New cafe and low cost food hub launches in Morecambe town centre

The Sanctuary is a community cafe, food redistribution and outreach project, organised by Morecambe Parish Church in partnership alongside Great Places Housing Group and local food redistribution charities FareShare and Eggcup.

It’s the latest example of churches in Lancashire serving their communities in fresh new ways, while working closely with local partner organisations.

The Sanctuary – located in the former offices of the Morecambe Guardian in Queen Street – was opened by the Mayor of Lancaster, Coun Joyce Pritchard.

Customers can enjoy a hot drink and snack in the café and join the charity to access food at a low cost.

The new venture has sprung out of Morecambe Pantry, a project previously established by the church at the nearby Memorial Hall during the Covid pandemic for people with a need. This Pantry service will now continue at The Sanctuary.

Rector of Morecambe, Rev Chris Krawiec, likens The Sanctuary to a corner shop where the church meets its community in a new way.

“My hope is that we quickly become a safe place for people to meet and a real community hub,” said Chris.

For the Pantry element, each customer becomes a member and pays a fee of £4 per visit.

They then receive approximately £20 worth of food which they choose themselves from the stock on the shelves. On top of this, each customer will be offered the option of joining a food co-operative for an extra £2 per visit and this extra payment gets them two litres of milk, an 800g loaf of bread and six free range eggs.

So far, 400 supporters are paying either £4 or £6 to bolster their weekly shop.

For the past year, volunteers have worked on renovating the Queen Street building to get it ready for its official opening. Support has come from Lancaster City and Morecambe Town Councils, Citizens Advice and the Great Places Housing Group.

Meanwhile, project manager Susan Armstrong has recruited a team to serve in the café and food charity but is still on the lookout for more helpers including people to collate membership information, to welcome visitors, provide admin support, sort and check stock, and for food delivery. If you think you can help, email [email protected]

Anyone wanting to become a member and benefit from the Pantry can fill in a membership form available at www.morecambeparish.church/pantry

The Rt Rev Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn, said: “The energy and cost of living crises have created unprecedented levels of hardship across the county but I am encouraged by this fabulous new initiative from Morecambe Parish Church. It follows hot on the heels of the launch of a Wellness Hub at St Laurence Church in Chorley.

“Once again we see how churches, working alongside partners from the council and elsewhere, can provide vital services to often hard-pressed communities living out Jesus' message of hope in their positive responses and actions at this time to help their local communities.”