JanineFoodCycle is a fast-growing organisation trying to change the world, one meal at a time.
It’s a welcome new weekly service at three locations across Leeds, including Harehills and a brand new meal in Seacroft. There’s food and conversation. The food is prepared by volunteers (and volunteers are welcome; see below) from surplus food from shops and supermarkets.
All are welcome; no matter what walk of life, where you’re from or your reasons for being there, you just turn up and take a seat. You will find people from low-income families, homeless, or simply wanting to connect with their community members.
We live in a society plagued by poverty, but more than poverty, there is also loneliness. FoodCycle is for everyone. It’s a beautiful sentiment they’ve made real.
It’s been happening at St Aidan’s church hall since the end of September 2021, every Thursday at 6:30pm, and seems to be a tremendous success. So much so that in 2022 it opened a new weekly meal in Beeston (Hamara HLC, Tempest Rd, Wednesdays 6:30pm), and just a week or so ago, it opened its third Leeds location in Seacroft (Chapel FM Arts Centre, York Rd, Seacroft, Tuesdays 6:30pm).
As you enter the place, you will find a community space with an open kitchen and large tables surrounded by chairs to encourage groups to gather, share, and chat. As restaurants go, they may lack the fine dining decor of a Michelin-starred restaurant, but in its place is a genuine feeling of community and sharing, with graceful and gracious hosts who will do their best to take care of you and make your visit as pleasant and warm as can be. Anywhere you sit, you have a fantastic view of volunteers bustling about preparing food, greeting guests, bringing drinks and listening and sharing.
Let’s discuss the menu, which is difficult because there isn’t one. Hundreds aren’t spent on goods marginally better than what you could get at home. No money is wasted on truffles or gold leaf or anything else pretentious. Instead, they rely on food donated by shops that would otherwise have gone to waste. This means until the day, they won’t know what they have to cook. This is where the talented volunteers come in. They take what they have and divide a three-course menu on the fly. Each week, soup, stews, pasta, and curries are different but delightful, creative, and generous. A lot can depend on the fates, depending on what they are sent.
I have eaten here several times and have never left disappointed. I’ve tried things I might not have tried had I been given choices. I have met many different people from all walks of life and many areas of Leeds, I’ve gotten to know several volunteers, and I’ve been amazed by the community spirit of volunteer cooks and hosts and the guests that go there.
Rating: Five out of five 
’s
You can learn more about FoodCycle it’s events, and you can sign up to volunteer at their website.
