Jersey girl Emma Garrett, who now lives and works in Bedford, says she has been so impressed with the Jersey Soup Kitchen, which is due to be held next month and is organised by the Shelter Trust, that she wants to do something similar in her new home town.
Mrs Garrett, who is a mother of five, currently runs two park cafés in Bedford and wants to bring together her friends, family and associates, as well as local chefs, to raise money for homeless charities in Bedford, which is thought to be in the top ten towns in the UK in terms of the number of homeless people.
The former Islander, who is the daughter of Jurat Sally Le Brocq and Philip Le Brocq, hopes SoupFest 2017 will raise much-needed funds for Bedford’s homeless community.
She said: ‘As the event in Jersey clearly demonstrates, the joy of SoupFest is that anyone and everyone can be involved and even if people only have an hour to spare, that will make a difference.
‘I am to charge £3 in exchange for soup, bread and some live musical entertainment – which I think is a winning formula. Bedford, which has double the population of Jersey, has more rough sleepers than Birmingham and is in the top ten towns in the UK in terms of numbers.
‘These stats are not happy ones and I sincerely hope we can make enough money to improve the lives of Bedford’s homeless.’
Mrs Garrett has already been offered support by a number of Bedford-based chefs, the Bedford Blues Rugby Club, the Mayor of Bedford and local TV celebrity Max McMurdo.
Money raised at the event will be placed into a fund and will be managed by Bedford’s homelessness inter-agency officer. The role of the officer is to raise public awareness of the issues affecting homeless individuals in Bedford.
‘Without the inspiration that is Michelle Cuthbert from the Jersey Soup Kitchen, and John Hodge from the Shelter Trust, SoupFest 2017 would never have happened,’ Mrs Garrett said.
‘I have been in close contact with them throughout the planning process and am eternally indebted to them, as indeed are Bedford’s homeless.’
The former Islander is hoping to raise £6,000 from the event. The Jersey Soup Kitchen is due to take place on Tuesday 5 December in the Royal Square.
