Nightingale House Hospice’s award-winning café have been “overwhelmed with requests” for its’ new food delivery service after it had to shut its’ doors to the public due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The kitchen crew at Caffii Cwtch continued to prepare all the specialist in-patient meals as normal for those with life-limiting illnesses and had to be on the premises.

In a bid to help generate alternate funds for the hospice head chef, Peter Jackson, who has cooked for both Her Majesty The Queen and the Emperor of Japan, came up with the idea to turn their kitchen into a mobile enterprise and created Meals Matter.

Now Peter and his team are working flat out to keep up with demand and supply, to bring the best bits of the Caffi Cwtch food experience direct to their customers.

So far Meals Matter has turned out 2000 meals and raised over £8k – with bosses at the hospice deciding the new service is here to stay as it not only helps those in the community that may have difficulty getting out, but also complements the café’s fundraising contribution which contributes over £40,000 every year towards the running costs of the both in-patient and out-patient service

The hospice already has an army of volunteers who help them all year round to maintain services and fundraise. Whilst many had to be stood down once the restrictions were put in place, some living close by, that do not fall into the high-risk category, have come forward to help in the kitchen, taking food orders over the phone and with food deliveries, in the Wrexham County Borough area.

Mr Jackson said: “It seemed sensible to utilise our professional kitchen for an alternative Caffi Cwtch experience. We have many customers who previously relished our café as a place to enjoy good food, meet their friends but most importantly create another income stream towards the hospice’s running costs.

“I thought the idea could take off and it was something we had talked about as a service for patients and their families before Coronavirus changed how we live.

“The entire team has pulled out all the stops to make this happen and the positive feedback we are receiving is inspiring us to keep going. We are also grateful to the volunteers who have come forward to help and we also look forward to welcoming back our usual volunteers and customers when this is all over.”

Head of Fundraising, Laura Parry said: “I think we have all been surprised by the popularity of Meals Matter but it does show the appreciation and loyalty our community has for Nightingale House Hospice.

“We knew that Caffi Cwtch held a special place in people’s hearts and was already well supported. What we could never have dreamed of was how much the public would get behind us and appreciate the food that was being delivered out in the community.

“We are just happy to do our bit to keep communities fed and connected and at the same time create an alternative fundraising stream during this difficult time. We cannot thank the public enough for the kindness and support they have shown us – it really is very humbling. Our hospice remains open to help those in-patients with life-limiting illnesses.

Laura added: “Meals Matter is here to stay but we will obviously have to tweak it a little once the restrictions are lifted and life returns to normal but we believe that we can provide quality and affordable meals out to those vulnerable members of our community.”

Food items available include soups, main courses and desserts, as well as afternoon teas, that are proving popular as special gifts from loved ones to family members who are unable to get out. 100% of the proceeds will go to Nightingale House hospice.

Delivery of the meals is free with a minimum order of £5 (via card payments) but donations to the hospice would be greatly appreciated to help the hospice to bring in much-needed revenue at this difficult time. The meals are also available for collection from Caffi Cwtch, Chester Road, Wrexham LL11 2SJ by prior arrangement.

To place an order just choose your meal, call Meals Matter on 01978 316800 and pay by card – Monday to Friday between 10am and 5pm.