Community Café

Since November 2014, the Community Café at Taranaki Cathedral has raised more than $100,000 for charity.

The Tuesday morning café operates from 7.30am to 10am in the Cathedral’s Peace Hall.

Staffed by volunteers, it serves breakfast to anyone who wants it for a suggested donation of $1 per item. Crepes are a specialty but the menu also includes porridge, toast, baked beans and sausages, homemade marmalade, hot and cold beverages and other items.  Gluten-free options are available.

In the last year (2020 – 2021) funds raised have gone towards the following: Taranaki Retreat, Foodbank, Doctors without Borders,  Barnardos, Pacific Island Relief Fund, Police Managers Guild Trust, St Marys Gala, Taranaki Cathedral Project, Bwera Charity Academy, Funds for the Needy in New Plymouth, Habitat, Unicef Cyclone Harold to mention but a few.

Another aspect to the café is its provision as a space for people to mingle. Often breakfasts are attended by older people seeking company, mothers with toddlers, families with children on their way to school and business groups having a meeting.

It is a non-intrusive outreach to help people who are having a hard time financially, carrying grief or struggling with life.

On average 120 people attend each week. They come and go as they wish, sometimes sharing tables with strangers, sometimes meeting regulars out for their weekly catch-up.

Some items are donated, most are purchased but if you have some produce you think might help towards it please ask.

The cafe encourages many people who haven't had any contact with the cathedral to move through the doors and have a great breakfast.  Everyone is welcome - come and grab a hearty breaky for no more than the price of a regular flat-white.

And if you think it might be a good fit for you, maybe become a volunteer!