Meet CAG Devon Member – ReRooted
Back in February we visited CAG member ReRooted, part of Sustainable Tiverton, and experienced the incredible work being done to address environmental issues, combat food waste and promote community. As always, seeing a brilliant community project in action left us inspired by the dedication and passion of the volunteers involved.
Rerooted Community Café
ReRooted started in 2017 following a Love Food Hate Waste initiative. Its goal is to save edible food from landfill while also addressing food poverty and improving nutrition. The ReRooted Community Café serves a three-course hot vegetarian lunch from surplus food monthly on a ‘pay as you feel’ basis. In a typical year, volunteers save over 4 tonnes of surplus food, avoiding 30 tonnes of carbon emissions.
During our visit, we were shown around by Sally Chapman, a dedicated member of the Sustainable Tiverton team who has been involved since 2008. Sally has a passion for tackling climate change and transitioning away from fossil fuels, which is evident in her commitment to the cause. She loves grassroots community action with the opportunities for creativity meeting new people. Sally is proud of the impact ReRooted has made over the years, saving several tons of food from landfill and helping to build a resilient community in Tiverton.
Sustainable Tiverton is dependent on its committed team of volunteers. We spoke with several of them, each with their own unique story, here are some snapshots of those conversations:
- Kevin: Volunteers for a dementia charity and enjoys the social aspect of volunteering at Sustainable Tiverton.
- Jean: Needed to meet people and get out in the community after her husband passed away. She has made friends and looks forward to the ReRooted café each month.
- Diane: At 90 years old, Diane has been volunteering for ReRooted for over 7 years. She believes in staying active and has built a friendship group through volunteering.
We also spoke to some of the visitors to the café and they said how much they enjoy visiting every month for the food but also for the social interaction. They also appreciate being able to take surplus food home to therefore contributing further in the battle against food waste.
To find out more about ReRooted visit their Facebook page here.
About Sustainable Tiverton
Sustainable Tiverton is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) whose aims are ‘to energise and support the whole community to take effective action to improve the world around us and our impact on it for ourselves, our children and our grandchildren’.
From its beginnings as Sustainable Villages in 2008, it has grown into a multi-project volunteer organisation working across the Tiverton area. The organisation is financed by community donations, fundraisers, and grant funding, and since 2022, it has employed temporary workers to help develop and grow new projects.
As part of the Transition Network, Sustainable Tiverton connects with many sustainability groups in cities, towns, and rural communities around the UK and beyond, sharing knowledge and learning with each other.
The Projects
Sustainable Tiverton’s projects are all community and volunteer-based, focusing on various aspects of sustainability:
- Food: including beekeeping, sustainable food growing, community apple juicing, and the redistribution of surplus food.
- Share and Repair: repairing household goods, sharing community stores of household items and bikes, and hosting events to pass goods on for re-use.
- Nature and Biodiversity: tree planting, maintaining rural and urban green spaces, and monitoring the environment to combat pollution.
- Community Engagement: encouraging visions of a carbon net-zero community and offering practical solutions through exhibitions, discussions, and outdoor events.
- Energy and Transport: making lower emission transport options available and helping people reduce home energy use.
For more information on Sustainable Tiverton visit https://sustainabletiverton.org.uk/or email info@sustainabletiverton.org.uk.
