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'My friend was life and soul of the soup kitchen'

Jan Kellond Two women pictured together, both are wearing glasses and have short hair. The woman on the left has a white necklace on and black shawl. The woman on the right wears a black jacket. Jan Kellond
Dianne Henry (left) inspired Jan Kellond and her other friends and family through her kindness

A retired teacher who helped set up a kitchen to feed people in food poverty - including hundreds of children - said the work of a close friend lived on through the venture.

Jan Kellond, 75, co-founded Friends of Di's Kitchen (FoDK), which has grown from helping a handful of people in Wolverhampton to providing hundreds of meals each week.

The charitable organisation was named in honour of Dianne Henry, who ran a church soup kitchen in the city's Whitmore Reans area for six years until she died in 2018, aged 68.

Ms Kellond said she and Mrs Henry "hit it off" when she begun volunteering there and she remained inspired by her "wonderful" friend, whom she described as "the life and soul", adding it was "lovely" there was a legacy.

A woman in a blue apron with "Friends of Di's Kitchen" on and a purple shirt links arms with a man in a puffer jacket and red cap. Both are smiling at the camera.
Dianne Henry's husband Keith, pictured with Jan Kellond, helped set up the organisation in his wife's name

Mrs Henry discovered Christianity later in life, Ms Kellond explained, and these values motivated her to help to feed people.

It led to her setting up "Tabs Kitchen" at The Tabernacle Baptist Church which went on to provide a three-course meal every Thursday for about 60 people.

"She taught me so much about not judging people," said Ms Kellond, a teacher for 40 years who taught food technology in Bilston and later worked in special needs education. She helped to cook and prepare the meals.

Mrs Henry "cared for everyone" and was also good fun, she said.

"She was just amazing, she was the life and soul of the kitchen, she would always dress up at Christmas."

Mrs Henry's family and friends were devastated when she died four months after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

About a year later, seven volunteers, including her husband Keith Henry, "decided we wanted to do something in Di's name", Ms Kellond explained.

KoDK was launched but four weeks after serving its first meals at a church hall in March 2020, the country went into lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Two women standing together in a kitchen. They are wearing blue aprons with "Friends of Di's Kitchen" written on. Sanju on the left has long dark hair in a pony tail and is wearing a beige jumper and Sharon has grey hair and is wearing a dark top.
Sanju and Sharon are among about 50 volunteers who regularly help at Friends of Di's Kitchen. Supermarkets including Tesco, Aldi, Asda and the Co-op help provide food via Food Share

Fortunately, the city council had already given Ms Kellond's home in Penn a five-star hygiene rating to prepare food.

And in April 2020, meals were prepared there, under Covid restrictions, before being delivered around Wolverhampton, initially to six people.

Ms Kellond said demand immediately increased and had been "growing all the time".

"There was the pandemic, there was the recession, the high energy bills and people were not coping – it was case of heat or eat," she said.

Referrals have come via schools, social workers, police officers and other methods, including self-referrals.

Ms Kellond said FoDK was glad to help but wished "there wasn't the need out there for this service".

Its latest deliveries were to 977 people, including 475 children.

A man wearing a turban with a grey beard holds tins of food in his hands. Another man wearing a hat stands next to him. Both are wearing blue "Friends of Di's Kitchen" aprons.
Volunteers Sital (left) and Arthur do jobs such as sorting the store cupboard items which will be donated to people experiencing food poverty in Wolverhampton

Continuing the Thursday tradition, guests every week receive a cold meal or bag of store cupboard items and surplus fresh food donated by supermarkets via the Fare Share scheme.

Ms Kellond said Mrs Henry's ethos of welcoming all was still central.

"Di always said 'whoever walks in through the door gets a meal' and we wanted to do exactly what she had done," she said.

Jan Kellond Two women stand side by side. The taller woman on the left has grey short hair and is wearing glasses and a black cardigan and white and blue top. The woman one right has short dark hair, glasses and is wearing a burgundy top and blue cardigan. Both are smiling at the camera. Jan Kellond
Dianne Henry (left) and Jan Kellond became good friends through their voluntary work

The organisation, which was recently recognised by a King's Award, receives donations from a wide range of sources, including Tettenhall Rotary Club, the National Lottery and Wolves Foundation.

Ms Kellond said FoDK's dedicated volunteers made it all possible and were mainly retired but also included asylum seekers, students and city workers.

Sharon, who began volunteering in September 2023 to help a friend on his deliveries, said the service offered other support, signposting people to various agencies.

"Some people just say 'thank you' and others just want to talk," she said.

The organisation set up in Dianne Henry's name marks its fifth anniversary in the spring.

In the meantime, Thursdays are a hive of activity at the Penn home, with laughter, camaraderie and cups of tea.

Volunteers pictured with bags of food. A man wearing a blue jacket and glasses holds up a bag of food items. A woman next to him has long blonde hair, a beige jumper and black coat. Both wear work identification and are smiling at the camera.
Staff from the city's One Savings Bank are among those that give volunteering hours to FoDK

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