AN EAST Hull café is hoping to provide free meals on Christmas Day to those who cannot afford to make their own. The Rovers Return Café in Holderness Road has been serving up Christmas meals for the past three years but, up until now, has always charged £8 to allow it to cover costs.
Co-owner Barry Kipling wants to provide the meals for free to help relieve the financial strain the poorest can feel at Christmas.
He said: "As the food banks and such like are taking a phenomenal hit at the moment, we are thinking of doing it for free. We are hoping that other businesses might sponsor us to help cover the costs."
He also wants to broaden the range of people who come into the café on Christmas Day.
At the moment, the festive clientele are mainly pensioners, with no family to go to, and the homeless.
Mr Kipling said: "We want to try to get a bigger cross- section of the area to come in.
"Any person who is on their own or doesn't have anywhere to go on Christmas Day is welcome, the more the merrier.
"It's just nice to give something back to the community.
"We would like to get some families in. If they are on benefits and can't afford to make their own Christmas dinner, then they are more than welcome to come."
Between 50 and 60 people have attended in each of the previous years and the overall cost for the day comes to about £400.
Normally, there two sittings, at 11am and 1pm. However, the plan is to try to add another later in the afternoon.
"It's so busy, we don't actually get to eat our Christmas dinner until about 7pm," Mr Kipling said.
The café relies on volunteers from the local area to run the day and, over the past three years, a real community spirit has started to form.
Mr Kipling said: "We always have a nice atmosphere in here and more people would just add to that."
Donations do not have to be financial, Mr Kipling would welcome anything that could help cover the costs of preparing the food.
Last year, one company donated £850 of meat, which the café used in the meals.
The lunch is two courses and people can choose from five options for both the main dish and the dessert.
While Mr Kipling organises the day, the majority of the cooking is done by his partner, Jacqueline Newson.
How to helpIF you think you can help the Rovers Return Café meet their aim of providing free Christmas dinners, call Barry Kipling on 07968 005626.
Donations do not just have to be money, they can also be ingredients for the meals or even just an offer of help on the day. Also, if you think a free Christmas meal is something that could be use- ful for you or your family, Mr Kipling encourages you to pop along on Christmas Day.
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