The owner of a unique Aberdeen cafe has launched a crowdfunder to get hooked up to the National Grid.
The Highlander Bus Cafe, a busy spot down on the beachfront, currently rents a generator which frequently breaks down.
Owner Ramona Obafemi wants to connect the bus to the National Grid but despite attempts to apply for a council grant or loan, she has been quoted £19,125 for the works.
Now she has launched a crowdfunder to help cover the cost so the five-strong team can develop their menu and cut down on waste.
She said: “Being connected to the National Grid means we can offer more types of food like vegan, gluten free, vegetarian, home cooked style dishes, less food waste and more food we can offer to the causes we support.
“We don’t like waste and at the moment lots of food is wasted as the only charity that takes cooked food only runs in particular days.
“Some days we run out of food so we don’t have anything to offer, some days we have more in the days they don’t go out.
“Having 24/7 electricity means we can just pack food and store it for the next day for them rather than be forced to throw it in the bin.
“There are lots of things we took into account when we decided to go for the grid connection.”
This summer the Highlander Cafe Bus – which serves Romanian, Nigerian and Scottish food – set up a free toy borrowing scheme in an attempt to clear up plastic waste on the beach.
The idea meant that instead of leaving unwanted buckets and spades behind, families could just borrow them and hand them back to staff.
Ms Obafemi said: “We tried to help our community in the last year in any way we could from impacting tourism, promoting awareness about the plastics left behind on the beach to helping children from underprivileged backgrounds or homeless people.
“We are all about Aberdeen and we will continue to find innovative ideas to help the ones in need.
“As long as we are trading there will always be a project we will be involved in that has the aim of helping and supporting people.”
To help the cafe, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/get-the-highlander-cafe-bus-powered-up?
