Inside the Simon Community: Everyone has their own story, but the common denominator is food poverty

Karen Funnell meets staff and service users of Cork Simon’s soup run, which provides vital nutrition for people who are homeless and over a third of service users who are renters who can’t afford to pay bills and buy food. It operates every night of the year

IT’S A quiet night at the soup run by all accounts. On a typical evening, there could be up to 35 availing of the services but on this occasion there’s fewer than 20. Still, the handful of volunteers have plenty of work to do. There’s shepherd’s pie and pork tonight — there’s not always a choice, it often depends on the donations Simon has received — but there’s always something warm and nutritious.

Monika Butler is a care and support assistant with the Simon Community and she oversees the nightly soup run with colleague Deirdre Healy.