A cafe in the heart of Oldham town centre has come up with a heart-warming scheme to support its customers battling the cost-of-living crisis.

Clean Plate Kitchen on Silver Street cooks up homemade cakes, pies and hearty meal boxes every day, but goes above and beyond that of a normal cafe.

The owner, Collette Hall, was voted one of Oldham's most inspirational women for her "selflessness" and "kindness" earlier this year, as the cafe often raises money for charity. 

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Despite just about surviving its "toughest March yet", where the cafe only made £4.88, Clean Plate Kitchen is determined to give back and keep up its ethos of goodwill - and now has launched a "kindness board" which has fed and supported more than a dozen people in the space of a week.

The board invites customers to pay a meal forward to a stranger who may be struggling, if they can, or to take an order from the board for free.

There are no criteria to meet for a free meal as the cafe said the tickets go towards a stranger who might be feeling "a bit rubbish" or "sick of the same cheese butty for lunch" as well as those financially struggling.

The board reads: "If times are tough, take a pre-paid ticket and receive your items at no cost to you.

"If times are good, please consider paying to add an item to this board." 

The cafe explains customers can either choose an item or leave any amount of money for a meal or other item to go on the board for someone else.

Introducing the board on Tuesday (November 5) last week, staff said the idea was born after a couple of their regulars made donations.

By the following day, the cafe provided a cheese and onion pie meal, a rag pudding meal and received a "very, very generous" £20 donation from a customer "who doesn't work in Oldham anymore".

By the end of the week, the idea had snowballed as the board became full of meal tickets and the cafe had fed more than 12 people.

The team said: "We are living (existing) in a cost of living crisis, there is no shame in struggling, there's no judgement.

"Just because you are working, it does not mean that you don't need help.

"Please take a ticket if you need one.

"If you feel embarrassed in any way - struggling financially can certainly trigger anxiety - call up and place your order, ask what's on the kindness board and you can eat in or take it away."

Others have also been transferring funds for meals directly to the cafe, and in one day had received £90 worth of meals in cash donations to add to the board which Collette said was "incredible".

Touched by the generosity, Collette said a "lovely lady" called into the cafe just to pay for a meal while another woman clubbed the cash together with her daughter to put some money into the pot for a meal.

A third woman added £10 to her lunch order to put items on the board.

In posts on social media, Collette said: "We are truly overwhelmed by the generosity of our customers and Facebook friends.

"We are surrounded by so many amazing people."

"It’s hard to put into words how amazing this week has been, to see how all of our customers, friends and complete strangers have come together to support this idea.

"Thank you to each and every one of you."

Got a story? Email me Olivia.bridge@newsquest.co.uk