Yorkshire restaurateur Jaz Boparai is throwing open the doors to his Barnsley restaurant to feed elderly diners, those with disabilities and people with housing problems.
Jaz, who runs Chilli and Grille on Market Street, Barnsley, has invited 50 people to a free lunch on Thursday February 24th.
Among those invited are service users at Age UK, Bridge It Housing and the Barnsley-based organisation for adults with disability, Physical Futures.
Jaz will serve a three course meal to his VIP guests. The charities and organisations were nominated after Jaz asked his customers to propose worthy recipients.
“I’ve wanted to invite a large group of people for a free lunch for a while,” explained Jaz.
“Recently I’ve noticed more people begging and living rough in Barnsley and it made me think about what I could do to support people.
“I’m conscious that many people never get the opportunity to eat out whilst others are lonely and don’t get the opportunity to share a meal with others.”
Tracy Robinson, manager at Physical Futures, which is based in Carlton, Barnsley, added: “We believe strongly in social inclusion and everyone having the opportunity to live a purposeful life.
“The invitation from Jaz fits well with our ethos. We’re very much looking forward to visiting Chilli and Grille with some of our service users and meeting a wide range of people from across the Barnsley borough.”
