Truro City Council are celebrating the continued success and expansion of the Sunshine Café, a key project for their Community Development team.
The Sunshine Café, operating out of Malabar Community Centre and the Moresk Centre, (pictured), has become an important resource for residents, helping to address the cost of living, health, and social isolation.
The café offers a welcoming space where residents can have a chat over a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy some hot meals at The Moresk Centre. The café also helps arrange support services when required, with visitors able to access information, advice, and guidance.
A key feature is the New Beginning Community Association (NBCA) and Community Helping All of Society (CHAOS) weekly food club at the Malabar hub, which takes place when the Sunshine Café is open on Wednesdays.
At the food club, surplus goods from supermarkets and freshly picked vegetables from Glean Cornwall are distributed, helping to reduce food waste and support people with the cost of living.
Providing a variety of activities aimed at health and wellbeing, the hub delivers more than just hot meals and beverages. These activities include arts and crafts sessions, strength and coordination training to prevent falls, Ramblers ‘Wellbeing Walks’, woodcarving and healthy eating guidance – with more activities are being developed. These activities have been, and continue to be, important in improving physical health, mental wellbeing, and social connections among participants.
Operating three days a week, with sessions held on Mondays and Fridays at the Moresk Centre and Wednesdays at the Malabar Community Centre, the community hub has expanded how often it operates by an extra day. Now partnering with The Truro Nourish Hub for Mondays, the café will only grow and develop its capabilities and reach.
The Sunshine Café Community Hub has received extremely positive feedback from its participants, with one individual saying: “This centre helps with my mental and emotional health. It gets me out of my house and being a carer for my disabled son, I don’t have much time to myself.”
Another mentioned: “We have been bringing a group of our students up to Malabar Community Centre from Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC) on the bus to help with community engagement. Each student has different additional needs, and the staff and volunteers have been extremely accommodating. All the students enjoy coming and are progressing with their individual goals.”
Truro City Council is committed to building on the success of the Sunshine Café. The goal for the coming year is to continue to assist those within the community who need the café’s support whether that be in the form of a simple cup of tea or coffee or something a little more.
The council invites all residents to the Sunshine Café Community Hub to experience what it can offer. Whether you are looking for a friendly chat, a hot meal, or access to important services, the Sunshine Café Community Hub is here to help.
For more information about the Sunshine Café and other community initiatives, contact Damien Richards, Community Development Officer, at damien@truro.gov.uk or call 01872 274766 / 07941111661.
