The Soup Kitchen’s Service, Through Three Years of COVID-19

Initial Challenges

During the week commencing January 20th, 2020, the COVID outbreak was announced in China. Immediately, all public places were closed, including our Soup Kitchen building, where we served meals to the homeless. This meant that all of our activities - serving meals to the homeless of Xi’an, providing them with clothing, and medical care, etc. - had to cease.

All businesses, shops, restaurants, and food outlets were closed, which meant that at a time when we could no longer provide them with meals, all their other sources of food and water, and their usual means of survival, were cut off. They would usually get their drinking water from small restaurants or hospitals, but these were either closed or inaccessible, leaving them with no source of drinking water at all. This was devastating.

At the time, nobody knew what COVID was or how serious it was. Reports indicated that it was extremely contagious and life-threatening. We had to cease all of the Soup Kitchen’s operations, as we could not put the volunteers at risk, nor could we expect them to either.

This created a dilemma, as this was a time when the homeless needed more support than ever before. In light of this, Tony, the founder of the Yellow River Soup Kitchen, and his partner, YiYi decided they would find a way of continuing to serve them on their own for as long as possible. They would need to provide face masks for them also, as it was the homeless people's only means of protecting themselves against infection. Also, without a mask, you could not be on the streets at all or enter any building that may open.

Tony and YiYi faced numerous hurdles. With the full lockdown, everybody was confined to their buildings and not allowed out. No restaurants or food suppliers were open, and face masks were unavailable as 1.3 billion people suddenly needed them. They no longer had a location to serve from and could not contact our homeless friends to inform them of any plans. When people had permission to venture out, there were restrictions on the number of people gathering. Officials were extremely nervous about groups, particularly homeless people, whom they had no control over regarding their whereabouts.

Overcoming the Challenges

The most pressing problem that had to be solved was getting food to serve; without food, nothing else was possible. Luckily, our food supplier of over 13 years was a family-run business with whom we had a great working relationship, now managed by the son, Xiao He. He was willing to help us find a solution, even though his premises had already been closed. He agreed to get up at 2 a.m. with his family and prepare the food in his home. He then somehow managed to gain permission to leave his building and deliver it to Tony and YiYi each time so that they could serve it. His older brother, He Liming, would later join them too.

With this resolved, Tony and YiYi then needed to leave their building complex regularly, which was strictly controlled. Without the proper clearance, security guards would not allow anyone to leave the locked gates. They approached the building managers to explain their situation and why they needed regular permission to exit. The managers were deeply moved and immediately agreed, giving them written permission to leave. There was a further restriction allowing only one person per household to be out at any time, but this was also relaxed for them.

It was a difficult time for everyone, including the building managers, who were managing the lockdown for the residents of seven 33-story apartment blocks. They, too, were unable to obtain face masks, even though everyone was told these were the best defence against contracting the virus. Tony and YiYi had managed to secure a small supply of face masks and, grateful for the managers’ help, gladly gave them a few as thanks.

To serve the food and water, since they could no longer use our building, they loaded up their car with food and drove around the streets in search of as many homeless people as they could find.

For protection, they wore face masks, eye goggles, surgical gloves and headgear. After each day’s serving, they fully sanitised and disinfected all clothing and equipment, including the car. At no point during the serving could they remove any item of their personal protective equipment until everything had been sanitised, which meant driving around the city for up to eight hours with no food, water, or toilet breaks.

With solutions to these initial challenges, they began serving that same week on Sunday, 26th January. Ma Sha, a long-term volunteer, upon hearing of their plans and realising the plight of the homeless, insisted on joining them and continued thereafter.

The logistics of getting the food to our friends were running relatively smoothly, but they continued to encounter new challenges. One of them was that to serve as many people as possible, they organised several locations around the city, and the homeless would go there at predetermined times to wait for them. This meant the people didn’t need to travel as far for food, which was important as many were old or disabled. Also, having several locations kept numbers down to acceptable levels. However, having groups of homeless people queueing at safe distances understandably made local authorities nervous. Tony and YiYi would continuously find themselves moved on and refused access to the locations. They had to constantly find new spots to serve from and then notify the homeless of any changes.

