FoodCycle is celebrating seven years of fighting poverty, tackling waste and bringing communities together through the power of good food.
We’ve come a long way since our first meal (which, according to our founder Kelvin was a pot of ‘brown sludge’), and can’t believe how much FoodCycle has grown in just seven years.
Thank you to everyone – people who have volunteered just once, those who give their time every week, our partner organisations, funders and supporters – who have made the past seven years possible.
Want to know more about why FoodCycle’s work is important? Here are 7 reasons why…
1. Our guests
Each week, we serve over 600 meals to vulnerable people. FoodCycle lunches and evening meals make such a difference to the lives of people in our towns and cities who are living in poverty, lonely and isolated.
We love these words from a guest in Norwich, “when I go out of here on a Friday night I feel so good; I feel like I’ve had a 3-course meal at the Ritz. It’s just fantastic.”
2. Impact
Last year FoodCycle Hubs served 38,000 community meals made from 46 tonnes of reclaimed food – amazing!
Guests told us how much of a difference this makes: 82% of guests said they had made friends and feel more a part of the community since coming to a FoodCycle meal.
3. We’ve grown!
In the past seven years we’ve grown from one project to 29 across the country. From Liverpool to London, Bath to Birmingham, you’ll find a FoodCycle project cooking on every day of the week.
4. Volunteer power
We couldn’t do what we do without the amazing volunteers who give so much of their time, energy and skills to saving food waste and feeding hungry people. Want to find out more about how you can get involved? Read more about volunteering for FoodCycle here.
5. Brilliant partners
It’s been great to partner with some brilliant organisations who help us to serve meals – there are too many to list here but take a look at our partners page or page 19 of our impact report.
Shout-out to Mind, The Food Chain, Outward and John Pounds Centre!
6. Doing things differently
Not content with saving food, serving food and cooking for communities, many FoodCycle Hubs have found new ways to reach even more vulnerable people. FoodCycle Bristol have set-up a redistribution service, FoodCycle Cambridge has catered for weddings with surplus food, FoodCycle Durham has set up a new Saturday night meal and FoodCycle Bath has partnered with GoodGym to promote the meal in deprived areas.
7. Mission
Recent statistics from the UN show that food poverty is on the rise. Over 8 million people are going hungry in the UK and we have to respond to this need by providing as many hot, healthy meals as we can do.
Help us build communities through good food and eating together!
- Volunteer
- Donate
- Fundraise
