VOLUNTEERS from Swindon Night Shelter will open a new community café on Thursday.

The new café will occupy the old children’s centre at Goddard Park Community Primary School in Park North.

Delicious cheap meals will be whipped up from food donated by supermarkets across Swindon.

The café is the brainchild of Swindon Night Shelter co-founder Becky Davidson.

Becky, who helped establish the Rodbourne Cheney shelter in 2008, had wanted to set up a community café ever since staff at the Ocotal Way Tesco donated furniture from a store restaurant that was forced to close.

“We had tables, chairs,” said Becky. “We had everything in our warehouse that we would need to open up a café.”

The café will initially open for just one day a week, serving breakfasts, lunches and cakes every Thursday. 15 night shelter volunteers will help prepare and serve meals in the new café.

The food will be cheap. Café volunteers will give people the chance to pay what they think the food is worth, further helping those on low incomes.

The café will offer a chance for night shelter volunteers to meet people more informally.

Becky said: “You don’t get to know about somebody’s problems until there’s a crisis. At the café we can be there for people.”

They tried a ‘dry run’ last week, opening the café to friends and staff from next door Goddard Park school.

“It worked really successfully,” said Becky. “I think everybody enjoyed it.

“It was a very hot day. If you could pick a day to cook fried breakfasts, that would not be it.”

The café opens at 8.30 on Thursday July 13 for breakfast. For more, visit: www.swindonnightshelter.org.uk.