REfUSE

Up to 40% of the food produced globally is either left rotting in fields, lost along the food supply chain or dumped into landfill. We intercept tonnes and tonnes of perfectly good food that has wrongly been labelled ‘worthless’ due to scandalous systematic problems: overproduction, strict cosmetic standards, damaged packaging, incorrect labelling, seasonal packaging, best-before dates, cancelled orders… etc.

REfUSE is based in Chester-le-Street: in April 2018 we launched a creative and inclusive ‘Pay As You Feel’ community cafe on the high street. We also run restaurant nights, education projects, and a supported volunteering scheme. We are raising awareness and educating about the climate and ecological impact of food waste, building community and providing healthy food and good company to anyone that wants it.

We operate on a ‘Pay As You Feel’ basis: guests can pay for their meals in cash, but non-monetary donations of time or skills are just as valuable.  We believe PAYF encourages us to think about the true value of food: the resources, time and energy that has gone into producing it, but also includes and empowers those who may struggle to afford food.

Built by volunteers, run by volunteers, and fuelled by food waste, our cafe is a beautiful place of inclusive community and creativity.

**Due to COVID-19 lockdown guidance, we are currently giving out bags full of good food at the door, for a minimum donation of £2 per bag and PAYF for the food if you can. No need to order or book a bag, just pop down to the cafe and our volunteers will help you. We are also serving hot drinks and homemade cakes.**

Our opening times are:

• Thursdays 11am -2pm
• Fridays 11am -2pm
• Saturdays 11am – 2pm

REfUSE Restaurant evenings: When lockdown restrictions allow, we run these every Thursday evening, with a different theme and different guest chef each week – booking only (email Michelle)

We also run open mic nights, music gigs, craft fairs, clothes swaps, and other one-off events: ‘like’ us on Facebook to keep track, or see ‘Upcoming Events’ at the bottom of this page. Other groups and organisations use the cafe space too – including a regular toddler group on Mondays and church meeting on Sundays. Would you like to hire our cafe space for your event or group? Click here!

In the North East alone over 800,000 tonnes of food waste are generated every year. That’s over a third of food produced for us to eat. We think that’s rubbish and we hope you agree.

We don’t see this food as ‘waste’, we see beautiful and valuable food, and we see the energy, time, fuel, water and other resources that have gone into making it, packaging it and getting it to our supermarket shelves. Join us in giving it value and stopping this waste of resources.

A Waste Not Box is a crate full of good food, intercepted by us, otherwise wasted. It will always include a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, baked goods, store cupboard essentials, and some fun surprises – from packets of Percy Pigs to flowers to sausages.

Boxes cost £15, all proceeds go directly to paying for our costs of collecting and sorting food and making it available to those who are struggling, through partnerships with other charities and through our PAYF community shop.

Waste Not Boxes go on sale every Friday at 4pm and sometimes Wednesday at 4pm, we only accept orders through our website, and when they sell out, they sell out, so get in there quick! Orders made and paid on Friday will be delivered Saturday between 10-2, and orders made Wednesday will be delivered between 1-5 on the Thursday. Delivery only to postcodes beginning with DH1, DH2 and DH3. You can also collect from the cafe between 10-4 the day after ordering just mention in the comments when ordering. Read our FAQs here, and Terms and Conditions here. Click the link below to order: 

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