Following the success of two-day pop-up café last April in support of the Irish Refugee Council, Our Table is opening a permanent cafe in the Projects Art Theatre in Temple Bar this October that aims “to create a nurturing and emphatic space where people can gain skills, are paid a wage and can gain knowledge of the Irish food industry.”

Our Table is a non-profit, non-denominational organisation that aims to highlight the fact that people in Direct Provision are not allowed to cook for themselves and how that impacts on family and cultural identity. At the new cafe Our Table aims to build an greater awareness of direct provision within the wider Irish public, to provide disadvantaged migrants with an independent income and opportunities to find permanent employment, and to preserve and celebrate various recipes and diverse cultural heritages.

According to the Department of Justice and Equality, Direct Provision is a “means of meeting the basic needs of food and shelter for asylum seekers directly while their claims for refugee status are being processed rather than through full cash payments.” Under the programme asylum seekers receive €19.10 per adult and €9.60 per child per week.

Our Table also linked with Street Feast in June 2016 hosting an event that facilitated conversations during both the cooking and dining process. The Irish Museum of Modern Art also hosted workshops and lunch on their grounds as part of their A Fair Land project in August 2016.

The planned date for the cafe opening is Wednesday 26th October. For more information visit www.ourtable.ie.