The Orchard Community Cafe on North Hull Estate celebrated its official opening this week with special guest cruiserweight boxer, Sonny Taylor.
This new-style cafe is run by community interest charity, Unity in Community (Unity) subsidised by the Community Led Local Development Fund. It provides a local hub for residents of HU6 and workers in the area who can enjoy delicious home-cooked food at subsidised prices.
The official launch took place on Thursday with support from local residents and friends of the charity.
Sonny Taylor is a resident of North Hull Estate and was keen to support this initiative which aims to provide great quality food at affordable prices. The menu includes; breakfasts from 85p, hot and cold sandwiches, paninis and jacket potatoes as well as incredibly popular daily specials, puddings and desserts, all served up with a warm and friendly welcome from the newly formed Orchard Cafe team.
Chair of Unity in Community, Reverend Canon David Walker from St Michael’s Church on North Hull Estate, spoke about the community spirit which is the reason he is so passionate about improving the area of North Hull and Orchard Park. He said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for residents and workers based in the HU6 area to come along, meet friends and colleagues and buy a delicious and unbelievably good value meal.”
“It’s wonderful to see so many people turn out to support the Orchard Community Cafe and we are especially proud to welcome Sonny Taylor who is fast becoming a Hull celebrity, born and bred here on North Hull Estate. We are excited to see his boxing career unfold and he is proving to be a knock-out fighter in all of his bouts so far.”
Carl Frew is the Head Cook and Cafe Manager. He says:
“We have been serving customers in the cafe for a few weeks already and we are delighted with the response from local people who are turning up in their droves. The team at Unity saw a demand for a community cafe and asked people what they wanted. The result is great quality home-made meals and snacks at low prices.”
“We prepare comforting specials such as stew and dumplings and sausage casserole which can be purchased for £4 and also a hot drink. Each week we are preparing larger quantities to meet demand and this was even before our official opening today.”
“We are also putting together a programme of cooking classes for local people. This will include new and exciting ways to prepare healthy meal options.”
North Hull Estate is well-known for its community spirit, with neighbours and friends alike. As part of this, Unity aims to make HU6 a great place for people to live and the Orchard Community Cafe is just one of the initiatives which are helping to achieve this.
The funding is from the European Social Fund and the European Regional Development Fund and has created a new way of supporting local development projects using structural funds from Europe.
It aims to increase employment and skills and social enterprise and ensures that local people are involved in developing projects, using resources from the area to address local challenges.
For more information please find Unity in Community on Facebook @UICHU6.
