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A fantastic new vegetarian cafe has opened in the heart of Toxteth, serving the community with healthy, home cooked meals and offering a welcoming space where all people can come together to eat, taste, cook and buy food.
Squash Nutrition are a community run organisation that provides locals with the chance to enjoy plant based meals at an affordable cost. But the exciting venture also provides a space for people to socialise and take part in cooking and gardening workshops.
The new venue is right up the road from Purple Revolver’s home at Toxteth TV on Windsor Street, Liverpool – so we went to check it out. Watch the video in the portal.
The project has been worked on by 30 local residents and has taken four years to come to fruition. Squash Director Clare said: “Squash Nutrition has certainly been a labour of love for us.
“We’ve worked within the community, focussing on young people and food for the past 25 years. We see what we do as a work of art and as part of that we’re always bringing food in to share.
“We’ve wanted to provide some interesting food possibilities to as many people as possible – and our new home now makes it possible.
“Our mission is to get people cooking, so we have a really simple tasty seasonal menu and the ingredients to make it at home are available to buy in the shop.
“We use food as a tool for social inclusion. We build gardens with loads of community members, we train people how to garden and how to grow their own food.
“We cook food with people from loads of different places and share how amazing the worlds food is.”
Although the business has been up and running for 11 years, this is the first time it has its own venue. Purpose built with timber frames, solar panels and recycled steel and glass – it certainly meets the desired design to be eco-friendly.
Clare continued: “Squash Nutrition is an inviting, welcoming space where people can come and eat, taste, cook and buy food.
“But most importantly, they can meet friends and feel welcomed in their local community.”
The café also has a ‘soup it forward’ scheme, which allows customers to pay for a portion of soup alongside their meal if they wish to so that someone else who cant afford it is able to eat.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing as Clare explained that a fire, unreliable tradesmen and a limited budget were obstacles that held them back over the years. But they didn’t let this ruin their vision.
She said: “We’ve worked really hard to bring people good value for money. People in this community deserve something that is of really high quality.
“So far, we’ve had fantastic feedback and we can’t wait to keep building on what we have and getting bigger and better.”
Squash Nutrition is open Thursdays and Fridays from 8am till 4pm, and Saturdays from 9am till 4pm.
You can find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/squashliverpool/
Or contact them on: 01517077897