Open Door Community Food projects
We run several important food-related projects at Open Door, doing our bit in the Berkhamsted community, helping to alleviate food poverty, to repurpose food waste and to promote social and mental wellbeing through the joy of sharing food.
Community café - open Monday - Saturday
At the centre of Open Door is our donations café, where everyone is welcome to pop in for a hot or cold drink, a slice of delicious home made cake, or perhaps some soup. Or, if you would prefer to just sit and not eat or drink - that's fine too!
Our café is run by our incredible team of volunteers, and operates on a donations basis - meaning that customers can pay as much or as little as they are able. Menus are available on the tables to guide you with a 'suggested donation' if you're unsure, but please do have a chat with a volunteer if you need help.
Open Monday to Friday, 10:30-3:30pm & Saturday 10:30-1pm.
You're welcome in either our café gallery, or our amazing garden!
Our café is run by our incredible team of volunteers, and operates on a donations basis - meaning that customers can pay as much or as little as they are able. Menus are available on the tables to guide you with a 'suggested donation' if you're unsure, but please do have a chat with a volunteer if you need help.
Open Monday to Friday, 10:30-3:30pm & Saturday 10:30-1pm.
You're welcome in either our café gallery, or our amazing garden!
We are delighted to be an official 'warm space' for everyone in the community - read more about what that means here. We are also registered with Warmspaces, Communities 1st and Warm Welcome.
Community Fridge
The Community Fridge launched in November 2022 which aims to stop food from being wasted in the community.
According to government figures, if the good-to-eat food that is currently wasted was redistributed, it would feed everyone in food poverty in the UK for at least half a year. Therefore this is an important project to redistribute the surplus food from the supermarkets, cafes and other food businesses in Berkhamsted. It will provide a means to reduce food waste, as well as enabling the most vulnerable and in need to have access to good food, before it goes to landfill.
We will be collecting surplus food from local businesses throughout the week, and initially opening every Tuesday morning to redistribute the food to our community - anyone is welcome to come along and take food. The long-term plan will be to open at least one further day per week.
Find out more details about the Fridge, how it works, and how to access it, on our Community Fridge page.
Our thanks to Hubbub and Herts Community Foundation, as well as our army of volunteers for helping to make this project happen.
According to government figures, if the good-to-eat food that is currently wasted was redistributed, it would feed everyone in food poverty in the UK for at least half a year. Therefore this is an important project to redistribute the surplus food from the supermarkets, cafes and other food businesses in Berkhamsted. It will provide a means to reduce food waste, as well as enabling the most vulnerable and in need to have access to good food, before it goes to landfill.
We will be collecting surplus food from local businesses throughout the week, and initially opening every Tuesday morning to redistribute the food to our community - anyone is welcome to come along and take food. The long-term plan will be to open at least one further day per week.
Find out more details about the Fridge, how it works, and how to access it, on our Community Fridge page.
Our thanks to Hubbub and Herts Community Foundation, as well as our army of volunteers for helping to make this project happen.
Community Pantry - open for all 24/7
Our Community Pantry is a store cupboard out the front of Open Door on Berkhamsted High Street, which is full of food, toiletries and other essentials. It's open 24 hours, 7 days a week for anyone to help themselves to - whether you've run out of something you urgently need and the shops are closed, or if you need help with meals until payday or in an emergency. It operates on a ‘take what you need / leave what you can’ basis, so we also welcome any contributions you're able to make - see below for guidance.
We're so grateful to the lovely folk at Berko Community who set up the Pantry in 2020 and asked us to host it, as well as to everyone who helps keep it stocked. In addition, we now have funding from Herts Community Foundation to help us keep it stocked over the upcoming winter months.
We're so grateful to the lovely folk at Berko Community who set up the Pantry in 2020 and asked us to host it, as well as to everyone who helps keep it stocked. In addition, we now have funding from Herts Community Foundation to help us keep it stocked over the upcoming winter months.
How can i help / DONATE?
We rely on donations from the community (both of goods, and finances) to keep the Pantry stocked. If you're able to pop by and drop something in, we'd be very grateful! See our guidance next on what we can accept.
what do you accept in the community pantry?
A few tips if you're keen to donate food / items:
- Please ensure all store cupboard food is unopened and within its use by date
- No alcohol please
- Toiletries and personal care items, as well as baby products, are very much appreciated
- No fresh produce please (ie. fruit, vegetables or anything that would need to be kept in a fridge)
wHERE / how DO I DONATE?
To donate goods, simply bring your donations down to Open Door during opening hours (Mon - Fri 10:30-3:30 & Sat 10:30-1pm) and Amanda, our Operations Manager or one of our volunteers will gratefully receive it from you. Or, if you're passing out of hours, feel free to put it in the pantry yourself - it's a blue mini shed outside the property. And, of course take, if you need!
Or, if you'd rather donate cash for us to use to fill the pantry (or keep any of our other services running, for that matter!) please donate at www.opendoorberkhamsted.co.uk/donate - please add a comment if you would like your money to go towards a particular fund, i.e. the Community Pantry.
Or, if you'd rather donate cash for us to use to fill the pantry (or keep any of our other services running, for that matter!) please donate at www.opendoorberkhamsted.co.uk/donate - please add a comment if you would like your money to go towards a particular fund, i.e. the Community Pantry.
Wellbeing through Food
Our Wellbeing through Food project focuses on promoting social connections through food and the benefits that cooking, sharing and appreciating food can bring to wellbeing.
The project has delivered a whole host of events during 2022 & 2023; community lunches, evening meals, ‘cook and chat sessions’, all facilitated by our incredible volunteers. See below for any events coming up, or choose a past date to see past events.
With grateful thanks to HVCCG, Captain Tom Foundation and Herts Community Foundation for making this project happen. If you’d like to be part of the volunteer team working on this project, please email [email protected].
The project has delivered a whole host of events during 2022 & 2023; community lunches, evening meals, ‘cook and chat sessions’, all facilitated by our incredible volunteers. See below for any events coming up, or choose a past date to see past events.
With grateful thanks to HVCCG, Captain Tom Foundation and Herts Community Foundation for making this project happen. If you’d like to be part of the volunteer team working on this project, please email [email protected].
These are and will continue to be important projects for the community of Berkhamsted, and we are very grateful to Herts Community Foundation, Hubbub, HVCCG and the Captain Tom Foundation, as well as all of our volunteers for their support to make these Community Food Projects happen.
