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Building Community Bridges Through Food

Our community café, monthly friendship meals and community fridge are essential pillars of our efforts to combat food waste and reduce social isolation.

The community café provides a warm, welcoming environment where people from all walks of life can gather to share a meal made from surplus food that would otherwise be discarded.

By transforming perfectly good, rescued food from local supermarkets and shops into affordable and nutritious meals, the café not only helps to reduce the environmental impact of food waste but also ensures that everyone in our community has access to healthy food, regardless of their financial situation.

Perhaps more importantly, the café serves as a social hub, creating opportunities for people to connect, share experiences, and build friendships over a meal. In a time when rural isolation and loneliness are significant challenges, especially for the elderly and vulnerable, the café fosters a sense of community and belonging, encouraging people to come out, engage with others, and feel supported.

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The community fridge complements the café by offering free access to surplus food for anyone in need. Stocked with items that would otherwise go to landfill, the fridge allows individuals and families to take what they need, reducing food waste while addressing food insecurity.

It also promotes a spirit of sharing and mutual support within the community, as people are encouraged to both give and receive, ensuring that no good food goes to waste. Together, the community café, friendship meals, and community fridge, alongside the efforts of the Benita Project and North Devon Foodbank (also hosted in the Centre), not only address urgent issues like food waste and food insecurity, but also tackle the deeper problem of social isolation.

By creating spaces where people can come together, share resources, and support one another, these initiatives help strengthen the fabric of our community, making it more connected, resilient, and sustainable.

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