Join Sheffield’s Food-For-Purpose organisations in the Winter Garden and Millennium Square.
In Sheffield, there are a huge range of organisations that promote growing vegetables, learning how to cook and how to deal with food waste. In this year’s ShefFood Village, we’ll be sharing food, drink and conversation together, getting stuck in with hands-on activities and chatting with people to learn how we can all work together to make the food system in Sheffield better for everyone.
One of the co-hosts of the ShefFood Village this year is Regather, known locally as a community food hub in Sharrow. Regather was founded in 2010 with the mission of helping local communities eat better food. For Regather, ‘better’ means healthy, sustainable, affordable and – wherever possible – seasonal and locally-produced.
Regather’s vision is to empower the city to become more resilient by encouraging co-operative involvement in the Sheffield food system. “We want money retained in the local economy, land to be more productive, food to be better quality, health improved and people to have better awareness of and involvement with how the food system, from local to global, can be changed for the better,” says Co-Founder Gareth Roberts.
Regather currently operates a wide range of trading activities including a fruit and veg box scheme, a 15 acre market garden and agroforestry development, a microbrewery producing craft beer and seasonal cider and an events venue and bar called Regather Works.
Food Explorers Trail
Sat – Mon | 11am-6pm
Have fun exploring the Sheffield Food Festival with the ShefFood Explorers Trail. Follow the trail, answer the questions and get your reward! Learn fun food facts about how your food system works. Pick up the trail leaflet from Regather in the ShefFood Village. Suitable for all ages.
Food for Thought ‘Table Talks’
Sat – Mon | 12-4pm
Curious about food and how we feed ourselves? Passionate about better food for everyone? Look out for the ‘ShefFood’ t-shirts and the ‘Table Talks’ signs and join us to share food, drink and conversation together and learn how we can all work together to make the food system in Sheffield better for everyone.
Mr & Mrs Veghead
Sat – Mon | 12-2pm
A Sheffield Food Festival twist to everyone’s favourite Mr Potato Head, everything you need to make a crazy fruit and veg head will be provided. There will be fruit and veg head selfies to share on social media, and a competition for the best head! Suitable for all ages.
No Junk Fruit Juicing
Sat | 2-4pm
Kids love drinking fruit juice, but do they know how easy it is to make? Kids can get hands on as they learn about the simple process of making (and drinking!) fruit juice. Fresh fruit, leftover fruit or any fruit that would otherwise go to waste will be available to use, so it’s a great opportunity to learn about reducing food waste too.
Keeping Chickens at Home
Sun | 2-4pm
Keeping chickens is a great way to combine education and a child’s inherent love of animals, plus the family gets to eat fresh, tasty eggs! There will be a small flock of hens to watch and feed, and people who are passionate about chickens to talk with.
Kids Seed Sowing
Mon | 2-4pm
Once they’ve grown their own veg, kids are much more likely to eat them and they’ll have learned a little bit about where food comes from. Kids can decorate their own pot and plant some veggie seeds to take home. Even if you don’t have a garden you can grow your own delicious vegetables in a window box or on a balcony, it’s easy!
Disco Soup
Sat – Mon | 4-6pm
Join the party as we collect, chop, and cook leftover food or any food that would otherwise go to waste. The music will be pumping, everyone will be dancing and we’ll all enjoy delicious soup!
