Cherwell Collective, CIC

Our activities empower the community to reduce waste and lower our carbon footprint. We empower those in our community who, due to social, financial, or medical inequities and exclusions, believe that reducing our impact on the climate is beyond their reach. We do this by directly distributing food surplus via Cherwell Larder Marketplace, by repurposing food surplus in our cafe, Climatarian Kitchen, and by growing food for the community in Harvest @ Home. Waste Innovation Station Headquarters (WISH) directly repurposes nonfood waste items. Oxford Party Library loans items from a bank of equipment and supplies to the community. Our aims are to: - Reduce waste and facilitate a circular economy to make the most of resources available - Increase collective knowledge (e.g. through skills sharing and education) - Build a sustainable future for our community together Cherwell Collective’s guiding principles are: - Friends helping friends; everyone who accesses our services has the opportunity to contribute back to the group, and most of our core volunteers are users of the services as well. We are non means tested and inclusive by design. - Keep it green and keep it clean; climate change is a very real issue, and we all have a part to play if we want to slow down the impact it is having on our planet. We reduce waste, reuse, recycle, repurpose, and re-home any and everything we can. We keep it green not only in our kitchens and gardens, but right down to the way we run our organisations. - No food left behind; food waste is another important issue we are committed to tackling. We like to think of new ways to use food that might have otherwise gone to waste, and share our passion for food waste reduction with the community. - Education is empowering; we follow the “teach a man to fish” principle and emphasise the value of education around things like cooking, meal planning, healthy alternatives, and seasonal eating.