Oxford-based homeless charity, The Gatehouse, received a big festive boost this week after Gusto Italian pledged to provide regular hot food donations to help it deliver vital support in the city.
The premium restaurant has partnered with The Gatehouse to provide regular hot food donations to support the charity’s efforts to feed homeless and vulnerably-housed people in the city.
Based at St Giles, The Gatehouse offers free support to anyone over 25 who is homeless, vulnerably housed, on low income or in need of community support.
The charity has been operating in the city for more than 30 years to provide hot food, shower facilities and clothing, counselling and personal support.
Gusto Italian will provide regular food donations to support their community café, which serves hot food six nights a week. The ongoing partnership will support the charity’s work and offer guests at the café a variety of freshly prepared, hot meals.
Last week, Gusto Italian team members delivered fresh sourdough pizzas to the community café, which provided dinner for nearly 50 of the city’s rough sleepers.
General Manager of Gusto Italian Oxford, Roberto Losito, said: “The Gatehouse is a fantastic charity that has been making a difference in the lives of homeless and vulnerable people in our community for a long time, and we are pleased to be able to help them.
“We know homelessness is a problem that affects so many people in Oxford, and it can be especially difficult at this time of year. We wanted to find a way to offer our support, particularly during the current cold snap we are experiencing.
“We hope our deliveries will help spread some Christmas cheer and offer visitors to The Gatehouse something to look forward to each month.”
The charity operates a drop-in centre at St Giles Parish Rooms on Woodstock Road. All services and support offered by The Gatehouse are free of charge, so the charity relies on the help of volunteers and community support.
Katrina Horne, CEO of The Gatehouse, said: “Our guests are amongst the most disadvantaged members of society, and particularly in the current economic environment, they would struggle to obtain even a single meal every day without our help.
“We are hugely thankful to Gusto Italian for their support, regularly providing us with a supply of pizza every month, which will not only be extremely popular with our guests but will also help us to maintain our target levels of service.
“With our operational costs increasing substantially year on year, this type of support really does offer a lifeline to both us and our guests.”
Gusto Italian is now open on the High Street, Oxford, for lunch, dinner and drinks every day of the week and brunch on the weekends. The contemporary menu includes Gusto’s signature dishes and Italian classics – offering diners a fully immersive experience.
