A POP up café with a difference will open its doors for the day on Saturday May 9 at the Hallgarth Community Centre in Kendal.

The café, run by local residents, will be cooking up healthy nutritious meals with unused produce from local suppliers and restaurants that otherwise would have been sent to treatment.

“After talking to the people of the Hallgarth Estate we found out that they wanted a cafe, and some people who worked for supermarkets were angry about the amount of food that’s wasted,” said Lucy Wadsworth, the South Lakes Local Area Coordinator for Health and Care Services at Cumbria County Council.

“So the cafe came from putting those two ideas together – the ethos behind it is to bring people together, including those who wouldn’t normally come to the community centre.”

The café will operate on a pay as you feel basis, with customers being asked to make donations based on how much they feel their meal was worth.

All money raised will be re-circulated back into the community and other pop up café ventures in the future.

A team of Kendal College’s culinary students will arrive at 9.30am on the day, and do a Masterchef-style invention test after seeing what food has been provided by the 12 suppliers.

Young people in Hallgarth will also be helping with local publicity with support from Young Cumbria, and South Lakes Housing are providing on-going support.

Lucy said, “This project is just part of the work Local Area Coordination is currently doing in the Hallgarth area with individuals and the community.

“Working alongside local residents and partner agencies, our aim is to create a welcoming space for the whole community, whilst highlighting what can be achieved by intercepting and using unnecessary food waste.

“We are getting the whole community involved, and would encourage everyone to come along on the day to sample our menu.

“If the project becomes sustainable it will be taken on by community members as a regular venture.”

The cafe will serve from 12noon until 3pm - for further information, please contact Lucy Wadsworth or Paul Phillips on 07825272918/07917751521.