Looking to support local business and get a great meal? Check out the Urban Ministry WE Community Café.  Magic City Momma recently spoke with Angela Moore, the development director of Urban Ministry, about the café.

Tell me about Urban Ministry WE Community Café.
Urban Ministry’s WE Community Café opened in March 2016 after we closed a soup kitchen which had been in operation for more than 30 years. The thought was to use this new venture as a method of social enterprise where the community could not only receive delicious and healthy food, but we could also offer a Workforce Development Program for young adults from the area, and open the café up to people from all walks of life. We are opened Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is a recommended donation of $5 or pay-as-you-can. Some pay more than $5. Others pay with a simple smile or thank you.

What can patrons expect?
Urban Ministry is like no other café patrons might have experienced. Sparked by social enterprise and economic development, WE Community Café employs interns who live in West End and revamped the soup kitchen to open its doors to anyone in a chic, yet welcoming, hip yet homey, eclectic yet familiar and innovative café for those in the mood for some mid-day, mid-week culinary perfection. It’s truly a hodge-podge of the best of Birmingham coming together to break bread reuniting with old friends and making new ones in the community-style, steam table café. Each week we offer whole food, vegan and vegetarian options of some of the most delicious soul food, regional and southern cuisine. Our produce and herbs often come from directly across the street out of out WE Community Gardens, which means the greens from a salad or mint or honey in the tea could easily have been harvested from the ground or drawn from our beehives just moments ago.

Tell me about Urban Ministry. 
Founded in 1978, and with a mission to serve poor and low-income persons in the

Birmingham area with programs of compassion and wholeness, Urban Ministry is the

Inner-city ministry of the United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Programs offered on a completely non-sectarian basis include: the Joe Rush Center for Urban Mission, Community Kitchen, WE Community Café, WE Community Gardens, Beeson Senior Services, Urban Kids, Food Assistance, Homelessness Prevention, Transportation Ministry and a partnership with Community Church Without Walls. Together these programs address the long-term causes and consequences of poverty creating opportunities for individuals to find wholeness as part of a healthy, supportive community.

How can people become involved with Urban Ministry?
Urban Ministry has a wealth of volunteer and donor opportunities with our programs. Interested readers can email angela@urban-ministry.org or visit our website at urban-ministry.org to find out more.

What events do you have coming up in the next few months that you would like for readers to know about? 
Our big event season is approaching at Urban Ministry. We have our Table of Hope Fundraiser featuring CNN Heroes honoree and Thistle Farms President/Founder Becca Stevens on Thursday, October 6 at 5:30 pm. Tickets start at $150 for this fundraiser. We also have our 8th Annual Collard Green Cookoff and Wellness Expo on Saturday, October 15 on the grounds of Urban Ministry (1229 Cotton Avenue SW, 35211). This free event attracts hundreds for a day of food, music, spoken word and services for health experts and vendors.

What’s next for Urban Ministry WE Community Café and Urban Ministry?
We hope to continue to grow WE Community Café and add an additional day of opening in early 2017.

To learn more about Urban Ministry, visit them online at www.urban-ministry.org or call 205-781-0517.