A community café in Hatfield has set up a mother, baby and toddler shop to help struggling families during the cost-of-living crisis.
Resolve’s Sparks Community Café & Hub started SPARKLES; a volunteer-led shop, as they increasingly saw parents who were not only struggling with feeding their families, but also with being able to buy the essentials that they need, such as clothes, nappies, baby milk, and toys.
SPARKLES is located at Queensway House at the back of Sparks Café and is open on all weekdays from 1pm to 4pm, except Wednesday, and on Saturdays they run from 10am to 2pm.
Sparks Café is a “pay what you can” café that was brought on by Resolve, a provider delivering abstinence-based services, drop in and family and friends support services from their centres in Mid and North Herts.
Joe Heeney, chief executive officer at Resolve, said: "At this moment in time, we are seeing increasing numbers of local people coming to SPARKS and using SPARKLES.
"This is most definitely due to the increasing issues people are facing with the current cost of living crisis, but also it should be known that for those who can afford to go to Sparks Café and donate just a little more for their meal, these people help to support our local community through their donations in the café. 
"Likewise, if there is anyone out there who has good quality baby or toddler clothes, toys or other things for babies or toddlers that they no longer need, we would very much welcome being able to pass these things on to a new home where they will be very gratefully received."
SPARKLES and the café also partner up with Ocado, which provides most of the consumable goods, nappies, baby milk and other products on a weekly basis.
Clothes, toys and other goods provided in SPARKLES itself are donated by members of the community within the borough.
Joe added: “Sparks Community Café & Hub was set up to support the whole community, supporting people coming from vulnerable backgrounds including people struggling on low or no incomes as we were increasingly seeing people who are homeless, and sleeping rough in the area."
To know more about the work done by Resolve and to donate, go to resolve-online.org
To know more about the cafe, go to: Sparks Community Cafe Hatfield
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