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A café set up to help the homeless has served them more than 5,000 meals since opening earlier this year.

Matt’s Café is based in what was previously known as St Matthew’s Community Centre in Swansea’s High Street.

As well as providing facilities and services such as showers and laundry to help the vulnerable and homeless of Swansea, it also works with local supermarkets, including Tesco and Marks & Spencer, who alert the charity to surplus food they haven’t been able to sell.

The initiative, run in conjunction with The Real Junk Food Project, aims to “feed bellies not bins” by taking the food which would otherwise go to waste and using it to create meals for those in need, employing a “pay as you feel” pricing plan.

Thom Lynch, project manager at Matthew’s House which oversees the running of the café, said 5,500 meals had been served in the seven months since opening.

He added yesterday: “Our aim with Matt’s Café was to create a welcoming haven for those in Swansea who need help the most, and we’ve been able to really see the difference that something as small as serving a hot meal can make in these people’s lives.’

“We encourage all of our customers to engage with each other while at Matt’s Café, so they can see first hand the people that any donations they make are helping.

“It’s about more than just serving meals, as we hope to spread awareness of the work that can be done to help homeless and vulnerable people in our city as well.

“We’ve already seen some of our regular customers go from homeless to employed and housed in a matter of months, so it’s encouraging to know that we really are making a difference in people’s lives despite only being open since February.”

The Hill Church purchased the building in May last year after the previous owners, a charity called the Cyrenians, went into administration.

It followed a £1.3 million fraud carried out by the Cyrenians Cymru head of finance Robert Mark Davies, who pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position earlier this year.

But Matt’s Café has given the venue a new lease of life.

Having signed up with Tesco and FareShare’s Community Food Connection, the supermarket giant is able to supply the charity with fresh produce, such as fruit, vegetables and bakery products.

Chilled products like meat, cheese and ready meals are also offered.

Rhodri Evans, local communications manager for Tesco in Wales, said: “The work that the team at Matt’s Café has carried out in just over seven months has been truly inspirational.

“We’re really proud to see the changes that Community Food Connection can make in the lives of the most vulnerable in our society, and we hope to see their success continue to grow.”

Shula Granville, from FareShare Cymru, added: “There’s really no reason why good quality, in-date food from supermarkets should go to waste, so we’re pleased to see that Matt’s Café has benefited so much from the Community Food Connection scheme with Tesco.”

Since launching in February 2016, Tesco’s Community Food Connection has donated more than 12.5 million meals worth of surplus food to over 6,400 local charities and community groups.

Charities or community groups that could benefit from the support of Community Food Connection are invited to visit www.fareshare.org to register.