Mayor of Westminster visits Farm Street parish homeless cafe

Mayor Robert Rigby, Fr Dominic Robinson with volunteers

Source: Westminster.Gov/Farm Street

Mushy peas with fish and chips from a Mayfair restaurant were served yesterday to homeless people at a West End church thanks to a service set up by a group of churches during the pandemic.

The Lord Mayor of Westminster, Cllr Robert Rigby, helped serve lunch to around 60 people on a visit to the Central London Catholic Churches Homeless lunch service run from Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair.

Set up in 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and supported by Westminster City Council, the service now offers lunch twice a week in a large dining room. Donations of food from nearby five-star hotels and restaurants including the Connaught and Claridges means around 140 people a week are fed free. The lunch served by the Lord Mayor was courtesy of the Mayfair Chippy in nearby North Audley Street.

The Lord Mayor talked with guests, ranging from a 90-year-old lady to 39-year-old Miles, a first-time visitor to the Farm Street Church, who has been rough sleeping since arriving in Westminster from Manchester. Miles said: "I am still getting used to the pace of life in London but services like Farm Street are great. It feels like somewhere friendly I can dip into while I get my life back together."

The Lord Mayor said: "Talking to people having lunch at the Farm Street centre it's clear the reasons why people end up sleeping rough or facing homelessness are complex and varied. While some may have substance problems in the past, for others it can just be bad luck or family rifts that mean they fall through the cracks.

"Thanks to the generosity of the hospitality trade, the team at Farm Street return a sense of dignity to people who are served at the table like regular restaurant diners. Father Dominic deserves credit for a project that began as a pandemic response but has flourished into something which is helping the homeless in the long term."

Fr Dominic Robinson said: "It was a great pleasure to welcome the Lord Mayor of Westminster Robert Rigby to our homeless restaurant and our new Cana Lounge Café. At Farm Street we aim to work as closely and helpfully as possible with the civic authorities to help those parishioners who sleep on the margins of our parish and are disadvantaged in whatever way by putting them centre stage and doing all we can to give them, thanks to our wonderfully generous local hotels and restaurants the best food, and the opportunity to move on to employment. The Lord Mayor's support for what we do is so much appreciated."

If you would like to join the team of volunteers at Farm Street Church or donate to their projects see: www.farmstreet.org.uk/support