A home has been found for a new community kitchen in west Suffolk, thanks to a story in the EADT appealing for help.

Last month, volunteers in Sudbury decided to establish a community kitchen in response to a “pressing need” for free hot meals in the town. However, they were unable to find suitable premises from which to run the initiative.

Now, St Gregory’s Church has offered the use of its church hall and kitchen in Prince Street, and offers of support have flooded in.

At one time, a soup kitchen which used to be run from the Catholic Church on the Croft in Sudbury provided more than 2,000 meals a year but it has not operated for some time.

Led by a group of keen volunteers, the new Sudbury Community Kitchen will begin serving simple lunches to those in need from St Gregory’s hall every Monday from March 7. Food will include home-made soup with a roll or toast and will be available from 12noon.

The project is a new initiative under the umbrella of the Sudbury Market Town Partnership.

The group’s chairman, Lesley Ford-Platt, said: “The demand exists and is growing for this service to be re-introduced.

“The partnership and the community kitchen group is extremely grateful to St Gregory’s Church for their generosity and willingness to support this much-needed service in Sudbury.”

Sainsbury’s has agreed to provide vegetables and bread, and a £305 grant for equipment was given by county councillor John Sayers.

Suffolk Road Church has donated crockery, while Health Foods for You in Sudbury has given mugs, and plans to continue to support the scheme.

The most recent donation has come from the East of England Co-op, which will be providing free tea bags for the next six months. The group will work alongside the Monday morning drop-in at the Christopher Centre, the Bridge Project, the Befriending Scheme and the Vineyard Church’s Storehouse Food Bank to ensure that they complement the services that are already available in Sudbury.

The volunteers hope to eventually offer the service on a second day each week. Future plans include teaching people how to cook low-cost nutritious meals, but more funding will be needed before the idea can be progressed.

Guests are welcome to come along and share a simple meal prepared by community kitchen volunteers.

For more information, contact Teresa Bishop on 01787 311558 or email bishopteresa78@gmail.com