Empower communities to reduce UK food poverty

We are delighted to publish FoodCycle’s first ever Social Impact Report this month – the culmination of many months of monitoring and evaluation at our projects. You can see the full report here and see a summary of our findings below… 

Key findings, demographics and case studies from the report:

• Reducing food poverty: 31,635 meals served this year; 73% of guests eat more fruit and veg after coming to a FoodCycle meal
• Reducing social isolation: Over 1,000 community dining events; 85% of guests have made new friends since coming to FoodCycle and 87% feel more a part of the community
• Tackling food waste: 46 tonnes of surplus food reclaimed for use this year, a CO2 saving of 207 tonnes.
• Training volunteers: 26,340 hours given by volunteers this year, 39 trainees supported into employment through the cafe, and 87% of Hub Leaders believe the skills and confidence gained at FoodCycle will help their careers

Demographics

• 72% of guests have skipped a meal in the week before coming to FoodCycle
• 68% of guests are out of work
• 62% of guests live alone and 19% do not have access to cooking facilities
• 14% of guests are aged 65+, 25% are affected by mental health problems, 23% are affected by homelessness, 27% are experiencing problems with debt

Can you help us achieve more next year?

1. Volunteer
All our projects are volunteer-led and we are supported by over 1,200 amazing volunteers across the country. Find out if there’s a FoodCycle Hub local to you here and simply sign up online to volunteer.

2. Donate
With your help, we can make sure that food waste and food poverty no longer co-exist in our communities. Just £10 is enough for us to buy the extra ingredients needed for a three-course meal for around 50 people who are struggling to get by – please donate today.

3. Fundraise
There are all sorts of ways to support FoodCycle through fundraising – from marathons and cycling events to foodie fundraising dinners and bake sales. We have plenty more ideas for you right here!

Hello there! Summer seems to be fading as we head into an early autumn - but our August has been a bright one with a visit from a Michelin-star chef and thousands more meals served across the country.

Our latest outputs are now in (drumroll please....) We have now served a grand total of 102,265 meals and reclaimed 119,061kg of surplus food for use! Our amazing volunteers have given 80,980 hours to make this happen.

A Michelin-star feast at FoodCycle Islington

Last week we enjoyed a particularly special meal at FoodCycle Islington - welcoming Michelin-star chef Alfred Prasad and his head chef Nirmal Save into the kitchen. They enjoyed the challenge of cooking Ready, Steady, Cook-style from surplus food, serving up a tomato soup, garnished with thyme croutons and chives and grilled tomato and mozzarella pittas to start. 

This was followed by a wonderful potato and green bean curry with rice and a leafy, fruity salad, and finally, for dessert, it was the classic FoodCycle staple: bread and butter pudding! This version was spruced up with strawberries and bananas, and served with custard and a grape and clementine salad. All the food served was thoroughly enjoyed by our guests in Islington with not a crumb left on plates: a true sign of outstanding food!

A donation of just £10 is enough for us to buy the extra ingredients needed for a three-course meal for 50 people who are struggling to get by - making sure our meals are as balanced and nutritious as possible. Please donate now.