Planet Food, a new community cafe opened recently at Southlands Church community centre on Bishopthorpe Road, and it’s already a hit with the locals.

Every Thursday a team of busy volunteers serve brunch, lunch and hot drinks, and hold a market stall of fresh produce for people to access, all on a Pay-As-You-Feel basis.

Local supermarkets and independent traders give their surplus food to the social enterprise and volunteers collect this from all around York. Otherwise known as waste or ‘junk’ food, intercepting it reduces the amount being sent to landfill and the harm this does to the environment.

Keen zero-wasters and inclusion-committed social entrepreneurs, Rosie Baker and Beverley Hadfield have already hosted pilot cafes at the Red Tower on Foss Islands Road and St Wulstan’s Church in Heworth this year. They are now overjoyed that the team at Southlands have partnered with them to make their community café dream a reality.

Rosie explained a little more:

“Since opening we’ve seen a tremendous amount of people from all over the community come through our doors to enjoy a coffee and a Haxby scone or a warming bowl of curry and this is down to the success of the pay-as-you-feel concept.

“We ask for a small donation of either time, money or skills for valuing the food, making it accessible and welcoming to all. Our menu changes every week depending on what we get, so the ready, steady, cook kitchen is always fun and creative and there’s never two menus the same!”

The Planet Food doors open every Thursday  for brunch at 10:30 & lunch at 12 o’clock run by a great team of volunteers working tirelessly in the kitchen, collecting the food and making the cafe a happy place.

Pop along and let your friends know!

For further information or to get involved email planetfoodyork@gmail.com or tel. 07734721187/ 07939884997.