"No need to ask or explain": Peppers' owner in Aberdare offers free meals with dignity
Golbarg Lak, owner of Peppers Restaurant in Aberdare, is using her thriving business to give back to the community and reduce food waste.
Hello and welcome to The Valleys Lead.
As small businesses on our high streets close due to soaring operational costs, the rise of business rates, and increases to minimum wage and National Insurance contributions, one restaurant in Aberdare is doing what they can to not only make a profit, but also give back to their community.
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“No need to ask or explain”: Peppers’ owner in Aberdare offers free meals with dignity
Since taking over the ownership of Peppers Restaurant in Aberdare, Iranian-born Golbarg Lak, 33, has prioritised the needs of her community. Noticing the deprivation of some in Aberdare, Golbarg wanted to find a way to provide food for people who couldn’t afford it.
“There is poverty here,” Golbarg told The Valleys Lead. “People are often looking for free food. I get lots of messages asking.”
To meet the need, Golbarg started making occasional offers of fresh food on Facebook if she had any food left at the end of the day - food that would have been thrown out otherwise.
“I get messages on Facebook from people or phone calls taking up the offer,” the 33-year-old said.
She’s also made every effort to keep prices low for customers.
“I always try to understand the people and their situations,” she said. “The price of everything is going up, but I haven’t changed prices in the last year. Even though the cost of minimum wage, gas and electricity bills, and food costs from suppliers have all gone up, if people keep coming and supporting - even for toast and coffee – I can keep the prices low.”
Recently, Golbarg has considered how to start a pay-it-forward service after noting the positive response from locals when she has advertised spare food leftover from a day’s service.
