Cooking more than 600 meals for people who need a hot dinner and a chat is all in a week’s work for Matthew’s House in Swansea.
It is home to Matt’s Café which is open three times a week providing a choice of meals to all -comers, whatever their situation, and is part of the Matthew’s House project, an initiative of The Hill Church Swansea Charity, in the city’s High Street.
Now Tata Steel subsidiary UKSE has donated £1000 to buy a large freezer to help store food supplied by supermarkets, local businesses, charities and individuals.
The Community Fund gives targeted support to the local organisations and charities which work hard to maintain the fabric of society, such as Matthew’s House.
The charity opened in the converted church in 2017 and the flow of people through the door has steadily increased. As a result, the scope of its services has grown to providing food, laundry, showers, clothing, personal hygiene and advocacy and advice, and emergency packs are available to those struggling with homelessness or sleeping rough.
Over 150 volunteers are involved, and Matthew’s House works closely with many other charities and organisations in the city.
Its role is described as: “…to provide unconditional hospitality for the most vulnerable people in Swansea including those struggling with homelessness, mental health and addictions.”
The café expression has a ‘pay if you can’ policy and diners make the contribution they can afford, if any. All are welcome and no criteria are applied to the guests who use the services on Sunday night, and Monday and Tuesday lunch times. One of the key sources of food comes from the Fair Share scheme which intercepts unsold food from supermarkets and shops which would otherwise be thrown away and wasted.
Project Leader, Tom Lynch said the new freezer purchased with UKSE’s contribution was already making a huge difference.
Tom said: “It’s a game-changer for us and allows us to plan and organise our food storage more efficiently. We are very grateful to UKSE for their support.”
Alan Jenkins UKSE Regional Executive said: “We are delighted to be able to assist the wonderful work done by Matthew’s House and, along with their many other supporters, to enable them to bring hope to people who are struggling, especially at this time of year. We wish them every success for the future.”
Find out more about Matthew’s House here and the important work they do all year round.
About Tata Steel UK
- The Tata Steel Group has been named one of the most ethical companies in the world, and is among the top producing global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 34 million tonnes.
- Tata Steel in the UK has the ambition to produce net-zero steel by 2045 at the latest, and to have reduced 30% of its CO2 emissions by 2030.
- In October 2024, Tata Steel ceased ironmaking at its Port Talbot site and temporarily paused steelmaking pending the construction of a 3.2Mtpa Electric Arc Furnace, due to be commissioned late in 2027 / early 2028. For that period, the business will import slab and hot rolled coil to support manufacturing and distribution operations at sites across Wales, England and Northern Ireland as well as Norway, Sweden, France, Germany and UAE. It also benefits from a network of sales offices around the world.
- Throughout 2024 Tata Steel UK has been undergoing a restructuring that will reduce the size of its workforce to around 5000 direct employees, supplying high-quality steel products to demanding markets, including construction and infrastructure, automotive, packaging and engineering.
- Tata Steel Group is one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations and a commercial presence across the world.
- The group recorded a consolidated turnover of around US$27.7 billion in the financial year ending March 31, 2024.
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