We think that sharing food with strangers is one of the nicest ways to spread happiness. And if the food has been saved from going to waste, it makes it even tastier.
Inspired and supported by the wonderful People’s Kitchen (Passing Clouds, Dalston), we collect food that would otherwise be thrown away from local shops, markets and businesses. We then invite people to cook together in a local kitchen, or on our bicycle kitchen – whether you just want to chop onions or are up for taking charge of a dish, you’re in. After that, we welcome everyone to enjoy a meal on a donations basis. Read more about how we started and where the idea came from.
What are our aims?
Get people together. It might be a cliché, but we believe food gets people talking. Our events are completely collaborative, and we have made new friends at each single one.
Share skills and learn new ones. Another cliché: we love South London because of the diversity of its people…and its diversity of culinary skills. We want to build on the expertise within our communities, swapping ideas and knowledge at our events. Our events include recipe swaps and cooking demonstrations from members of the community.
Reducing food waste. With its markets and numerous restaurants, Brixton is a food hub. It is estimated that 36% of Brixton’s waste is food. However, food waste from retailers only account for a small portion of the total amount of food we waste – the majority actually comes from households. We want to avoid moralising and instead inspire people through hands-on cooking sessions that encourage people to think about creative ways around food waste reduction.
What have we achieved so far?
We’ve been running events all around South London for the last three years in places from parks to One O’Clock Clubs to community festivals. Along the way, we’ve saved at least a baby elephant’s worth of food waste, and had a lot of fun along the way. We’ve been featured on Al Jazeera, The Guardian, South London Press and many more. In 2013, we were finalists in Nesta’s waste reduction challenge – click here for a full report (with plenty of pictures of what we got up to).
Some videos of what we do
– Finally, a video from the brilliant Brixton Life gives an idea of what an event is like:
