A new charity scheme in Saltaire will show there is such a thing as a free lunch.

Vicars Café Bistro, a community cafe, is teaming up with Bradford Foodbank and doing its bit to help stop people going hungry.

The new project follows the success of its Veg-Ex project, where staff encourage people to donate locally-grown menu ingredients in exchange for cafe vouchers.

The not-for-profit social enterprise, started by two vicars in 2005, launched its new project on Friday.

‘Vicars Coffee Share’ means customers can buy an extra coffee, cake or lunch to be “suspended” and enjoyed later by someone in the community in need. It is part of a global initiative called Suspended Coffee which started in Naples, Italy.

In Vicars, a black board will display chalk ticks showing what suspended hot drinks, cakes or soup are available to be ordered free of charge on any particular day. Vicars will also distribute some of its suspended coffees through the Bradford Foodbank.

Community liaison worker at Vicars, Sarah Hattam, said: “We have all wanted to make a response when we see someone in obvious need on the street, but it can be difficult to know what the most helpful thing to do is. With the Vicars Coffee Share we have an answer. Customers can show kindness to someone who they may never meet.”

Ben Haldane, of Bradford Trussell Trust Foodbank, said: “Every week we meet local people and families in need. To be able to offer them the opportunity to go to Vicars Café Bistro for a coffee and cake, or lunch, that someone else has bought on their behalf is a gesture which can bring hope in their situation.”

Vicars will donate any Coffee Share cash not claimed to Vicars own charity, the Kubatana project, an AIDs orphanage in Zimbabwe at the end of each quarter.