but actually some have jobs but just don’t have enough money – and that queue was already going halfway down the street before six.”

He said the hardest part of the evening was packing up while people were still arriving and having to turn them away.

“That’s the challenge that in these winter months you know that a lot of people haven’t had a hot meal all day and we’re their only source of a hot meal on a Sunday,” Mr Randawa said.

Despite the challenges and whatever the weather, the team has never missed a Sunday.

Volunteer Sonia Bains said: “It’s our opportunity to give back to the community. There’s such a need in Luton, and it’s also part of our religion to do selfless service. It feels so fulfilling.”

Lynn Bird, whose employer Thurlow Nunn has supported the cause by providing a van to transport supplies and equipment each week, said it was important “to help and do something”.

“I am a Lutonian, so knowing there’s so many homeless people and you don’t realise till you come down and see it first hand just how many are queuing up,” she said.