A Northumberland café that offers vital support to its local community has appealed for help to save it amid the cost of living crisis.
Northern Soul Kitchen in Berwick does things differently to your typical café, by saving perfectly good unsold food that would have otherwise gone to landfill and turning it into hot meals for customers. Working on a ‘pay what you can’ basis, meaning that visitors pay what they feel they can afford for their food, the café has been a lifeline for locals - particularly in recent months.
Set up in 2016 by co-founders Millie McRobbie and Harriet Grecian and run by a dedicated team of staff and volunteers, Northern Soul saves around four tonnes of food going to waste each year and provides a warm and welcoming space for homeless people, community projects, elderly people, families and anyone else who needs them. Now the café is asking for some help in return, as it is in "desperate need" of financial support to keep its important work going.
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Launching a Crowdfunder campaign to "Save Our Northern Soul", the kitchen has set a £25,000 target to meet increased running costs, as well as make updates to the café to ensure that it can keep serving locals as best it can in the future. The not-for-profit initiative is seeking support from the community to meet its fundraising target within the next month.
Speaking to ChronicleLive about what the café means to its local community, co-founder Millie said: "We know that people need a space to be warm and welcomed, not judged, with a hot plate of food in front of them, and not have to worry about the bills - especially in the times that are coming, when it feels very much like it's only going to get harder. And we also want to carry on with our number one objective, which is saving food that would have otherwise gone in the bin.
"If you're walking around a supermarket, you can assume that 30% of the food that you're looking at is going to go in the bin, and in the lead-up to Christmas that goes up to 50%," Millie explained. "While there are people out there struggling to turn their heating on, we can't let that happen."
Since turning a derelict space on Berwick’s West Street into a place where people can go for a hot plate of food and a cuppa, Northern Soul has served thousands of meals and even sent out food parcels when the café was unable to open during the pandemic, always encouraging customers to just ‘pay what you can’. For those most in need, this may not even mean having to worry about parting with cash - some visitors pay for their meals by helping the café to collect food from supermarkets, or volunteering in the kitchen.
"This 'pay what you can, structure is something we want to keep," Millie and Harriet said on the cafe’s Crowdfunder page. "We believe it is part of who we are and is an important thing to offer during these harsh times. But we can't lie and say it is hugely sustainable right now, which is why we are asking for support so we can continue to offer this service."
Along with support from Bernicia Homes, who own the building, and sponsorship from Berwick's Simpsons Malt, Millie said that the team have been "overwhelmed" by the support so far from members of the public who have donated to the fundraiser so far. "We're so grateful - it was heartwarming to see that support, with how scary of a time we're having," Millie said. "It was quite emotional, seeing how lovely everybody's been and how supportive everyone is."
They told customers: "To put it simply, we are in desperate need of financial support - and quickly. We are very aware that times are very tough and we do not want to be tone deaf to the cost of living crisis that is affecting us all. Please only consider donating if this feels right for you at this time. All donations big and small will make a difference."
As well as helping with increased running costs, the money raised will go towards making the café more sustainable for the future including updating the kitchen space, investing in a proper coffee machine to serve customers high-quality drinks, and putting new signage up outside to make it clear to people passing by that it’s there to help.
"I don't know that there's anywhere else that is as accessible and inclusive for absolutely everybody. I'd like to think that it would be a huge miss," Millie said. "We are not just a café - we are a hub for every walk of life, and we want to carry on."
You can donate to Northern Soul Kitchen’s fundraiser here.
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