Breaking Bread: charity FoodCycle talk promoting communal eating in Nottinghamshire

“We’re on one hour til starters and we’re well ahead!” announces Nathan happily to the other kitchen volunteers, a dedicated team with their sleeves quite literally rolled up and stuck into preparing dinner for around thirty guests. It’s just past 5pm and despite being almost half-way through their shift, there’s no sign of energy levels dropping. People sidestep around each other, like a synchronised dance. “There’s always a lot of moving around the oven!” Nathan smiles.

Meet FoodCycle: the charity whose vision is “to make food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past for every community.” Each week, surplus ingredients that would have otherwise gone to waste are donated by supermarkets, local businesses and other charities and local residents gather for a nourishing meal and conversation. First launched in 2009, this national and award-winning charity has opened three branches locally: Broxtowe-Aspley, Hucknall and Sutton-in-Ashfield. With an estimated 110,000 households in Nottinghamshire experiencing food poverty, the charity has never been more needed.

If cooking dinner for thirty wasn’t a mammoth enough task, there’s an added twist for the kitchen team: they don’t know what ingredients they’ll be gifted until the day. The brief is to conjure a delicious and nutritious three-course vegetarian meal – things like soups and salads, pasta bakes, curries, stews, pastries, and fruit crumble. Anyone who loved the 90s/00s TV show Ready, Steady, Cook would relish being part of this exciting challenge! I am intrigued though: how on earth do they decide what to make? “We work as a team,” says East Midlands Regional Manager Anna. “Everyone will pitch in with ideas. I think that really helps, as it means the creativity isn’t all on one person!” 

On my visit to the Broxtowe-Aspley branch, tonight’s menu is a starter of apple and carrot salad sprinkled with sesame seeds and a cider vinegar dressing, followed by a main course of roasted cauliflower drizzled with a nut-based sauce and potato wedges. “We try to use as much of the veg as possible,” Nathan explains. “One of the sides we’re serving today is shredded cauliflower leaf. Most people would take the leaves off and throw them in the bin.” Instead, the greens are gently wilted and seasoned in the same way as you might with spinach or cabbage. Desert is ‘strawberry surprise’, which is swiftly nicknamed ‘strawberry henge’ thanks to its resemblance of the stone landmark: the upturned fruits have been arranged delicately into a circle around a coulis and biscuit-style crumble in the centre. I am beyond impressed with the sheer resourcefulness, imagination and sense of fun that has been baked into this.

Whilst the kitchen steams rhythmically ahead to the 6pm serving time, a team of front-of-house volunteers are setting the tables, welcoming guests and offering hot and cold drinks on arrival. Kesh, now a regular volunteer, tells me she was a little apprehensive about coming initially. “I was quite shy, I remember sitting outside in the car thinking ‘I don’t want to go in and talk to all these people!’. But people are just lovely and everyone will want to talk to you. Even just offering guests a drink, they’ll somehow make a conversation. It’s so chilled.” Having returned several times, Kesh now relishes the chats. “It’s nice to see familiar faces. You can go back to a conversation you had a couple of weeks ago, things like ‘Oh, how’s the dog?’.”

The dining hall starts to fill with guests of all ages, genders and backgrounds, who sit and chatter over a cuppa - the socialising is a big draw for many. “I’ve been coming from day one for the company. Most of the time there’s a decent turnout and I’ve seen them have to get extra tables out,” a guest tells me. Those that haven’t made it that week are asked after and people nod and wave to each other across the room. “It’s the feeling that someone is looking out for you, that they notice when you’re not here,” says volunteer Rachel.

The food is served on a meticulous schedule and is impeccably presented. “Although we are a volunteer kitchen, we’re still very strict on health and safety guidelines. Everything has to go out at the right temperature,” Nathan explains. “Cross contamination is a big thing and we keep on top of allergens, so that if anyone has any kind of intolerance, they can advise us of this when they arrive.” Whilst it’s not always possible to accommodate food allergies and intolerances, the team do their very best to ensure as many people as possible can be served. Each volunteer also receives allergen and food hygiene training.

As the evening wraps up, any surplus ingredients are thoughtfully bagged and offered to guests to take home. “You can take what’s there, and you try all this different veg and everything. I love it!” a guest grins, as they collect a bag of large fresh strawberries and tell me about the jams they have made from similar offerings. Alongside the opportunity to try something new at dinner, FoodCycle enables people to extend that creativity at home. This is significant, as when you’re living on a tight budget, you’re less likely to risk vital funds on experimenting which could lead to a narrower diet.

There are a couple more things that make FoodCycle such a unique and valuable initiative. Firstly, it’s completely free to come along. The volunteers don’t accept monetary donations on the night, which removes the pressure on people who can’t donate but might have felt like they needed to if they saw others handing over a few pounds. Secondly, there’s no admission criteria. Unlike food banks that require a referral from a professional, FoodCycle is for everyone. Whether you’re looking for a warm space, a great meal, or company – there are no questions asked and no judgements made. It’s a service that doesn’t just say it’s open to all, it truly practices that.

If you’d like to join as a guest, feel free to come along to any of the meals – there’s no need to book. Broxtowe-Aspley (Tuesdays, 6pm, Woven St Martha's Church and Hope Centre); Hucknall (Sundays, 1pm, Central Methodist Church) and Sutton-in-Ashfield (Wednesdays, 6pm, The Magdalene Centre). If you’re interested in volunteering, head to foodcycle.org.uk to find out more.

foodcycle.org.uk