Gloucester man gives up full-time job to feed the hungry

Hash Norat had wanted to open a cafe for some time but until recently was working at Unilever in Gloucester

A man who quit his full-time job at Unilever two months ago to provide hot meals to hungry people is already helping 250 people a day.

Hash Norat's Feed the Hungry cafe in Gloucester has no set prices, so people pay what they can to keep it going.

The cafe is centred around the premise that anyone can come in and have a meal, regardless of their circumstance.

"I think this is one of the most important projects in Gloucestershire right now," Mr Norat said.

"In the worst possible weather - with torrential rain and high winds - we had 40 people queuing 40 minutes before we even opened our doors."

'Never been happier'

The cafe also provides a warm space and keeps reserves of PPE, shoes, period products, nappies and clothes for people who need them.

Mr Norat, a former manager, said the cafe relied on public donations to operate with monthly overheads of £3,000.

"The first weeks at the cafe have been extremely busy, emotional and stressful, but I've never been happier," he added.

Mr Dodsworth said Mr Norat "really cares" about people

Rough sleeper Jason Dodsworth goes to Gloucester Feed the Hungry every day to have a hot meal and a chat.

He said: "If it wasn't for Hash, we'd have nothing during the day. We can get clean clothes, anything we want basically.

"If I get wet, I can come here and dry off, have a cup of tea and get something to eat.

"For someone to give up his time and get somewhere like this for homeless people - it shows he really cares."

Chris Nelson said he was "extremely impressed" with Mr Norat's work

Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson said he believes the cafe is helping to reduce crime.

He will introduce a 'commissioner's fund' next year to provide financial help to organisations such as Gloucester Feed the Hungry.

"You might think that feeding hungry people sounds more like a social enterprise that the local council might do.

"But the closer I've looked at it, when you've got people like Hash providing people with mental health support, it seems to have a much wider impact than I thought," Mr Nelson said.