Just over two years ago, what is now the Breaking Bread team discussed the need for a reliable organisation to feed the local homeless people within our community.
We were invited to join a weekly mobile soup kitchen in Observatory called Soup Sessions. Created by visiting students with the aim to bring the whole community together to share a meal and enjoy live performances.
After the students left Cape Town, Breaking Bread continued to host Soup Sessions which still takes place every Friday at 4-pm in Observatory.
It became apparent that there was a need to provide food for every day of the week in the area where our co-director Sheradia Brown lives. Although we don’t have a permanent building, we made the decision to cook the food and provide it straight from Sheradia’s home in Salt River. We now cater for approximately fifty people for breakfast and lunch, Monday – Thursday, in addition to Soup Sessions on Friday.
Our purpose is not just to offer a nutritious meal; it’s to understand the difficult choices faced by Cape Town’s homeless community. We can only do that by getting to know each person we work with. Over time, and with more sustainable financial support, we aim to find a fixed address to serve as a community centre.
Breaking Bread Community Development’s mission is simple: we want to encourage the people we work with the empower themselves. Our aim is to challenge the stigma that homeless people face on a daily basis to help them become active members in our community.
We have a lot of work ahead of us but know that our work is important. It’s vital that we are an active part of the drive towards equality. We hope that whoever you are and wherever you’re reading this, that you share our positive spirit for change. Everyone of us has the ability to make a difference, and together, we can use Breaking Bread a viable platform to take action.
