What is Foodcycle Lewisham?
Foodcycle Lewisham is a free community meal cooked and served every Saturday at the Lewisham Irish Community Centre. It is run entirely by volunteers, using surplus food that would otherwise have gone to waste. There is a three-course lunch, tablecloths, cups of tea, and a room full of people from all corners of the borough.
It is not a soup kitchen. It is not a foodbank. It is a proper Saturday lunch, cooked with care, open to anyone who wants to come.
Part of Foodcycle UK
Foodcycle Lewisham is part of Foodcycle UK, a national charity running community meals in cities across the country. Every Foodcycle project follows the same simple model: rescue surplus food, cook it into a proper meal, share it with anyone who wants to come.
How it works
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Surplus food
We collect surplus fresh food that would otherwise have gone to waste – from supermarkets, wholesalers, and other food businesses across South London.
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Cooked with care
A team of volunteers plan the menu based on what has come in, and cook a three-course meal in the Irish Centre kitchen. Every Saturday, from scratch.
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Shared with anyone
Anyone can come along and eat, no booking or referral needed. Regulars, first-timers, families, older residents, people on their own. It is a proper meal at a proper table.
Come along on Saturday
Foodcycle Lewisham runs every Saturday at the Lewisham Irish Community Centre. Doors open at 12.30pm, and lunch is served from 1pm. Stay as long as you like.
Where: Lewisham Irish Community Centre, 2A Davenport Road, Ladywell, SE6 2AZ
When: Every Saturday, doors open 12.30pm, lunch from 1pm
Volunteer with Foodcycle
Foodcycle only runs because volunteers make it happen. Some volunteers cook. Some collect surplus food. Some lay tables and welcome guests. Some sit and chat with people who come in on their own. Every role matters, and there is a role for you.
Volunteering with Foodcycle is a good way to meet other people in Lewisham, learn a bit of large-scale cookery, and be part of something warm and useful. No experience needed. Come along once a month, once a fortnight, or every week – whatever fits.
More at Lewisham Local
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Warm Welcomes
Free indoor spaces across Lewisham with tea, food and company. Warm Welcomes runs through the winter at community centres, cafés, faith spaces and libraries across the borough. Everyone is welcome.
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Bank of Things
Free essentials for young people aged 11 to 25 in Lewisham. Toiletries, sanitary products, school supplies, hygiene items. No forms, no cost, no fuss.
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Time Bank
A network of activities run by Lewisham residents for Lewisham residents. Choirs, gardening, ukulele, art, jewellery making. Attend any session for free. Or share a skill you have and earn time back when you want it.