ST FRANCIS BAY – For more than two decades, Hilda Fredericks has been serving children in need through her soup kitchen in Sea Vista, St Francis Bay, driven by what she describes as a simple desire to ensure that children asking for food are not turned away.

Fredericks, who was born in Sea Vista and has lived in the area her entire life, started her soup kitchen after noticing that children were regularly coming to her home asking for bread.

A simple act of kindness begins

She said she often cooked in large quantities for her own household and had leftover food that she could give to the children.

“My neighbour suggested that I start a soup kitchen because there were always children at my doorstep asking for bread,” said Fredericks.

She said she had never considered starting a soup kitchen before the suggestion but eventually decided to act on it and established her soup kitchen on 1 July 2000.

At the time, Fredericks was still working full-time at the local harbour.

A helper prepared meals in the mornings, while she completed whatever needed to be done in the afternoons before handing out the food to the children.

At the time, Fredericks also received assistance from her former employer in the form of vegetables and bones for soup.

She continued making soup and homemade bread and developed a passion for serving children in need.

Soup kitchen grows to serve community

Initially, she fed about 75 children and 14 seniors.

Fredericks said her neighbour later offered to take over feeding the seniors, allowing her to focus on the children.

Today, she feeds about 60 children three times a week and has also expanded her services to assist substance users.

However, Fredericks said she does not always have enough produce to prepare meals every day.

Thankfully, she receives regular bread donations from the local Spar store, while a local spaza shop provides vegetables, rice and maize meal, which she pays for at the end of the month.

Community support keeps kitchen going

Ahead of Mandela Day, Richard Arderne, from Pam Golding St Francis Bay also donated dry soup mix jars, often referred to as Jars of Hope, which helped feed the children on Mandela Day.

The local spaza shop also donated sweets, which Fredericks said were a great surprise for the children.

“I love sharing with the underprivileged children from my community,” said Fredericks.

She also runs a cleaning project with the children from her soup kitchen because she believes the community is her home and should be cleaned in the same way she cleans her own home.

Fredericks uses the project to teach the children about the importance of keeping their environment and community clean.

‘A child is just a child’

She said seeing children who have nowhere else to get food continues to motivate her.

“A child is just a child. They should not be chased away when asking for bread because they cannot fend for themselves and need assistance,” said Fredericks.

“It breaks my heart to see children asking for food.”

Hope for the soup kitchen’s future

Fredericks said she remains grateful to everyone who has donated to her soup kitchen and hopes her daughter, Hillary, will eventually take over the initiative.

She said her daughter currently helps her a lot with the soup kitchen, although Fredericks acknowledged that running one is not an easy task and is not for everyone.

Fredericks said she often needs rice and vegetables but does not want money.

Instead, she hopes people will assist with produce that can be used to prepare meals for underprivileged children.

For more information or to donate produce towards Hilda Fredericks’ soup kitchen, contact her on 064 326 2938.

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