The Bexhill family feeding the community this lockdown

Valeria Brown decided to use her life-long passion of cooking to help cheer people up after talking about the consequences of the third national lockdown with her two daughters – Sofia, 7, and Anabelle, 5.

Originally of Ukrainian-Russian heritage, Valeria said soups were an essential part of her life growing up in a family where soups were always made from scratch.

Inspired by her grandmother, the 40-year-old mother-of-two created the The_Good_Story_Soup to offer the people of Bexhill some soup free of charge. On the first day – January 12 – she had made her first batch of 10 litres.

She set up a Facebook group where people could request soups for themselves or for family and friends who were feeling lonely and isolated during lockdown.

Valeria said the demand grew ‘incredibly fast’, meaning she and her daughters had to look for bigger saucepans and more produce. That is when the community stepped in to help.

Firstly, Carroll’s Greengrocers gifted three boxes of vegetables after hearing about the idea, and have continued to supply vegetables to Valeria ever since.

Sackville Bistro also stepped forward and donated a huge professional saucepan to Valeria so she could make larger batches. A few kind individuals have also supplied saucepans, she said.

Valeria added: “Locals started giving us donations of vegetables and soup containers too. The support of the local community is very generous.

“We are thankful for all the kind words, and support we received. We are incredibly happy to see The Good Story Soup grow and make people smile.

“We are happy that so many people responded by getting the soup delivered to someone they care about – grandma, a friend, a neighbour etc. It became exactly what we hoped for, a soup that has a message to everyone - ‘these tough times will pass’.”

Valeria, who moved to Bexhill from Egypt in 2016, has now made at least 78 litres of soup since January 12 with the support of her daughters, who attend Glenleigh Park Academy. The three are planning to make another 35 litres today (Tuesday, January 26).

The family makes batches on Tuesdays and Thursday and Valeria says she intends to keep the idea running until lockdown is over.

If you would like to request some soup – either by delivery in Bexhill, or by collection from Valeria – please search The_Good_Story_Soup on Facebook.