If you don’t already know about Waste2Taste, I’m here to fill you in and share a little joy.
It’s hard to overstate how much I love this Oxford-based catering service and community café. Founded in 2017 by absolute food heroes Sandra and Marie, Waste2Taste provides delicious, ethical, and affordable food, using high-quality surplus ingredients.
This surplus is fresh food that suppliers have overstocked or overgrown and that is acquired thanks to a partnership with Oxford Food Hub and donations from other local supporters. The company’s name perfectly sums up their innovative approach of fighting food waste while producing incredible meals. My first encounter with W2T was several years ago when I sampled one of their delicious menus at an Oxford University event they had catered. The business has since continued to expand, though they remain an Oxford Uni supplier and still offer menus inspired by the produce available that day. Clients pre-select the type of vegan/vegetarian menu they’d like – sandwich, salad, platter, buddha bowl, or canapes – and W2T performs their culinary magic. They will even provide recyclable plates and napkins and deliver using the low emission Velocity cycle couriers.
Most impressive of all, the profits from the catering business are put back into the community through training and employment opportunities, as well by providing free meals for those in need.
They work with a number of local partners and volunteers, including the OX4 Food hub, to cook and deliver healthy home-cooked meals twice a week within the OX4 area. Happy Cakes regularly supplies sweet treats to support their work – the W2T insta account recently announced that over 30,000 had been donated since 2020!
But that’s not all, because there is also the Waste2Taste Café in Cowley. The sign outside directs you towards ‘food with a conscience’ and I think this sums up their ethos perfectly. I recently stopped by to chat with Sandra, aka the ‘food waste fairy’, and to learn more about their ethical and sustainable approach to feeding our city. The café is open Tuesday to Thursday each week, but I timed my visit to coincide with the Community Meal, a pay-as-you feel lunch that takes place on the first Friday of every
month.
While volunteers were busy cooking in the spacious kitchen, Sandra treated me to a coffee and showed me around the bright and welcoming space designed to nurture community and support local residents. I was impressed by everything: the well-stocked larder filled with a variety of surplus food, the large table hosting a group activity for seniors, the charming children’s play corner, the refill station, and the ‘freezer of love’ loaded with nutritious meals for self-collection on a pay-as-you feel basis.
By this point, I was feeling really positive, but things got better still when the buffet lunch was served. About 30 of us (mostly residents of the Shotover View extra care housing facility) sat at communal tables, chatted merrily, and tucked into generously heaped plates. The choice of freshly prepared veggie dishes was also generous. I especially savoured the beetroot and chickpea curry, which was as colourful as it was tasty, and I’m not usually a beetroot fan. There was also an outstanding creamy lentil dal, and moreish crispy pakora. These were served with a mound of rice and more veggie sides for a truly satisfying experience. If only I could be as creative with seemingly random ingredients as the Waste2Taste crew.
Overall, my visit reminded me that Waste2Taste’s focus on sustainability and community is combined with a passion for delectable food and friendship.
Everyone benefits from their work – what could be better? I encourage you to check them out and support their mission, whether it is by ordering a work lunch, popping into the café, or even signing up as a volunteer!
Leave a Reply