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A Hawkes Bay Couple are in line for a Pride of New Zealand award for their mobile soup kitchen.
Kiri and Kevin Swannell won the lower North Island regional prize for their initiaitive, which has been addressing the needs of the needy in Napier since the start of 2013.
Kiri Swannell says she has always worked in catering, but studying for a national certificate in mental health and addiction opened her eyes to the way a lot of people were falling through gaps in the system.
The idea for the Monday night Hope Unlimited Soup Truck came after the couple helped out with a community meal.
"It was really from the start of that night where I stood outside and I watched a gentleman who was homeless walk away and I'm standing outside and Kevin (husband) comes out and he's like are you alright and I'm like no not really. There's got to be more that we can do because I watched this guy just walk away and just the look on his face that he had nowhere to go," she says.
Kiri Swannell says the soup truck feeds from 20 to 40 people every Monday night, and they offer other help to homeless people and those in need through the week when they can spare time from their other mahi.
https://www.facebook.com/hopeunlimitedsouptruck
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH KIRI SWANNELL CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjEwMDY=
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