Letter of thanks to Hassan and Leonard
The Covid-19 Pandemic and Oxford
This is a letter from Libby and the Community Cupboard team sent to Hassan and Leonard. It thanks them for their support during Ramadan supporting the more vulnerable families in Oxford.
Libby
Museum of Oxford
Mini interview with Sandra Ruge of Waste2Taste
Science, technology and the environment
<span>Waste2Taste provide affordable and ethical food, serving local people through a Community café, providing a catering service with a vision towards a vibrant, healthy and sustainable food culture, committed to reduce food waste.<br /><br />https://www.waste2taste.co.uk/<br /></span>
<p><span>Their vision is:</span><span> </span></p>
<ul><li><span>To address food waste, food poverty and homelessness. </span></li>
<li><span>The café uses food surplus as its main ingredient, and have a ‘never waste anything’ approach, creating a place for anyone and everyone.</span></li>
<li><span>The Oxford Food Bank, Ark T ,Bucksum Farm & Cultivate are supporting our venture and we hope to gain the support of other suppliers and partners who share our ethos and vision.</span></li>
<li><span>The café will provide mentoring and training opportunities to the homeless and vulnerably housed, a pathway into work. </span></li>
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<p><span>Running “Cooking for Health and Wellbeing Workshops” for homeless, vulnerably housed and families experiencing poverty. </span></p>
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</ul><strong>Mini interview with Sandra Ruge of Waste2Taste<br /><br />Why did you decide to make sustainability such a prominent part of your business model?</strong> <br /><br />"Because we believe in the three pillars of sustainability, Economic, environmental and social. What you choose to put on your plate can make the most powerful impact on your personal and environmental footprint. By making the right choices you can have a lighter impact on Mother Earth." <br /><br /><strong>What are the keys things that do you as a business to try to make sure you have a positive impact on the world and the environment?</strong> <br /><br />"We use what some consider Waste as our main source of ingredients. In the 4 Years we have been operating as Waste2Taste , we have been fortunate enough to work with high quality food surplus mostly provided by the amazing Oxford food Hub and grass roots businesses like Bucksum farm. We have a never waste anything approach."<br /><br /><strong>Do you have tips that people can use at home to reduce waste?</strong> <br />1 – Don’t over buy it <br />2 – Plan ahead, think about what you are cooking <br />3 – Love your freezer <br />4 – Use your leftovers <br />5- Check the use by dates on fresh food when you buy it<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-waste--minimise-it-">Back to Sustainable Food Exhibition</a>
Tina Eyre
Museum of Oxford
2021
Sandra Ruge
Waste2Taste
Buy local to reduce packaging
"During the first lockdown we were unable to get supermarket delivery slots so started to use local shops, which had started delivery services. We were immediately struck by the fabulous quality of the meat, fruit and veg etc. and by how much less packaging we were throwing away. So much so that we are going to continue to buy local."<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-transport--buy-local-">Back to Sustainable Food Exhibition</a>
Donna Roper
Tina Eyre
Foraged mushrooms!
My Mum and I would get up really early on a Sunday morning in the Summer and go over the fields and pick mushrooms fresh for Dads breakfast!<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-production">Back to Sustainable Food Exhibition</a>
Lesley Stowell
Tina Eyre
Oxford Food Surplus Café
Science, technology and the environment
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<div>Oxford Food Surplus Café is a pop-up friendly café where all are welcome to come and eat and co-create community through FOOD. They aim to help redress the imbalance in our distorted food system by reclaiming surplus food and transforming it into delicious healthy meals for all. The café want to create an inclusive space to encourage community engagement and reconnect people with the food they eat.<br /><br /></div>
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<h2>Mini-interview with Marta Lomza, volunteer at the Oxford Food Surplus Café</h2>
<strong><br />What inspired you to volunteer for the Oxford Food Surplus Café?</strong> <br /><br />"I grew up being taught to never waste food by my very frugal grandmother, so it’s very much ingrained in me. I’ve also always loved nature and cared about the environment. As a young adult, I grew to understand all environmental and social issues as connected, and I saw anti-food waste activism as something that tackled a lot of them at once. I trained as a Love Food Hate Waste volunteer back in 2013 when I was still living in London, and when I came to Oxford I got involved in community gardening, where I met a lot of like-minded people. Some of them started the Food Surplus Café and I joined them, at first to help with cooking and serving, and later got involved in the behind-the-scenes organising."<br /><br /><strong>What do you get out of your volunteering personally?</strong> <br /><br />"Firstly, it’s great fun! The café days are hectic – we go to the Oxford Food Bank to pick up our ingredients (supermarket surplus food), then we plan a meal, usually some starters, mains, sides and desserts, then we cook in a big community centre kitchen, deck out the hall, set everything up, and finally serve. It’s all really energising. There are always people you’ve become friends with as well as new people, so it’s a great chance to make friends. It attracts people from different backgrounds, so our volunteers represent both ‘town’ and ‘gown’ and lots of different communities. And then seeing the hall fill out, and people sit down to tables and strike up a conversation with strangers, is so great to see. <br /><br />There’s a wonderful sense of community and of doing something which is good for people and for the planet – we’re saving food from going to the bins, but also giving people an opportunity to be part of something sociable and fun."<br /><br /><br /><strong>Do you have tips that people can use at home to reduce waste?</strong> <br /><br />"Next time you cook too much food and really don’t want to eat it all, why not offer some to your neighbour? It might feel a bit funny at first but they’ll probably appreciate it – and you might make a new friend!"<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-waste--minimise-it-">Back to Food Waste Exhibition</a>
Tina Eyre
Museum of Oxford
2021
Marta Lomza
Bread pudding recipe
A great way to use up stale bread. Delicious!
Tina Eyre
BBC Good Food
Oxford Wild Food Map
Science, technology and the environment
Use this interactive map to find places to forage for food in and around Oxford.<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-production">Back to Sustainable Food Exhibition</a>
Museum of Oxford
2021
Tina Eyre
Foraging for beginners- a course in Oxford
Why not take a course on foraging? A great way to obtain fresh, local, seasonal and free food!<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-production">Back to Sustainable Food Exhibition</a>
Tina Eyre
Oxfordshire County Council
Community Fridges
Science, technology and the environment
<a href="https://foodforcharities.com/">Food for Charities</a> brings food that supermarkets/wholesalers would normally throw away to charities and people in need. This is a win-win-win:<br /><br /><ul><li>It cuts down on the tonnes of perfectly good food that are thrown away every day</li>
<li>It provides fresh, healthy food to people who may not otherwise be able to afford it</li>
<li>It offers a chance to talk about how to eat healthily and cook ‘new’ foods</li>
</ul><br />Food for Charities started and supports a number of community fridges and similar projects around Oxford. See their website for further details:
<p>https://foodforcharities.com/<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-waste--minimise-it-">Back to Food Waste Exhibition</a><br /><br /><br /></p>
Museum of Oxford
2021
Food for charities
Rectory Farm
Rectory Farm have pick-your-own fruit and veg, and farm shop and cafe.<br /><br /><a href="https://museumofoxford.omeka.net/exhibits/show/eating-sustainably-in-oxford/food-transport--buy-local-">Back to Local Food Exhibition</a>
Tina Eyre