This year marks the 40th anniversary of The People’s Kitchen, a Newcastle-based charity born from a simple but powerful act of kindness.
In 1985, Alison Kay, a caring woman from Newcastle, began walking the city’s streets with flasks of homemade soup, determined to offer warmth and dignity to people experiencing homelessness. Today, the charity she founded serves around 350 meals a day, 365 days a year, and is powered by an extraordinary team of approximately 300 unpaid volunteers.
To mark the milestone, Alison Kay’s daughter, Alison “Ailie” Goddard, paid an emotional visit to The People’s Kitchen while visiting family from her home in the West Midlands.
“My mum started this in response to grief,” said Ailie. “After my younger brother Richard was killed in a car accident, she read in the paper about a homeless man who had died under a bush, alone. She was heartbroken, and she knew she had to do something.”
Armed with nothing more than a thermos of soup and a compassionate heart, Alison Kay began seeking out “her friends,” as she called those living on the streets. Eventually, with help from local volunteers, she set up a small trolley in Eldon Square offering soup, pop, bread—whatever she could gather from local shops.
Four decades later, The People’s Kitchen has grown into one of the best-known charities in the North East, supporting people experiencing homelessness and hardship with food, friendship, and community.
During her visit, Ailie was delighted to meet several of the original volunteers who had worked alongside her mother in the early days. “It was so moving to see familiar faces—people who believed in her vision and helped turn it into something lasting. Mum always wanted the community to be involved—to help people feel seen, loved, and part of something. And I think she succeeded. She’d be incredibly proud—not of herself, but of everyone who’s kept this going.”
Importantly, The People’s Kitchen receives no government funding. The charity is entirely dependent on public donations, corporate partnerships, and community support to continue its work. Despite this, it operates 24/7, offering meals, clothing, toiletries, and crucial human connection to those in need.
“It’s heartbreaking that we’re still needed 40 years on,” said Ailie. “But it’s also a testament to the incredible volunteers and supporters who keep showing up. It started with one person and a flask. Now it’s a lifeline for hundreds every day.”
Trustee Maggie Pavlou was delighted to meet Ailie. “Alison Kay’s legacy lives on not just in bricks and mortar, but in every warm meal served, every kind word shared, and every life touched by The People’s Kitchen. It was an honour to meet her daughter and show her how her mother’s kindness has helped thousands of lives over the last forty years.”
To learn more or to donate, visit www.peopleskitchen.co.uk/donate