INTRO:
What a ride.
NotJUST A Café officially opened its doors 27/12/23, and we have had the most incredible opening month.
Firstly, we would like to extend a massive thanks to the wonderful Andover Public for welcoming us back onto the highstreet. We’ve missed you!
It’s been wonderful to see faces familiar and new come in to grab a yummy meal. It’s been equally wonderful to spread the word about best before dates and cutting down on food waste. If it looks fine, tastes fine, smells fine… It’s fine!
For those who don’t know, we are a café with a twist: everything cooked is saved surplus. We cook hot, healthy, filling meals from whatever we get in. We then sell it at bargain prices.
But it’s NotJUST A Tasty Café! it’s a café with a community fridge, fresh surplus fruit & veg, outreach to the homeless community, and a Pet Food Bank. WOWZA (sorry, the website’s telling me to add more fun words).
NOT SURE IF THIS CAFÉ IS FOR YOU?
We are a non-profit organisation, which means we are majority self-funded. We cannot afford to do the work we do (and develop it) without people eating with us and buying stock in our cafe. And if no one eats with us, we have to pay for a bin collection. That is in no way rad or cool or in-keeping with our ethos. Come help us reduce waste… And have some good grubs while you’re at it.
So please, if you think this café isn’t for you, think again. Dingus. You eating here makes the cafe available for everyone.
THE NUMBERS:
We’ve crunched the numbers, and are proud to say that just over 150 people have had access to free food during January. This is amazing for an opening month – but we want more!
FEBRUARY PLANS:
Big, big, things are ahead.
- First of all we are on a mission to patch in with schools, so we can help make sure children and families have direct access to fruit and vegetables. SJ is already making waves with this – we expect she’s going to be a very busy woman.
- Secondly, we want more people to have free meals! Please signpost anyone hungry to us. And if you walk past someone on the street and want to help, ask us for a takeaway box and we’ll pass it over for free.
- We are also aware that there are people struggling for food who may not be able to make it into town. We are looking for a solution to roll these meals out. In the meantime we can provide a service for a free takeaway if you are collecting for a family member or friend. Spread the word.
- Fourth (I’m getting out of breath now), we have a backroom which is currently not being used. A survey is about to launch on how the people of Andover would like this room to be used. The idea is to convert it into a cosy kitchen / dining area so people without access to kitchen facilities can cook for their families. This room can also be used as a contact room for parents with their children… But we want your suggestions too. Keep your eyes peeled for the survey.
- Fifth (and then I think that’s enough for us to chomp through) some merch is rolling out. I’ve had a lot of fun with that.
HELLO!
A massive welcome to SJ, Eddie, David, Mae, Marilyn, Jemima, Maureen, Ethan, Nathan, Bella, Mike, Peter, Yana, Coops, Mia, and Heath – and a massive thank you for joining our family and for all your hard work.
And – a massive ‘ew, you again’ to Svitlana, Mario, Daisy, Katie, Phil, Tina, and Claire. Only joking, thank you for sticking with us! It’s been a big job and we appreciate you massively.
BYE!
No-one’s leaving. I’m just calling this section ‘BYE’ because I’m signing off now.
Tired and going home,
Alice
