A charity that repurposes surplus food on a “pay as you can” basis in Kendal is expanding to open on three days a week from April.
The service run by Waste into Wellbeing located at The Eddington in Kendal will open a Café Lite session on a Tuesday, so it can repurpose even more surplus food whilst continuing with its full Community Food Larder on Thursdays and Saturdays, between 12 noon and 1.30pm and the Kendal People’s Café, a low carbon community kitchen which also uses surplus food, at the same time on Saturdays.
The Eddington aims to inspire action on climate, sustainability and wellbeing, fulfilling one of the recommendations of the Kendal Climate Change Citizens Jury to create a “one stop shop for climate action and information”. It has been supported by funding from Kendal Town Council. The venue comprises the former United Reformed Church off Highgate and its 1960s sports hall and is now managed by a new community interest company. The venue had been purchased in 2022 by Bruce Withington via his business FVC Ltd, with the intention of preserving the church (a Grade 2 Listed building) and the sports hall as a community asset for the people of Kendal. The hall has been renovated with floor, wall and ceiling insulation and an air source heat pump so is now completely energy efficient and fossil fuel free.
Jo Haughton, one of the voluntary Directors of the Eddington CIC, said: “when we were hatching plans for this one stop shop for climate action and sustainability, we felt that it was very important to have food at the heart of it, because that's the one thing that brings people together.”
Waste into Wellbeing is run by the charity South Lakes Action on Climate Change, which is the partner in the Eddington. This is Food Waste Action Week and Alison Quigley, the Community Project Manager at Waste into Wellbeing, said the café and larder offer a safe, inclusive space for people. “Food poverty is quite high in Cumbria and Kendal. Our pay-as-you-can larder is open to everyone, supporting us to reduce food waste whilst ensuring access to a healthy diet is inclusive to all.
The Eddington CIC also has plans to use the church as an events space. Jo explained: “the church is a really versatile space where currently we can seat up to 250 people. The aspiration is to have a wide range of activities and events going on in the venue, such as talks and creative performances.”
Two partners received more than £5,000 from Cumbria Action for Sustainability, Westmorland and Furness Council and the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This paid for cooking equipment, and for the placement of a university student researching a cycling community project for the Eddington. Jo Haughton says this could bring in another income stream to the centre. “That's going to be very important to us in terms of the ongoing viability of the venue, to keep everything developing in the way that the community wants to see.”
A spokesperson for Westmorland and Furness Council said: “every single item of food that is repurposed by Waste into Wellbeing at the Eddington in Kendal would otherwise go to landfill – while at the same time helping to tackle food poverty. This project is supporting people whilst at the same time it is supporting the planet by reducing waste, and our dependence on fossil fuels. This whole project has come from and is led by people in the community, showing the benefits of the council’s Community Power agenda, recognising that solutions to our biggest challenges are often found within our communities.”