First target reached! Stretch target: £20,000
When I launched this fundraiser on Friday evening, I hoped we'd raise enough to help...
Back the Child-Feeding Café Threatened by Reform
Hastings, East Sussex, United Kingdom
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Aim
Supporting the Hastings café feeding children this summer and proving that intimidation will never defeat compassion.
At the end of July, a café owner in Hastings found himself threatened with police involvement after publicly criticising East Sussex County Council's decision to scrap free school holiday meal vouchers for vulnerable children.
His response?
To step in himself and start feeding those children for free.
That café owner is Barry Ashley (below), and this Crowdfunder exists for one simple reason: to make sure his generosity isn't limited by his finances.
Barry owns The Grumpy Cook, a small, non-profit community café in Hastings. Long before this story made national headlines, he had built a reputation for looking after people who had fallen on hard times. He believes nobody should be made to feel ashamed for needing a helping hand, which is why his café has no means testing, no bureaucracy and no stigma. If you're hungry, he'll feed you. If you can't afford to pay, that's okay too.
When East Sussex County Council, now run by Reform UK, decided to end its school holiday food voucher scheme, Barry simply wasn't prepared to watch local children go hungry. Rather than complain from the sidelines, he opened his doors and absorbed the cost himself, offering free meals to children and families throughout the summer holidays.
It was after Barry publicly criticised that decision that Reform UK council leader Andy Woolley threatened to report him to the police. That threat rightly attracted widespread condemnation, but it also shone a national spotlight on the remarkable work Barry has been doing for years.
This Crowdfunder is our opportunity to turn that moment of outrage into something genuinely positive. Whatever your politics, threatening someone with police involvement for publicly criticising an elected council's decision is no advertisement for free speech. But this campaign is not about Reform UK. It's about Barry, the children and families he is helping, and making sure that kindness receives the backing it deserves.
Hence, every pound raised will go directly to The Grumpy Cook to help Barry continue feeding children and supporting families throughout the summer holidays. The more we raise, the more meals he can provide, and the longer his generosity can continue.
Already, hundreds of people from across the UK and around the world have donated, helping us smash the original fundraising target in less than 48 hours. Reading through the comments has been every bit as uplifting as watching the total climb, because although everyone has expressed themselves differently, the same themes have emerged again and again: no child should go hungry in one of the richest countries on Earth; kindness and compassion still matter; people who step up to help their communities deserve our support, not intimidation.
And that bullying and executive overreach are incompatible with democracy.
If you share those values, please consider making a donation today. If you're unable to contribute financially, then sharing this page with friends and family is just as valuable, because every new person who hears Barry's story is another opportunity to help this remarkable café continue its work.
Together, we can send Barry a simple message: you are not standing alone!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 1st September 2026 at 8:00pm