St Francis Church in Ipswich to host warm space this winter

St Francis Church, which hosts the Peace Café, is seeking almost £5,000 of council funding to be able to serve people in need. 

The £4,965.04 boost would go towards the purchase of food and drink, craft materials, electricity, 10 slow cookers, cutlery, chairs, and a chair trolley to meet the demand over the winter months. 

Mondays at the Peace Café in St Francis Church, The Peace Café (Image: The Peace Café)

The café is run by volunteers and operates every Monday from 9am until 2pm. 

Sue Strutt, the church warden, said: “The project warm space was launched alongside other church buildings and government-owned properties.  

“The government suggested that maybe we could offer our buildings as warm spaces for people to come, be warm, be given hot drinks, and be supported during what was expected to be a very difficult time.  

“It was obvious to us from the beginning that this wasn’t all about being in a warm space; it was about being with other people, having someone else to talk to, to play games with, to eat and drink with. 

Mondays at the Peace Café in St Francis Church, The Peace Café (Image: The Peace Café)

“Hence, we renamed it the Peace Café.” 

The café offers drinks and hot meals, as well as the space to socialise with others, access to the Internet, and a monthly health clinic.

The venue, which used to host up to 30 people, aims to eventually be able to offer 70 people a hot lunch as well as a hot evening meal. 

St Francis Church in Ipswich, Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

Ms Strutt added: “We have never closed our doors since last November. 

“Only last week we fed up to 37 people and have seen 40 plus come through the door over the past few weeks as the weather has changed, and the bills have gone up.” 

St Francis Church also hosts a top up shop every Saturday morning and sees an average of 40-50 people from the local area use the service weekly.