A Good Week

It’s 10.30am and nine of us have gathered in a large unused office space in Old Street to chop, dice, peel and stir our way to A Good Meal, FoodCycle’s inaugural Good food event, which is taking place as part of A Good Week.

FoodCycle is a national charity, which assists to alleviate food poverty and food waste by combining the power of volunteers and surplus food to serve up delicious and nutritious food for those in need of a good meal.

Good means many things when it comes to food.  When I asked the volunteers what Good food meant to them, I got a chorus or replies – “buttered toast”, “freshly baked bread”, “cheese… any cheese”, “chocolate… generally”.

But when it comes to doing Good, Jen summed it up best when she says that Good means being connected to something bigger, working for a common purpose and making sure that those around us who may be feeling isolated know that there are people around to help.  Ankoor, one of FoodCycle’s long term volunteers tells us that he continues to be involved in FoodCycle as it does Good in so many ways.  In his words, FoodCycle is a “souped up version of a soup kitchen” which demonstrates how we can address the problems of food waste and food poverty at the same time.

It’s 2.30pm now and in the last 4 hours we have chopped up 3 boxes of peppers, 2 boxes of tomatoes, 15 kilos of onions and countless more potatoes, leeks and shallots.  Soup is bubbling away, the seasoning being lovingly adjusted one sprinkle of parsley at a time, butternut squash roasting in the oven, the smell of coriander, cumin and lime is in the air and we are all going about our tasks in eager anticipation of the night ahead.

The restaurant is decked out in brightly patterned bunting, comfy couches, fairy lights, mismatched chairs, scattered with cushions.  It’s clearly going to be a night of fun, laughter and delicious food.

Clearly doing Good to FoodCycle means cooking with love, and it shows. I’m jealous of the lucky 50 who get to enjoy dinner here.

— Melanie Yap
www.agoodweek.com