The Hive to host new monthly takeover by the The Real Junk Food Café

The Real Junk Food Project will takeover The Hive Café & Bakery for a regular monthly community café pop-up for the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham.

The Real Junk Food Project saves food from landfill by taking waste food from supermarkets, manufacturers and suppliers, then redistributing it around Birmingham in food boxes and events catering. With the motto #feedbelliesnotbins, the Real Junk Food Project has developed a cult following amongst people mindful of sustainability and wastefulness in the food chain.

In this new partnership, The Real Junk Food Project will take-over The Hive Bakery & Café for a monthly pop-up community café, offering home-cooked lunches that makes the most out of good quality donated food that otherwise would have gone to landfill.

The café will operate on a Pay As You Feel basis, meaning that diners can donate money, time or skills in exchange for a hot meal.

Real Junk Food Project Birmingham founder Jake Sallaway-Costello commented, “We’re trying to save perfectly edible food from landfill or otherwise going to waste. There is a lot of waste built into our plentiful system, and that food has taken effort and resources to grow, produce and transport. If you eat some of our food, that’s great, we want to #feedbelliesnotbins!.”

The Real Junk Food Café takeover will form part of The Hive’s Saturday Sessions, in which the building, gallery and public spaces open on a Saturday for tours and events. October’s takeover coincides with the opening of a new exhibition Vital Beauty, which explores the re-imagining of six buildings belonging to the Ruskin Mill Trust, of which The Hive is one. The exhibition looks back through the history of these buildings and their transformations referencing John Ruskin’s views on architecture and in particular his book The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849).

The Hive’s Community Exhibitions and Heritage Programme Manager Rachael Cooksey explains: “The Hive’s collaboration with The Real Junk Food Project continues our ethos of seed-to-table. Through caring for the land, plants and animals, we also learn to care for ourselves and those around us. Rather than food going to waste it will nourish diners alongside establishing a community hub at The Hive, which is an important development for us.”

The Hive is a community hub for Birmingham in an historic building, with an organic cafe, craft workshops, exhibitions and event spaces. It is part of the Ruskin Mill Trust family.

Details of all events and how to book can be found at www.thehiveJQ.org

The Real Junk Food Café take-over takes place on 10^th October, 14^th November and 12^th December 2020. Pre-booking required via The Hive website, www.thehivejq.org