A pay-as-you-feel cafe will open in Killinghall next month thanks to food waste organisation Resurrected Bites.

It will run its weekly cafe in the newly-refurbished Killinghall Methodist Church every Thursday from 11.30am to 2pm.

The grand opening takes place on Thursday, May 11, when the team of volunteers will be serving hot meals made using food that would otherwise have gone to landfill.

Customers are invited to pay whatever they can afford for their lunches, as well as a selection of hot and cold drinks, pastries and cakes.

Ian Booth, who has run the kitchen for the organisation’s cafes in Harrogate and Knaresborough for the last two years, previously told the Stray Ferret:

“Often, people don’t come because they think it’s just for people who are struggling. We’re absolutely dependent on people who can afford to give generously.  

“At the same time, it’s great when people come who can’t afford to, knowing that someone who is struggling has had a good hot meal.” 

As well as the weekly cafe, a new toddler and parent creative group is being launched to run in the morning. Therapeutic Creatives will offer creative sessions for children as well as activities for parents and carers, aiming to make the first few years of parenthood easier.

Participants will then have an area set aside in the cafe for them to enjoy lunch together and build new friendships.

Resurrected Bites, a community interest company, also runs community groceries in Harrogate and Knaresborough. They allow people who are struggling to afford food to get a weekly shop for a small sum.

The organisation uses food from supermarkets and other commercial businesses to fill its grocery shelves and create its cafe menus. All the food is still safe to eat, but does not meet the exacting requirements of retailers.

The Stray Ferret supported Resurrected Bites as part of our first ever Christmas appeal in 2022. With support from the public and match funding of £5,000 from Harrogate firm Techbuyer, we raised more than £32,000 in just four weeks.

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A church in Boroughbridge is opening its doors for 12 hours every Thursday to ensure nobody is cold or lonely at home.

St James’s Church will offer activities and hot drinks, as well as somewhere warm to be and to socialise, from 9am to 9pm each week.

The church already hosts Make Time for Music for babies, toddlers and their carers from 9.30am to 10am on a Thursday. Bell ringing, recorder and mindfulness groups also meet once a month.

Now, from 6.30pm until 9pm, people will be able to use the church for reading, playing board games or simply having someone to chat to, all with hot drinks served.

Rev Karen Gardiner said:

“It was our first day on Thursday. We had 16 families come in for our new music group this week, which is great.

“There is no fixed cost for anything, though people can make a donation to the costs of running these if they would like to and are able.

“The church is kept at a comfortable 18 degrees throughout the day with the loos open. We are open and warm at some other times of the week too.

“We’re keen that the message gets out to everyone who would either like to be somewhere free and warm, or who would like to just make friends and do something different.”

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The initiatives is part of St James’s “somewhere to belong” programme, which is aimed at ensuring anyone in the local area is made welcome at all church events.

This means there are no fixed entry fees for anything, so people can donate as much or as little as they are able, ensuring anyone struggling financially can still join in. There are also provisions in place to support people who have dementia, mental ill health, autism spectrum disorders, problems with substance abuse, and other health conditions, to help everyone feel as comfortable and welcome as possible.

Make Time for Music is part of the warm space day every Thursday in Boroughbridge

The church is funding the weekly ‘warm space’ initiative through a grant from Leeds Diocese of £770.

Rev Gardiner said:

“That gives us the ability to open much more and keep the heating on.

“We still don’t know exactly how much it’s going to cost us, but we felt it was a matter of faith and principle. We are in a better position than most people to offer a warm space, so we want to share that with our community.”

For more information, visit the church website.

A baby group is being held at a Knaresborough care home in a bid to build community links between generations and combat loneliness.

Tiny Tots and Tea Cups will see elderly residents at The Manor House encouraged to sing and play with babies and toddlers.

Activities co-ordinator Katie Pickering is organising the free event with her colleague Joanne Meredith.

She was inspired after talking to a friend who had a lockdown baby, and also witnessing the positive effect of taking her children to visit her grandparents.

She said:

“We have been looking to get more involved in the local community now covid restrictions are lifting.

“I had a friend who had a baby in lockdown, who said it was one of the loneliest experiences she’s had. So I thought it would be a good idea to run a parent and baby group here. People from all generations can suffer from loneliness.

“Children can sometimes connect to people on a level that adults can’t. I took my daughters to see my grandparents and my grandad later told me it had been such a boost for my grandmother.”