Empower communities to reduce UK food poverty

Thank you for your kind support to FoodCycle - helping us strengthen communities across the UK by tackling food poverty and social isolation.

FoodCycle builds communities by combining volunteers, surplus food and spare kitchen spaces to create nutritious meals for people at risk of food poverty and social isolation.

We have now served over 86,000 meals across our 18 volunteer-powered community projects - made using 97,000kg of perfectly edible surplus food that would otherwise have gone to waste. 

Beyond the impact of a healthy meal and a friendly environment, our recent evaluation has shown significant behavioural change. 74% of FoodCycle beneficiaries eat more fruit and veg after coming to a FoodCycle meal, 85% make new friends and feel more a part of the community, and 61% report increased confidence.

“It means a lot. Having a meal here means more food for the children at home”. Beneficiary at the FoodCycle Hub in Clacton-on-Sea

“I heard about FoodCycle and came with my late husband. Since he has died I don't like to cook just for myself, so this is perfect and I am grateful... no matter who you are you are always made to feel welcome.” - Virginia Cole, 87-year old beneficiary at FoodCycle Cambridge.

This has been a transformative year for FoodCycle. We’ve built an expansion infrastructure, we’ve welcomed three new Hubs to the FoodCycle network, we’ve launched a brand new website, and we’ve appointed a new CEO with a wealth of experience in retail and food redistribution.

Sadly, at the same time we are seeing a growing need across the UK, with Oxfam’s Walking the Breadline report finding that over 500,000 people are now reliant on emergency food provision.

Thanks to our amazing volunteers and supporters like you, we have served 28,646 meals across our 17 projects this year, created using 35,257kg of surplus food.

Hubs Expansion

This year has seen us welcome three new Hubs to the FoodCycle network: in Salisbury,Sheffield and Wandsworth. Every week we receive calls from organisations and individuals interested in opening a FoodCycle project in their community and we’re now ready to roll out our model across the UK.

67% of our beneficiaries say they are eating more fruit and vegetables since coming to FoodCycle

Interested in getting involved at your local Hub? Each one of our 16 Hubs is unique and powered by local volunteers who want to make a difference – read more about them here!

Case Study – beneficiary at the new FoodCycle Salisbury Hub: “I’ve lived in Salisbury all my life. It’s a nice place, a friendly place. Recently I’ve fallen on hard times and I was told about this place by the Citizen’s Advice Bureau. One of the other guests who comes here just told me that there are a lot of other places where you can get food now in Salisbury, like soup-kitchens and food banks. But this is different, it’s nice to sit down for a nice meal and chat to people. You know sometimes you feel a bit isolated living on your own.” 

Pie in the Sky Community Café

Our Pie in the Sky Community Café is going from strength to strength in Bromley-by-Bow. This year we have started working with the fantastic charity Switchback, who refer young ex-offenders to the café to gain hands-on experience.

In the last year, we have recruited a total of 100 volunteer trainees, including 60 young people. Of these, 28 young people (47%) have progressed into employment, education, or training, and 38 people in total have also moved onto another opportunity.

“When you’ve been out of work for a few years it erodes your confidence. Volunteering at the cafe has given me confidence again. My favourite part about volunteering is learning all the new recipes and doing it myself“. Chris, cafe volunteer trainee who is now in full-time employment. 

We also found that 73% of volunteer trainees reported increased communication, teamwork and timekeeping skills, 59% said they felt more confident in applying for jobs or going for interviews and 62% increased their levels of self-esteem and confidence by volunteering at the café.

We have also grown our catering arm this year – serving up delicious dishes made from surplus ingredients for events such as the TedX Whitechapel Conference. Got an event coming up and interested in our catering? Get in touch!

Farewell Kelvin and welcome Mary!

This year saw the departure of FoodCycle founder Kelvin Cheung and the appointment of our new CEO Mary McGrath.

Kelvin founded FoodCycle back in 2008, inspired by the Campus Kitchens Project and empowered by Michael Norton of CIVA to try out a similar concept in the UK. Little did he realise that five years on FoodCycle would be a national movement, with thousands of passionate volunteers who have served over 79,000 meals and reclaimed over 85,000kg of surplus food that would have otherwise been wasted.

Summing up Kelvin in 3 words, FoodCycle’s Head of Programmes Kieran chose ‘empathy‘, ‘visionary‘ and ‘…unconventional‘. From having the initiative and vision to get FoodCycle up and running in the first place, to frequently arriving to meetings dressed in full-on cycling gear, those are three sentiments that we can all agree with! So we wish Kelvin all the very best in Hong Kong and look forward to his visits in the future as a FoodCycle Ambassador.

Now we extend a very warm welcome to Mary who feels like a true part of the FoodCycle team already! Mary joins FoodCycle with many years of experience in the food redistribution sector, including most recently at FareShare, and we’re very excited to have her on board as we look to expand in the next few years.

2013 round-up

This year we also had our biggest FoodCycle Conference to date, welcoming almost 100 volunteers for a weekend of training, workshops and inspiration. We also featured on BBC2′s Great British Menu and Radio One with Sara Cox, spoke at the 2013 Sustainable Foods Summit, and had a week living on just £2.57 a day to raise awareness of food poverty and raise funds for our projects. All in all – a very busy year!

What’s next?

Next year we plan on launching 8 new Hubs in communities where a real need is identified and we have a local partner and a group of passionate volunteers in place. If you’re a local charity or community group and are interested in opening a FoodCycle Hub then please get in touch!

So how can you help?

1. Volunteer! If there’s a project near you then please consider getting involved. FoodCycle Hubs are run entirely by volunteers on the ground and wouldn’t be possible without their fantastic work. You can find your nearest Hub here.
2. Help us raise the vital funds needed for us to expand. How about hosting a Meals that Matter dinner in aid of FoodCycle? Or doing a sponsored challenge event like the London to Brighton cycle ride? Get in touch with us on fundraising@foodcycle.org.uk. You can also donate here – just £5 will help us serve nutritious three-course meals for 10 vulnerable people in a community near you.
3. Our Pie in the Sky Community Café in East London is open Monday to Friday 8.30-3.30pm serving delicious and nutritious affordable meals. Best of all, proceeds from your lunch will help us train more young people to develop the skills and confidence needed to get jobs. We also cater for events across London – so if you’re after fantastic catering with a sustainable twistthen get in touch!
4. Spread the word and stay in touch! We want the FoodCycle movement to spread across the country, and you can help us do that. Tell a friend, sign up to our mailing list and follow us ontwitter and facebook!

Thank you!

FoodCycle is a collaborative effort between many individuals and organisations – and their support and your support makes it all possible. From our network of 1200 amazing volunteers to community partners like the Bromley-by-Bow Centre to retailers like Sainsburys, funders like the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, the generosity of companies like Maverick (who built our new website pro-bono), and of course you kind people who donate.

THANK YOU and a very happy New Year!