Young leaders donate 7,200 cans of soup to support Peel Community Kitchen

More than 7,200 cans of soup have made their way to Peel Community Kitchen, thanks to an extraordinary effort by the City of Mandurah’s Junior Council.

Junior Councillors from 21 primary schools across Mandurah spent the past month organising and promoting soup collections within their schools, encouraging donations of non-perishable food items to help people doing it tough.

What began as a simple idea grew into a collection worth more than $21,000. 

The donations were presented to the Peel Community Kitchen on 25 June, surprising the Kitchen's volunteers, who expect the cans to support their meal service and community food programs for well over a year. 

"This is what leadership looks like. It’s young people seeing a need, stepping up and taking action to support others," Mayor Amber Kearns said.

"I’m incredibly proud of our Junior Council and the kindness, compassion and initiative they show. This is Mandurah at its best!"

As part of the project, the Junior Councillors met with Peel Community Kitchen Chairperson Angelo Gangemi, who shared how the organisation supports vulnerable people across the community and where the donations will go. They then helped load the thousands of cans into the Kitchen’s vehicles, ready for distribution throughout the community. 

Mr Gangemi said he was “totally overwhelmed” by the scale of the generosity. 

“Although we got an early ‘warning’ that donations would run into the thousands, [we] never expected to see that happen,” he said. 

"The total impact simply cannot be overstated... most of the cans will be used at the Kitchen by our volunteers to prepare some of the meals that we serve, but a great portion will also be given out to those in need in our community for them to consume at nights and weekends.” 

Mr Gangemi said it was great to see the Junior Councillors’ enthusiasm and care at such a young age.

“For me, it was an amazing experience, firstly to meet with them all and then to see their faces light up when the reality of what they had achieved and how it would help people in need started sinking in,” he said.

The School Soup Drive forms part of the 2026 Junior Council program, which helps young people develop leadership skills, build confidence and make a positive difference in their community.