Cafe ReCharge COVID-19 Response.

We have been working hard for a year to open Cafe ReCharge, a pay what you can cafe in Galashiels, using surplus supermarket food.  After raising money via catering and a successful crowdfunder we were all set to open in March when guess what happened?! 

After a speedy rethink on how best to respond to this devastating crisis that we are faced with we decided to use our premises, equipment and surplus food collections to prepare meals and food parcels for the community most in need at this time. Whether it's furloughed workers taking an unexpected drop in wages, self employed individuals and families who currently have no income, those who simply have no job or income at the moment due to lockdown, or those who are unable to travel to several different shops and queue to find the items they need to make a full meal. 

At present we are providing meals to Galashiels Foodbank, Langlee Early Years Centre and TD1 plus any other individuals and families who contact us that are at risk of food poverty in these strange and unprecedented times

Although we're still receiving some surplus food due to unstable buying habits (thanks panic buyers) we need to buy extra ingredients to meet current demand, we also still incur project running costs which are not met by income from our cafe. We're asking people, if they can afford it, to donate £3 (roughly the cost of a branded coffee) which will pay for a meal for someone who may be struggling, or £10 to feed a family of four. With this donation  we can provide this service for free to the people who need it.