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From 60 volunteers to six: How Newport’s Manna cafe has survived and still has community at its heart

Natalia Linda is one of Manna cafe's two No One Left Behind volunteers. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson
Natalia Linda is one of Manna cafe's two No One Left Behind volunteers. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

After a volunteer-run Fife cafe struggled to stay open after the pandemic, a scheme to help hire paid staff has saved the popular venue.

Newport cafe Manna, known for its relaxed atmosphere and home baking, is a real community hub. Just three years ago it had 60 volunteers helping to run the venue.

Some would serve customers, others took care of the dishes and some were on baking duty. But as the pandemic hit and we went into lockdown, the volunteers disappeared.

As many were elderly and vulnerable, they were still shielding when the cafe opened back up again and some felt that their time as a volunteer had come to an end.

As lockdown meant Manna cafe had to close, its volunteers started slowly disappearing. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

Manager Diane Miller recalls having to completely change the way Manna operated.

“We would have three volunteers over four shifts a day, so you could have 12 different people working in one day,” she says.

“With 12 people a day, five days a week, we could have up to 60 different people helping a week.

“When we reopened after the pandemic, we had one staff member and one volunteer a day. And we were only open from 10am till 3pm, because there was still a limit on households mixing.”

Manna cafe at the heart of Newport

The Cupar Road cafe opened in 2006. It is run by the local church who wanted a presence in the town centre.

While operated fully by volunteers in the first 18 months, Diane was hired as a manager in November 2007 and has stayed in her post since.

Manna manager of 15 years, Diane Miller. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

Since the start, Manna’s three aims have been to express the church’s faith of loving and reaching out to others in the community, fund a youth worker and focus on Fairtrade goods.

The cafe’s profits goes towards paying the manager’s and youth worker’s salaries and the running of the venue.

As either Diane or assistant manager Morag Rowley had to be at work after lockdown, Manna Cafe’s funds were taking a hit.

Diane explains: “We couldn’t ask volunteers to be responsible to adhere to all the Covid guidance. You did get people who couldn’t wear masks and so on, so having a manager there helped.

“But that had a financial implication, because the paid staff got more and more hours, while we got less and less volunteers.”

Vital help from Fife Council

In an attempt to get funds for more staff, chair of the Manna management committee Alison Heywood applied for the UK Government Kickstart Scheme. It provided funding to employers to create jobs for 16 to 24-year-olds.

Volunteer Sarah McCowan, management committee chair Alison Heywood, volunteer Natalia Linda and manager Diane Miller. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

Unfortunately, Fife Council had reached its limit on placements and Manna missed out. But, they discovered a separate Scottish Government scheme, No One Left Behind (NOLB).

In April last year, the first two staff started on their six-month placements. The cafe paid their wages upfront and was reimbursed by Fife Council. Each staff member worked a minimum of 16 hours to a maximum of 36 hours a week.

Alison says: “The scheme has been vital in helping us run the cafe.

“We made the bold decision to open another day a week, even with fewer people. Having these two volunteers work under the scheme and get paid made a huge difference.

Sarah volunteers both in the cafe and on Manna’s management committee. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

“Financially, we balanced our books by the end of the year and we’re thrilled about that.”

After their NOLB placement, one volunteer has gone to university and the other got a job. Two new volunteers started working in September and December, one of which is Natalia Linda from Ukraine.

Volunteers back at Manna cafe

Natalia and her daughter are living with Manna volunteer Sarah McCowan in Newport. Being part of the NOLB scheme means Natalia has been able to practice her English and become integrated in the community.

“I don’t want the scheme to end,” she says.

Natalia enjoys working in Manna and practicing her English. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

The scheme comes to an end in March, but Alison hopes she can secure funding for another placement to continue for another six months.

After nine months with funded staff, Manna is back up to 30 volunteers and the managers have been able to take a step back.

Normality is returning to the cafe, and Diane can see the benefits that have come out of the NOLB scheme.

“They get the experience and we get the benefit of their time and contribution,” she says.

“We teach them the importance of time keeping and communication, just simple work principle to start them on the right path.

“We’re a small village with repeat custom, so it’s a gentle introduction to work. You start remembering orders and customers are generally very patient.”

Hundreds of jobs created across Fife

As Manna already took on young people as volunteers, the NOLB scheme meant the cafe could pay them for their work.

Diane says the scheme has been enjoyable, and Alison praises the good relationship they have built with Fife Council.

“We can all find negative things to say about the council, but they have been excellent to work with and very positive,” Alison says.

Manna still runs a small shop stocked with Fairtrade goods. Image: Steve Brown/DC Thomson

She highlights that she wishes there was more support available to the youngsters to help them move on after their placement ends. Volunteers at Manna have stepped in to help them with CVs and looking at future steps.

Fife Council supports a range of employability support services as part of the NOLB scheme. It has targeted adults and young people who might struggle to get a job to get them employed.

Service manager Kirsty Martin says: “We are on target this year, by the end of March, to create 146 jobs for long term unemployed people within the public and third sectors.

“We are also on target to create 160 jobs and apprenticeships for young people within private and third sector employers.

“Manna Cafe is one example of how we work with an employer to create additional job opportunities with a sector recovering from recent and current economic challenges.”

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