Crookhorn church opens free Bus Stop Café to commuters
Just picture it: you’re waiting for a bus to take you to work or college, it’s a bit drizzly and you’re bored and hungry. Suddenly, someone pops out of the local church to offer you a free breakfast along with some hot coffee to keep you going.
Wouldn’t that be something special?
Well that’s exactly what’s happening at Church of the Good Shepherd, in Crookhorn. We have launched something that we call the – Bus Stop Café – to aid those waiting at the bus stop immediately outside our church.
We offer free food and drink to anyone waiting for the bus, between 7am and 10am, from Monday to Friday.
It all started during the pandemic. We were praying about our local area and realised that students and other commuters were spending longer and longer waiting for the bus, perhaps because there were fewer buses during that time.
So, we decided to offer them hot chocolates and cakes, twice a week.
It became really popular with those who frequently use the bus, or are on their way home from school or college. So we expanded what we do and launched the Bus Stop Café this March.
At the Bust Stop Café we can offer bacon sandwiches, toast or a full cooked breakfast – either inside our building, or customers can even remain seated at the bus stop itself.
It’s amazing the difference that food can make, in terms of helping people to relax and unwind. It has been amazing to listen to people’s stories over a bacon sandwich or two.
For us, it’s all about being at the heart of our local community, getting to know people, understanding their needs and finding the best way that we can help them.
It’s not just about feeding people with food, it’s about showing them God’s love and building relationships with them.
As we get to know people better, we can find out what kind of other issues we can help them with.
We’ve become aware that issues such as managing money and filling in forms are common issues for some people.
Hopefully this allows us to point people in the direction of other organisations that can also help them, such as Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Christians Against Poverty and the police.