Hello from London!

On January 30th, eight of us volunteered at the Gleaner’s Community Cafe.

Located at a well-known grassroots community hub, Hornbeam Centre, the Gleaners is a non-hierarchical cooperative that creates tasty, plant-based meals, pickles, ferments, and drinks, with their mission to build an inclusive, mixed community eating space which is socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable.

They utilise surplus food that would otherwise go to waste. Beyond food, they also provide a welcoming space for communities to gather, offering workshops, skill-sharing sessions, art and craft activities, and other cultural and fun events (there was a folklore night on the evening we visited!).

During our visit, the Gleaners hosted a ‘Community Living Room,’ offering free, hot meals and a social space for people to connect. Our team assisted in preparing lunches in the kitchen and helped with food preparation for the ‘Friday Night Takeaways’ program, which provides free meals to local primary school children at risk of food poverty. In the cafe itself, we served meals and drinks to community members and helped with an art and craft activity.

It was a beautiful winter day in North London, with crisp, cold air. Some of us arrived and were diving straight into work without even taking off our jackets!

The backyard had just received a delivery of surplus food – perfectly good produce deemed unwanted or unsellable by supermarkets and catering services. There were mountains of pak choi, spring onions, and pears. Jess, pictured on the right, looks after this food distribution hub.

Amy from the Hornbeam Centre spoke to us about the centre’s principles, projects, and its 30-year history. Then, Frankie from the Gleaners talked about the cafe’s operations, its ethos, principles, challenges, and current and upcoming projects.

Our group was then divided into a kitchen team and a cafe team. Here’s the kitchen team in action, making a beautiful rainbow salad.

The cafe team transformed surplus vegetables into fermented foods, extending their shelf life and promoting gut health. We made kimchi and fermented plums.

The cafe counter appeared calm and organised… but if we turned the camera around, we’d see it bustling with customers! People from all walks of life, some with challenging emotional needs, were there. It was clear how vital the cafe is to the local community.

Well-deserved lunch break! The menu included mushrooms in satay sauce with rice and fresh coriander, a colourful salad, and creamy steamed pak choi – all made with rescued vegetables. Simply delicious.

In the cafe, a free marble art workshop was going on.

Back to work, giving it our all until the end! Look at those beautifully hand-cut potatoes!

The cafe is packing up.

Thank you so much to the Gleaners and Hornbeam, and the SMTB team!

Charities, Wellbeing and Social Working Group