Too many families do not have enough income to afford to put food on the table. We want to provide families with the dignity and joy in being able to book a table at our community cafe, choose from a menu providing a wide choice of nutritious and tempting options, while not having to worry about the bill at the end of the meal. We are looking for the initial start up costs for this new project. As it involves us staying open for longer in the evenings, we need to pay for an experienced cook. We will also involve our existing volunteers and aim to create additional paid employment to some of those who are on the pathway to employment but experience many challenges and barriers with finding and staying in work. They too will be able to enjoy the experience of of being part of building community resilience and support. The Sunrise Café provides on the job training and access to essential food hygiene certificates and hospitality skills.

What we'll deliver:

• Extending the Cafe opening hours to provide family teas
• Extending the working hours in our kitchen
• Offering volunteers on the pathway to employment the opportunity to gain experience and the dignity of a wage

Why it's a great idea:

Family teas will be available throughout the year, term time and school holidays. Ensuring that children be provided with a nutritious meal when free school lunches are not available. Families can be pushed into crisis during the school holidays because they cannot afford to pay for the food their children would have received during term time. Low-income families are often left with little or no choice about diet, forced to eat unhealthy food or simply go without. Or they may not have access to facilities for cooking or storing meals. Parents can skip meals to make sure there is enough for their children to eat. These teas will provide the opportunity for the family to enjoy a 2 course meal together. Local ingredients are sourced wherever and whenever possible. We are fortunate to have agreements with local supermarkets in the Dover area who regularly provide good quality surplus food, together with FareShare Kent.

Steps to get it done:

• Recruit additional volunteers and paid staff
• Provide training
• Market our offer to the community
• Link with local community services to help identify families
• Start to deliver

Working alongside the Dover Outreach Centre, the Sunrise Cafe is a community cafe where there is kindness, friendship, sharing and true community spirit with meals being prepared, cooked and served by our experienced cooks and supported by wonderful volunteers! Professionally run as a social enterprise for the benefit of the whole Dover community, the Sunrise Cafe offers affordable food in a warm environment where everyone matters, where everyone is valued and where everyone is included. We operate a 'pay what you can afford' model so that no one goes hungry and customers are asked to pay what they can afford. Our goal is to provide tasty food for all, including those who are hungry and struggling to put meals on the table for themselves or their families in the Dover area. The team at the Sunrise Cafe feel passionately that everyone should be able to feed their families, have the opportunity to experience 'eating out'.