I’m thrilled that Café Chat has launched this year. It’s a place where anyone can come, have something to eat, and enjoy a chat. It’s more than just food, it’s a community. As a volunteer run project, everyone likes to go the extra mile: offering lots of choice, cooking healthy, fresh nutritious meals, and giving people a few hours of company in a warm and enjoyable setting. In just a few short months of opening, the service is flourishing, which is really great to see. We’re open every Thursday 12-2pm at Summer Street. Food is such an important part of our lives, but its not just about nourishment. Sharing food is about connection, being social and included, it brings communities together.
Café Chat is a homely and supportive environment. People are voting with their feet; we have many regulars who have shared with us how much they absolutely love it. The cost-of-living means more people are coming to us with many worries, and are often struggling to make ends meet which can become overwhelming. It’s important to us that Café Chat is more than just a place to eat, we have some great laughs too. I made a Jamie Oliver spin on minestrone soup and one service user said, “it’s OK, but not for the connoisseur…” (whilst clearly enjoying it). I rarely miss an opportunity to tell that one!
Each week I look forward to meeting everyone that joins us. Café Chat is a warm, safe space, it’s inviting to our community and I’m proud to be part of it. People feel more comfortable and can open-up more easily in the relaxing atmosphere. We can sit with our guests who pop in and visit and take the time to listen and chat about how we can support in other ways. It has been so heart-warming for me to see the impact our volunteer community kitchen is having on people. For so many of our guests, this is the only time of the day they are out of the house and socialising with others. We have several that arrive early each Thursday because they look forward to Café Chat opening, it is fantastic to see that this is becoming a hub for people to connect. That’s what we like to see!
In Café Chat, there is menu planning, often weeks in advance, so it keeps us on our toes being creative with the food being served. The preparation is usually on the Wednesday so it just needs heated on the Thursday ready to open by lunchtime. We are so fortunate that we work with many great community groups and organisations. These offerings are vital to us. For example, a kind gentleman donated nine turkeys at Christmas time. We had enough for Christmas meals at that point so were able to store them to give people a treat later in the year. We’ve been defrosting one fortnightly to serve as sandwiches with soup, it smells wonderful! Our menu revolves around what has been donated, so sometimes we’re a bit more creative (spicy parsnip as an example), but the numbers suggest we’re getting it right. Healthy, fresh, and non-processed; exactly what people need.
Of course, none of this would be possible without our volunteers offering their time. They are at the heart of our organisation and work closely with our staff teams. Whether it’s collecting food donations to make up the meals, preparing food in advance and getting things ready, or cooking and serving each week. They also join in the social activities, sitting speaking with and listening to people, and swapping stories. I want to make sure our volunteers to have a good experience too, so they are happy to keep coming back! We are able to offer different activities volunteers can get involved with, depending on what they are interested in doing and what time they have available. Of course, all volunteers receive training for example food hygiene, which helps us meet food standards, so they gain new experiences and skills as well. Our volunteers love Café Chat and are clearly getting a lot out of it. Recently two Board members, Julie and Fiona, have volunteered too and enjoyed getting involved with either cooking, serving food or engaging with people who pop along on a Thursday afternoon.
The cost of living is putting a lot of strain on people, and some are experiencing a daily struggle. We’re seeing increased in-work poverty too. We know from those we support how important it is to have somewhere warm, safe, and serving hot meals. It takes a huge toll on people when every day feels like a battle. Being there beside someone who is struggling so they don’t feel alone is really important. As an organisation, we’ve been there for people in crisis since 1968. We were keen to explore how we could recognise our history starting as a soup kitchen, so it seemed natural to begin there with a lunchtime service. And that’s how Café Chat was born. It took considerable time to get everything up and running. It was important to take the time needed to plan and ensure we could meet health and safety regulations. We also worked on community mapping to understand what food offerings were already available in the city. We felt providing choice for people was also important and opening one day to begin with has given us the opportunity to gain insight as to what the demand would be like. We’ve already provided over 600 meals since opening which shows the scale of need. In a previously life I was a project manager in Oil & Gas before I joined Aberdeen Cyrenians, so I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to use those skills again to get our community kitchen up and running.
Another important aspect of Café Chat we have considered is ensuring it is inclusive and accessible to all, so we offer takeaway meals to support that. Not everyone wants to come in and chat, and we recognise at times people can be apprehensive when engaging with services. Over time we hope it becomes a place they comfortable to join in and connect with others, and we will support people to overcome any barriers they are experiencing to help too.
We look forward to seeing more regular and new faces each week, and see the project continue to grow with our plans to further develop, and hopefully soon with a community allotment. Knowing you’ve made a difference to someone’s day is worth so much, and it has a really positive ripple effect. For many people, Thursday is now their favourite day of the week, and it is mine, too!
