Fred & Martie’s Soup Kitchen is a registered Public Benefit and Non-Profit Organisation (IT18A and BEE certificates available on request), dedicated to supporting the less fortunate in Claremont, west of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Our journey began over 43 years ago, when our parents, Fred and Martie Hughes, saw a deep need in the community and decided to act. Having experienced poverty firsthand, Fred knew the struggles that many in the community were facing. In March 1981, when they moved to Claremont, Johannesburg, they brought with them not just their belongings, but a wealth of empathy and a desire to make a difference.

It all started with Martie, our mom, feeding children from a small table on the pavement outside our home. Using sample packs of soya mince that my dad received from the factory where he worked, she began to share what little we had with others. What began as a simple act of kindness quickly grew into something much bigger.

Martie soon realized the extent of the need when more and more people came to her, desperate for food. She often said that she started the soup kitchen because she knew what it was like to be poor, to go to bed hungry, and to pray for the hunger pains to go away.

On the first day, five children came to eat. By the third day, that number had grown to 200, with children gathering on the pavement, on our doorstep, and even in the street. The situation became so overwhelming that the traffic department had to step in to manage the flow of traffic while the children were being fed.

Through Martie’s passion and love for her community, hundreds were fed and inspired. For years, the poor and needy relied on my parents not just for food, but also for hope and encouragement.

When Martie sadly passed away in February 2008, her dying wish was that the children she cared for would continue to be looked after, no matter the cost. At that time, Yolindie, Fred’s daughter, stepped in to carry on the work as Fred’s health had declined, making it difficult for him to continue the soup kitchen on his own.

Yolindie promised her dad that Martie’s legacy would live on—that the children who meant so much to her would never be forgotten and would never go hungry. Today, Fred & Martie’s Soup Kitchen continues to serve the community with the same dedication and love that started it all those years ago.