Diary of a Food-Cycler

It’s well known amongst cyclists that there are a number of distinct tribes which co-exist and interweave to form the cycling community. And it has to be said that Christina and I identify with different tribes.

Whilst Christina has been putting in the training miles in preparation for her first forays into racing, I have been turning my pedals to something a little different.

I’ve been volunteering for FoodCycle, an innovative charity, with really a very simple concept which makes sense; preventing food from going to waste and feeding those in danger of food poverty.

For the past three years FoodCycle Bristol has been serving delicious cooked meals down at Easton Community Centre, where there’s a place at the table for anyone who wants a free hearty meal, a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and some friendly company on a Sunday afternoon. The three courses of nutritious goodness and bread to take home at the end of the day, is all prepared using surplus produce from supermarkets and local grocers that may otherwise go to waste.

Cycling for FoodCycle

So where does the cycling come in? Well, all of the food needs to be collected from the supermarkets and local shops and then taken to the Community Centre, and what better way to transport it but by bike and trailer? FoodCycle really does combine two of the greatest things –food and cycling, and does it all in a sustainable way which helps to prevent food waste and food poverty!

I’ve been volunteering for the past few months, collecting food on a Saturday night or delivering it to Easton Community Centre and doing the collection rounds in Easton on Sunday morning. It’s a really satisfying way to spend an hour or so on the bike, riding around the buzzing city of Bristol with other volunteers.

Photo Diary of a Food-cycler

Cycling at night has a certain attraction. My senses are heightened; the busy roads seem busier, alive with lights, and people, whilst the quiet back roads take on a peaceful contrast, with the odd urban fox darting across the beam of my front light. I head to collect the trailer (which will carry the food) from one of the other volunteers.

I use my own bike as I’m more comfortable riding my own wheels, but there are two FoodCycle bikes free for volunteers to use, which were kindly refurbished by the Bristol Bike Project.

Once the trailers are attached to the back wheel, we cycle to Sainsbury’s on the Triangle. Trailers in tow, we dodge the gaggle of students milling around the Triangle who’s Saturday nights are now in full flow.

At Sainsburys we’re greeted by the friendly staff who are busy closing up. They help us bag up the left over bakery goods, and give us a bag of fruit/veg and other assorted goodies. It’s amazing the amount of good food, that’s perfectly edible and that would otherwise just be chucked out.

With two trailers crammed full of food we head back, and unload ready for the food to be picked up the following morning and turned into a free three course meal.

With the food collected this weekend the FoodCycle kitchen team cooked up bruschetta with roast veg and coleslaw starter, vegetable curry with pea and coriander rice mains, and pastry and butter pudding topped with fruit salad!

So that’s how I’ve been spending my Saturday evenings/Sunday mornings whilst Christina’s out with the roadies on the Bristol South Club Run. One of the beauties of cycling is that there’s so much versatility in the way that you can embrace it; from towing trailers full of food around town to cruching out the miles and powering up the Mendips on club runs.

A little more on FoodCycle and how to get involved:

From cycling food across town on our FoodCycle bikes and trailers to getting stuck into chopping vegetables in the buzzing community kitchen with a team of like-minded people, or even just coming along to enjoy a delicious meal in Easton, this is a project that we can all be part of in one way or another. FoodCycle are keen to get more and more volunteers involved to help extend the reach of what we do, feed more hungry bellies and eliminate food waste forever!! To find out more visit the FoodCycle website or Bristol Hub Facebook Page.

Post author Hattie