Saint Marks Community Café in Bristol offers discounted meals to members of the public but never turns anyone away due to lack of funds. The team there has found that with the rising cost of living, an increasing number of families are falling into food poverty.
The Easton café is particularly busy on a Friday when people use the church hall to access East Bristol food bank. Café manager Lesley Wynne always offers a free hot meal to those accessing the food bank, and said last week she met a mother who had been skipping meals so that her children could eat.
The Trussell Trust, the charity that runs East Bristol food bank and numerous food banks across the country, is urging new Prime Minister Liz Truss to address soaring living costs in the emergency budget expected on September 21. It says more people are using food banks in the cost of living crisis.
READ MORE: Life at the Easton café where most customers do not pay
A recent YouGov survey found that two million people had skipped meals in the previous three months to keep up with other essential costs. The research published by the Trussell Trust shows that financial insecurity is becoming a problem for a growing number of people even before the energy cap rises to £2,500 in October.
The community café and the church are now working with others to look at how they can come together to expand the services they offer to the community. They are feeding into the Bristol One City Plan and in discussions with local churches on how they can have a coordinated response to support people, especially in the coming winter months.
Ms Wynne said: “A lady turned up for the food bank and she hadn’t been eating that week because she made sure her children had food. We know that we are going to need more food available on a Friday because of the numbers that are coming through the food bank.
“What we have noticed is that there are not as many people coming out to [pay] to eat out. There isn’t as much spare money around.
“I was talking to a friend on the phone who used to drop her kids at school to meet her friends for a coffee and cake. She said, ‘we’re not doing that anymore’ because nobody can afford the extra fiver because you’re counting pennies, just trying to get ends to meet.
“There seems to be a lot of job insecurity as well and that’s playing and praying on people’s minds. I met a delightful couple here the other Friday and they had come from the food bank, you could just see, they were embarrassed.
“I asked them if they’d like something to eat and they said, ‘no it’s alright we’ve now got our food bank food’. I said, ‘but why don’t you have something to eat while you’re here? And they did and it made a difference.
“If you cannot pay, it doesn’t matter. We’ll still feed you with food of your choice.
"The strength of this café is that everyone has free choice on what they eat, what they drink. It's really to give people dignity and self-esteem.
"Even where we’ve got the cake in the cake display, for a while we had the cheaper cake on the bottom shelf. It doesn’t matter now, all the cake is the same price and it’s on any shelf and the only thing we keep separate is the gluten free and vegan.
“We want people to be accepted for who they are.”
The inclusive, family friendly community café attached to St Marks Road Baptist Church has been serving affordable food for over a decade. They welcome all sections of the community and do not charge those who cannot afford to pay.
Saint Marks Community café can be found on the corner of Henrietta Street on St Marks Road in Easton. The café is open Wednesday to Fridays from 9.30am-4pm ( cooked meals and toasties - 11am-2pm) and on ‘special Saturdays’ which are detailed on their Facebook page.
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