Welcome to the Advent Calendar, day 21. If you want a fresh, three-course meal with fantastic company and supportive volunteers, FoodCycle is the place to go.
FoodCycle is growing, just at the right time. The FoodCycle meal at St Aidan’s began in 2021, and in 2022 they opened a second weekly meal in Beeston, and next January, they have another opening up in Seacroft.
Like the Great Get Together, FoodCycle brings people together. Whether they need food or they need human connection. It’s a genuinely beautiful and remarkable thing.
Last night was the second annual Christmas meal, a hive of chaos and fun.
As usual, I brought the Christmas…
Okay, I wasn’t unique. There were plenty of Christmas Jumpers and costumes – one little girl was fully decked out in a Santa costume. I got out Christmassed!
It was a pretty packed affair, so many people turned up for the extra special Christmas meal. There are young people so full of energy and fun. People from all walks of life and all over Leeds came to eat and chat.
But let’s start with the food – because if you haven’t guessed by now, I love food, and what FoodCycle can do with a random selection of ingredients delivered on the day is impressive. It’s vegetarian, as vegetables and vegetarian food are easier to get, and it’s more open to more palettes – and you can do such exciting things with them.
The starter was a lovely and refreshing tomato soup that went down well.
Tangy tomatoes, crusty toasted bread, fresh herbs. Mwah! Lovely.
The main course looked the Christmassy part – carrots, parsnips, roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts (the one part of Christmas I don’t like!),and Quorn chicken. Now I do like vegetarian food, but I rarely get on with Quorn, but clearly, things are different now as it was mega tasty!
Desert was an apple and plum sponge with custard, absolutely delicious – I didn’t think I liked plums, but I learnt something with dessert.
It was great to sit with new people from the area, and several hosts cycled through who took a genuine interest in the guests.
A particular guest host, our MP Richard Burgon, also attended the FoodCycle Christmas meal for the second year.
It was great to talk with him, and fantastic that I think he got around everyone over the evening.
I wouldn’t be an MP. Many people simply aren’t interested in talking to politicians because they feel they won’t actually be heard, so why bother – or someone else has already spoken up about an issue, so why bother. Richard took the time to hear people out and encourage them to speak their minds. I really appreciated that.
Though, maybe he was just there for the FoodCycle apron 😉
The photos used here were courtesy of Shan, who volunteers with FoodCycle here in Harehills and is also a driving force behind the Harehills Peace Project – they are great. Still, I want to share one that is absolutely fantastically composed and really shows the effort into making it a special place for a meal:
FoodCycle will be back again in the New Year. In Harehills, it’s on Thursdays, Beston Wednesdays, and from 24th January on Tuesdays.
Also, a special call out for the Harehills Peace Project, who are having a get-together on the 2nd of January at Catch – something fun to do with the bank holiday 😀
So, a huge thank you to the cooks and the hosts for such a lovely time – it was fantastic.
Harehills ❤️ Love 
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