National charity FoodCycle will open its 24th London-based free weekly community meal this month and it will be its first-ever located in a mosque.
Launching FoodCycle Barking on 17th March, the charity is on the lookout for local residents to help conjure up a warm meal and welcoming atmosphere every Sunday from 1pm. Local volunteers will get to experience the ‘FoodCycle magic’ – transforming surplus food into delicious vegetarian dishes alongside a friendly chat to anyone in the community who fancies coming along every week.
To sign up to help nourish the local community, East London locals can simply visit the FoodCycle website and follow a few simple steps.
FoodCycle London Area Manager Jan Gazda says: ”It’s truly heartening to be able to offer Londoners a free community meal at 24 spots across the capital. It means Monday to Sunday in locations across London, we can provide a safe, welcoming space for anyone who comes along no questions asked. We are particularly excited to be launching our first community meal set within a mosque. Whilst we welcome people from all backgrounds and walks of life to all our meals and venues, this will give us an opportunity to introduce great food and conversation to even more communities in 2024. Our vital service runs on the kindness of volunteers, so we’re asking residents local to Barking & Dagenham willing to give up a few hours each week to get in touch with us.”
FoodCycle Needs You
FoodCycle is looking to recruit new volunteers at FoodCycle Barking. Flexible volunteer roles without a minimum time commitment are open to anyone and include surplus food coordinators, cooking, hosting and running Projects.
Whether you’re a food waste warrior, a whizz in the kitchen, a uni student or can’t wait to get chatting with guests, volunteering with FoodCycle is heaps of fun.
Chris, a long-term FoodCycle London volunteer says: “It’s always lovely to see the smile on guests faces and the warm, welcoming atmosphere of our community meals. But also the energy and enthusiasm of our volunteers as we push ourselves to create and serve restaurant-quality meals. I’ve also learnt that there are pretty much no limits to the diversity of vegetarian food – we’ve hardly repeated dishes in my six years of volunteering!”
Without volunteers, FoodCycle cannot provide a vital service to the community who have come to rely on the chance to sit down to a free, three-course meal every week. Particularly as the cost-of-living crisis will continues to impact some of the most vulnerable.
Why do communities need projects like FoodCycle?
At the end of 2023, FoodCycle carried out a guest and volunteer survey revealing that almost half of their guests (44%) eat most meals alone and 72% admit to feeling lonely. The survey underpins the need for services which tackle the UK’s loneliness pandemic by forging positive connection in local communities. The results suggest that FoodCycle’s community meals model works – with 92% of the 1448 guests surveyed leaving weekly meals feeling happier, 88% feeling more part of their community and 84% feeling less lonely.
The survey also included 1,093 FoodCycle volunteers, 64% of whom listed tackling loneliness as an incentive to sign up. Giving back to the community resulted in positive outcomes for the volunteers themselves; with 77% reporting meeting people from different backgrounds, 40% saying they made friends and 31% saying volunteering improved their mental health.
FoodCycle Barking will open on Sunday 17th March and take place every Sunday at 1pm at Al Madina Mosque, 2 Victoria Road, Barking, IG11 8PY
Other FoodCycle London Projects:
FoodCycle Camden every Tuesday from 5pm at 67 Plender Street, NW1 0LB (access via front door of Saint Pancras Community Centre)
FoodCycle Wembley every Tuesday from 6.30pm at Park Lane Methodist Church, Park Lane, Wembley, London, HA9 7SG
FoodCycle East Ham every Tuesday at 7pm at Pilgrims Way Church, Pilgrims Way, East Ham, London, E6 1HW
FoodCycle Lewisham every Wednesday at 1.10pm at Lewisham Irish Community Centre, 2A Davenport Road, London, SE6 2AZ
FoodCycle Islington every Wednesday at 1pm at New River Baptist Church, 80 Arran Walk, London, N1 2TL
FoodCycle Peckham every Wednesday at 5pm at All Saint’s Church, Blenheim Grove, London, SE15 4QS
FoodCycle Marylebone every Wednesday at 6pm at St Paul’s Church, 5 Rossmore Road, London, W1H 5AU
FoodCycle Hackney every Thursday at 12.30pm at New Kingshold Community Centre, 49 Ainsworth Road, London, E9 7LP
FoodCycle Walthamstow every Thursday at 6.30pm at St Mary’s Welcome Centre on Church End, E17 9RH
FoodCycle Mitcham every Thursday at 6.30pm at Togetherness Community Centre, Wakefield Hall, Taylor Road, London CR4 3JR
FoodCycle Wandsworth Road every Friday at 12.30pm at Christ Church Community Hall, 41 Union Grove, London, SW8 2QJ
FoodCycle Woolwich every Friday at 12.30pm at Woolwich Common Community Centre, 17 Leslie Smith Square, London SE18 4DW
FoodCycle Bow Road every Friday at 7pm at Bow Road Methodist Church, 1 Merchant Street, London, E3 4LY
FoodCycle Thornton Heath every Saturday at 12.30pm at St Alban’s Church Hall, 1 Whitehorse Lane, London SE25 6RD
FoodCycle Finsbury Park every Saturday at 1pm at Finsbury Park Community Hub, Corker Walk, London, N7 7RY
FoodCycle Kilburn every Saturday at 1pm at St. Cuthbert’s Parish Church, Fordwych Road, West Hampstead, London, NW2 3TN
FoodCycle White City every Saturday at 1pm at Our Lady of Fatima Parish Centre, Commonwealth Avenue, London, W12 7QR
FoodCycle Lewisham every Saturday at 1.15pm at Lewisham Irish Community Centre, 2A Davenport Road, London, SE6 2AZ
FoodCycle Roehampton every Saturday at 5pm at Roehampton Methodist Church, Minstead Gardens, Roehampton, London, SW15 4EB
FoodCycle Peckham every Saturday at 5.30pm at All Saint’s Church, Blenheim Grove, London, SE15 4QS
