YORK residents are invited to get together to enjoy some good food while helping local community projects, when a fundraising dinner returns to the city next month.

York Soup will hold an event in a marquee in St Sampson’s Square on the evening of Monday, September 25, as part of the York Food and Drink Festival.

It will be the sixth York Soup event in the past three years, with the previous five fundraising events helping support local projects with thousands of pounds of donations.

Diners at next month's event can enjoy a hot soup meal, and will be pitched new ideas from representatives of four local projects who are looking for funding.

Tickets for the event cost £10 each, which includes a meal and a vote on which project guests most support. At the end of the night, once all the pitches have been heard, the votes are counted up and the winning project will receive all the proceeds.

The event will run from 6pm until about 8.30pm, and will be hosted by Greg McGee, of the According To McGee art gallery in Tower Street.

He said: “York Soup has at its heart a generous idea. That’s accompanied by the competitive element, and great soup - it’s a perfect night out.”

Gavin Aitchison, from the York Soup organising committee, said the charity and the event was a good way for York residents to find out more about the projects underway in the city, and to support their local charities.

He said: “York Soup is an easy and enjoyable way to learn more about some of the fantastic projects going on across York, and to give one of them an immediate and considerable boost. The more people who attend, the more money we can pass on to the winning project, so we’d love to see as many people there as possible.”

Organisers want to hear from anyone interested in pitching, with the only stipulation that the idea or project must benefit York. Anyone should email yorksoupers@gmail.com or phone 01904 551834. If there are more applicants than spaces available then priority will be given to food-related projects.

York Soup was inspired by the Detroit Soup project in the United States, which has raised more than $130,000 through 150 dinners in the past seven years, and previous York Soup events have been held at the Priory Street Centre, the Guildhall, York Theatre Royal and the Spurriergate Centre.

Previous groups supported by York Soup include mentoring charity The Island, the City of York Athletics club disability section, children’s deafness charity Lollipop, The Joseph Trust, which supports children who have been excluded from mainstream education, and dance group Chilli Bon Bon, which is run by and for people with learning disabilities.

Tickets and information are available at eventbrite.co.uk by searching for “York Soup”.