Ladles of Love first started in 2014 and has since brought many locals together to make a difference and serve up heartwarming soup to those in need. What started as a once a week soup kitchen has now reached three meals a week for the homeless community and even more for underprivileged schools.
Danny Diliberto created Ladles of Love based on the Sanskrit word “Seva” meaning giving of yourself and wanting nothing in return.
“Having learnt about this word and being in the restaurant business at the time it all seemed to click into place and so I decided to start a weekly soup kitchen serving around 100 meals a week to what it is today serving around 2500 meals a week,” says Diliberto.
Diliberto and his team of eager locals support both homeless people and children from underprivileged school and hope to help even more people in future.
“Our aim is to serve healthy, fresh and tasty food to those in need with our focus on the homeless community as well as less privileged kids in schools. Another focus this year is to start generating income through a business model so as to help sustain our organisation by using the profits to pay for our admin costs. In this way, we can start spreading the donations to more and more people in need. I am hoping to extend our helping hand into the townships around Cape Town and into more schools,” says Diliberto.
All of their meals are vegetarian and are freshly prepared. Their soup is thick and wholesome and includes delicious ingredients such as potato, butternut, carrots, lentils and rice with a carefully selected blend of spices.
Since expanding to feed students at primary schools with a focus on nutrition, Ladles of love manages to feed 760 students lunch every week.
Locals who are interested in giving of themselves without expecting anything in return can volunteer for their next soup kitchen and can check times and locations at www.ladlesoflove.org.za. All you need to do to volunteer is show up. Simple as that.
“We can also do with various expertise in our organisation so if there is anyone out there who would like to volunteer their time and knowledge with us that would also be great,” says Diliberto.
Ladles of Love is changing the world and filling stomachs with food and hearts with love, one bowl of soup at a time.
Pictures: Facebook/Ladles of Love
