Highland charity launches café to help lift people out of poverty
A Highland-based charity has opened a cafe and training space designed to help people out of poverty.
New Start Highland has opened the doors to The Yard Café in Inverness - a contemporary hands-on training space.
The café, which forms a key part of a £500,000 project to develop Scotland's first Training and Reuse Village, is designed to help lift people out of poverty.
The hub is intended to create opportunities for people to build practical skills while championing a circular community.
Building on the support New Start Highland already provides to 1,500 people each year to tackle poverty, homelessness and social isolation across the region, The Yard and its sister training kitchen will create up to 40 hospitality employment opportunities annually.
The café serves its own blend of coffee from Inverness Coffee Roasting Company. It offers a selection of cakes, made daily onsite, alongside fresh, affordable breakfast and lunch options.
At the Training and Reuse Village, customers can now donate furniture and homeware, browse New Start Highland’s pre-loved hub and enjoy a coffee all under the same roof.
Yvonne Naylor, The Yard Café manager, said of the opening: “Today marks a hugely exciting day for us as we open our doors to the public.
“The Yard has been created as an inclusive space for the whole community. It’s a place to catch up with friends and will be a welcoming environment where those experiencing loneliness can build meaningful connections. It will also serve as a training ground for hospitality students to develop their skills.
“More than just a café, it represents a pivotal step for us creating safe, supportive spaces where people can grow, learn and thrive together.
“I can’t wait to welcome those from our local community and beyond. As winter sets in, it’s the perfect location to sit and relax in front of our wood-burning stove.”
In line with the organisation’s commitment to sustainability, The Yard features a menu created from fresh, home-grown produce sourced from the neighbouring New Start Highland Gardens.
Menu highlights include a locally sourced full Scottish breakfast, French toast, Caledonian eggs and roasted cauliflower dahl.
Running the café will be a team of staff supported by trainees undergoing employability training.
The Yard Café is open from Monday to Friday from 7.30am-4pm and will be open on weekends in the new year.
The outlet has been made possible due to funding from The Wolfson Foundation, Randal Charitable Foundation, THC Common Good Fund, Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust and Foundation Scotland.
New Start Highland was founded by chief executive James Dunbar in 2000, with the initiative supporting people experiencing vulnerability due to poverty, crisis, social isolation and loneliness.
The charity delivers programs and services which boost health and welfare, provide education, create hope and aspirations whilst encouraging community spirit and connectivity.
Each year the organisation works with 1,500 families and individuals, providing work experience and qualifications which help them achieve sustainable employment.
The charity runs cookery and energy efficiency courses and provides volunteer placements, which enable people to connect. Everything New Start Highland does contributes to the overarching goal of reducing poverty, loneliness and isolation, including the opening of the Yard Cafe.
For more information, visit newstarthighland.org.
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