Youth club's cafe saved from closure

The Way Youth Zone began serving hot meals in 2023

A youth club's cafe has been saved from closure after a grant was secured to keep serving what can be a youngster's only hot meal of the day.

The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton offers free hot meals every evening, but its running costs have increased after a change in insurance requirements.

It has now been able to add a fire suppression system, a mandatory part of kitchen hood construction without which bosses said it would have had to close.

The £5,900 grant from Enovert Community Trust (ECT) has enabled the cafe to continue offering the free hot meals.

The club also offers a wide range of activities, including art and sport. It started providing meals. In 2023 it began offering the free meals.

It helps young people aged 8-18 and has almost 2,000 members.

Rob Smith, facilities manager, said the club was very grateful for the generous support from the trust.

"This essential upgrade means we can continue providing safe, nutritious meals to our young people - something we simply could not have done without Enovert's help," he added.

Angela Haymonds, trust manager of ECT, said: "Having previously supported Wolverhampton Youth Zone by part-funding the renovation of its café, the trust was very keen to make sure the café was able to operate as originally intended.

"Providing the grant for the fire suppression system will enable the café to stay open and continue to provide an extremely valuable service to the local community, which the trust is proud to be associated with."