AFTER serving lunch to the homeless for almost a quarter of a century, one of Oxford's local treasures has vowed to continue her selfless act of love by serving those who are having a hard time making ends meet.

Icolyn 'Ma' Smith MBE, moved to Oxford from Coolshade, Jamaica, 50 years ago and opened up her soup kitchen in 1989 after meeting some of the county's most needy.

Many regular visitors to the soup kitchen at the Asian Cultural Centre off Manzil Way in East Oxford have come to rely on Mrs Smith's hot meals and the support provided has given them the motivation to turn their lives around.

She said: "I started the kitchen up because I saw a man eating out of a bin in the early hours of the morning in Oxford one day.

"It was very shocking and it made me realise that I had to help him and other people in the same situation.

"I did not expect it to grow and develop into what is is now - a home away from home for a lot of people.

"We give them somewhere to go and be safe."

Mrs Smith’s husband Eric, a carpenter, moved to Oxfordshire in 1960 where he worked for the Atomic Energy Establishment at Harwell.

After growing up 20 miles from the Jamaican capital Kingston, Mrs Smith moved to Oxford to join her husband in 1965.

She wasted no time in finding a job on arrival and two days later was working in the canteen at the British Leyland car factory in Cowley.

The couple worked industriously and were able to put down a deposit on a house in Randolph Street, off Cowley Road, where they brought up their children. Mr Smith died in 1976.

The soup kitchen opened its doors on September 28, 1989.

She said: "We get a lot of people without homes coming in and I feel like it is my job to keep them alive and to make sure they have somewhere to go and someone to talk to so they can live normal lives.

"The kitchen gives them someone to listen to them and support them and gives them stability."

Mrs Smith's life in Oxford is very different to her life in Jamaica, where she grew up with her five brothers and four sisters on a smallholding.

The children would feed the chickens with corn and collect their eggs before leaving for school.

According to Mrs Smith, the chickens laid their eggs among the pineapples and so it was difficult to collect them without being scratched by the pineapple prickles.

The family also grew their own coffee, cocoa beans, peas, beans, yam and sweet potatoes in addition to keeping goats, pigs and cattle.

Mrs Smith's love of food came from cooking with her mother, who taught her how to season meat with herbs and spices they grew themselves from a very young age.

The kitchen, however, provides different types of foods - including a full roast on Christmas day - in addition to sleeping bags and blankets for those without a home.

Mrs Smith said: "I see some of these people coming in off the streets and I just feel for them and want to look after them because they're in such a bad way.

"Without a warm jumper, a sleeping bag or some food, the cold could get them and they could die out there."

Over the past 17 years, with the help of her family, Mrs Smith has served lunch to thousands of people living on Oxford’s streets, which led to her being made an MBE in 1998.

Mrs Smith received the honour for services to disadvantaged people and in 2012 received £11,500 funding through the Channel 4 programme The Secret Millionaire.

But the future of the kitchen seemed doubtful several months ago when Mrs Smith revealed there was not enough money to keep it running.

Thankfully, the future of the soup kitchen was secured by Oxford Mail readers, who donated thousands of pounds to keep the doors open.

Mrs Smith said she was forever grateful for the city's support and said she would encourage anyone who wanted to volunteer for the kitchen or donate money to get in touch.

She said: "I really can't express how grateful I am to all the people who have signed up to help.

"If anyone wants to volunteer we would always welcome them because they help us to help the people who need it most."