Southwark Cathedral welcomes food waste charity and food industry representatives to National Harvest Thanksgiving.

On Sunday 6 October we welcomed representatives from food waste charity City Harvest London and the British food industry to celebrate Harvest Festival. Those in attendance at the service included Sarah Calcutt, City Harvest London’s CEO – who gave the address – and friends from Love British Food, New Covent Garden Market and British Food Fortnight. The Mayor of Southwark and clergy from the Episcopal Church in Texas were also in attendance.

City Harvest’s vision is to ensure that no good food is wasted from within the food supply chain, a vision which is shared by the Church. In his welcome, the Dean of Southwark spoke of the Eucharist and Jesus’ reminder to gather up the fragments so that nothing is lost, describing waste as ‘a great evil of a disposable world’.  

In her address, Sarah Calcutt highlighted the growing issue of food insecurity in the capital and beyond and how working across communities was vital to ensuring that no child goes hungry.

Last weekend also saw the Harvest Torch brought from Peterborough Cathedral to Southwark and City Harvest’s The Beauty of Food Redistribution Exhibition unveiled in the retrochoir. Free to the public, the roaming art exhibition invites the public to interact with AI, 3D animation and augmented reality – exploring the beauty of sharing food and its stunning social impact.

Sarah’s address can be viewed below and the Beauty of Food Redistribution exhibition is on display in the retrochoir until Sunday 13 October.