Sustaining the Service

During the first year of COVID, ensuring a steady supply of food and masks was a major challenge due to freight and deliveries into the city being halted. Though many could not directly participate in Soup Kitchen projects, our vast network of volunteers was always willing to help when it came to sourcing essential items needed to support our street friends.

Bottled drinking water remained a problem, though it was in scarce supply for everybody, which caused a great deal of concern. Once it became critical, they sent a message out to the volunteer network to see if anybody had a solution, then somehow, one intrepid volunteer managed to get a special delivery into the city just for the Soup Kitchen and supplied us with enough pallets of bottled water to see out the rest of the year.

As the COVID situation evolved, some volunteers and managers rejoined the food deliveries. This support was a relief for Tony and YiYi, as managing all the food runs and challenges had been exhausting. It also meant there was often more than one vehicle. With the extra hands, they were able to offer more services. This allowed them to distribute more clothing and medical supplies and treat wounds along the way. Including arranging hospital treatment for those who needed it, and, as restrictions eased, even helped some individuals find work.

Rising Need During Lockdown

The number of people needing assistance steadily increased, especially among migrant workers trapped in Xi’an due to lockdowns. As the migrant workers lost their jobs, they also lost their accommodation, which came with the job, so their only option was to live on the streets. As a result, the number of people sleeping rough increased enormously. Later, as things began to open up and some migrant workers were able to leave the city and return home, several made a point of thanking Tony and YiYi before leaving. They told them that they had lost 10 to 15 kilos in weight during the lockdown, and that without the food distribution, they would have certainly died.

Driving throughout the city, they served up to 240 meals at a time; each meal consisted of sufficient food for 2-3 days. In the first 2 months alone, they served 4,169 meals and distributed 3631 face masks.

As the months passed, it became increasingly difficult to continually find new locations where they could serve the food, which at times led to some tense confrontations as the authorities constantly moved them on. A long-time friend of the Soup Kitchen, Li Tao, offered his company’s courtyard as a discreet serving area. Li Tao also had enough influence to ensure that if they were told to move on, he could protect them, allowing them to continue. The other locations remained in a state of flux, but having one stable location was a massive help.

Towards the end of 2021, Tony and YiYi had to return to the UK for a family bereavement. Unfortunately, during their absence, another COVID outbreak hit Xi’an, leading to tighter restrictions. Lao Hu and Li Tao stepped in to manage the food deliveries and tackle the new challenges.   

Unlike the rest of the world, China remained in lockdown for around 3 years, during which they encountered a myriad of challenges. Throughout this, the Yellow River Soup Kitchen’s services continued uninterrupted. As time went on, navigating the hurdles gradually became easier and would return to some level of normality.

The Volunteer Network

Our achievements during the pandemic were due to the amazing Yellow River Soup Kitchen volunteer network. It is right that we mention just a few of those who helped carry the Soup Kitchen through those first crucial months, despite the challenges they faced personally and the considerable risk and inconvenience. Their unwavering support ensured that the Soup Kitchen continued to serve those in desperate need. Just some of these are: Tony, YiYi, Ma Sha, Xi Bei, Xi Jin, V, Cheng Ge, Xiao He, He Liming, Li Tao, Wang Zong and his staff, Wang Xiao Hu, Lao Hu, Wang Laoshi, Ai Min, 1900, Xiang Ri Kui, Wang Qian, Xie Jie.

There are too many others to mention who either joined us in serving or supported us in the background, enabling all wheels to keep turning. All of their efforts are greatly appreciated by us all.

During the first year of COVID-19 the Yellow River Soup Kitchen distributed a total of 14,056 meals and 14,047 masks. It is still incredible what the Soup Kitchen volunteers, as a unit, can achieve even in such dire circumstances.