Organic September - Chat with Pod Café & Food Union
Each year ‘Organic September‘, a campaign developed by the Soils Association, promotes the benefits of organic produce for people and the planet. I had the pleasure of chatting with Chris and Greg, who manage two interlinked Coventry-based organisations: the Pod Café and the Food Union. At the heart of what they both do is using organic, local, and plant-based ingredients. We talked about their organisations, the valuable services they offer to the city other than just food, and how you can get involved.
What is ‘The Pod’?
It can be quite difficult to describe the work that The Pod, Food Union and The Pod Café do as it a unique service offered by Coventry City Council. No other City Council operates a service employing food growers and providing fresh produce for a café.
However, first and foremost, The Pod is a mental health social advocacy and brokerage service. Each year, The Pod helps hundreds of people to re-imagine their future and re-connect with their community. Our rights-based approach is more holistic and challenges the preconceptions of what a mental health service should look like.
But how does it fit with sustainability?
Food Union – a citywide social activism programme
We firmly believe that regeneration, connection and recovery are all intertwined, which is why we operate Food Union and The Pod Café.
Food Union was founded in 2014 and is a citywide social activism programs that exists to create conversation and action around food. Over 7 million tonnes of food are thrown away in the UK and in Coventry alone there are 60,000 people living below the bread line. Food Union is here to ask questions, search for solutions and help to strengthen communities.
Food Union are based out of an allotment at the Sherbourne Valley Allotments just outside the City Centre. However, it is more than just an allotment – Food Union aim to create a sustainable vegetable garden that encourages food growing and biodiversity, but also to share skills that our members can take home and emulate. Mushroom growing, wood carving and jam making are just a few of the skills-based courses we have run recently.
The allotment also holds events, gathering and working parties at least once a month. The aim is to create a city-wide community garden with a focus on nurturing and exchanging creativity, skills and assets (we operate a free-to-use Tool Bank, for example). At our events there will often be music and even sometimes a bite to eat provided The Pod Café team.
The Pod Café – a ‘Soil To Table’ cafe – located on Far Gosford Street
The work of Food Union and The Pod Café are completely intertwined. The fully plant-based café operates from a space on Far Gosford Street and works to promote connection through food. We’ve even been featured in The Guardian and The Independent newspapers for our approach and for our food offering.
We open for lunches on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (12 – 3pm) and we change the menu every week. The best place to find our menus is on our social media channels, but expect dishes such as Chickpea & Potato Chaat Wraps, White Bean Cassoulet with Focaccia, Korean Cauliflower Bites and even Pumpkin Ravioli with Romanesco Sauce.
We also host special events such as Friday Supper Clubs, Sunday Lunches and our free-to-attend ‘Politics & Pakora’ on Wednesday evenings that promote quiet activism around subjects such as Trade Unions, Zine making, seed sovereignty and many, many more.
The café uses the produce grown at the allotment (less than 2 miles away). But the allotment is not a fully-fledged farm, so we have to source many of our products elsewhere. Our beans and pulses are British grown, our extra vegetables are sourced directly from Coventry’s circular market and our flour comes from Charlecote Mill in Warwickshire, one of the last remaining commercial water powered stone grinding mills in the UK.
How Can You Get Involved?
Food Union and The Pod Café are run by very small teams of people who really believe in the principles of sustainability, community and connections through food and food growing.
You can become a member of Food Union and absolutely no experience of food growing is required – they run a number of weekly open sessions, working groups and special events.
Our Food Union allotment is open to our members every Monday (10am-12pm) and Tuesday (2pm – 4pm) for our weekly working session where we maintain the allotment as well as discuss and share knowledge about gardening. In doing so we hope to create a city-wide community garden with a focus on nurturing and exchanging creativity, skills and assets. No experience in gardening is necessary to attend growing sessions but all newcomers will need to fill out a short membership application form and be given an introductory tour of the garden.
Tuesday mornings (10am-11am) we open the gates for our ‘Toddlers Bring Your Adults’ session which is a children-led garden session for under 5’s. You need to book in advance for these sessions so we can prepare for numbers and you can do so by getting in touch at greg.muldoon@coventry.gov.uk
We also host evening events, gatherings and working parties at least once a month on our site. These events are open to everyone and are an opportunity for anyone who is interested in the work we do to visit the site, get involved and hopefully join Food Union and continue growing with us. Food is provided by The Pod Cafe and based on the theme of the gathering you can usually expect a musical treat or performance piece as we gather around our bonfire to relax after an afternoon’s work. We play host to some fantastically talented performers on our site and previous artists to join us include Nina Harries, Sam Lee, Jon Wilks, The Green Man, Lucy Farrell and Veronika Rauchfussova.
The best way to support the café is simply to visit for lunch (note that we can be very busy between 12 and 1.30pm) or sign up to attend one of our Supper Clubs or Sunday Lunches. Main meals are priced at £5, with the option to add a dessert and a drink for £9.
Find Out More
The most up-to-date information about Food Union and The Pod Café can be found on our social media channels or by contacting us:
Food Union
Facebook: /foodunionista
Instagram: @foodunioncoventry
The Pod Café
Facebook: /thepodcoventry
Instagram: @the_pod_cafe