The Magic Hat Café aims to abolish avoidable food waste by ‘upcycling’ surplus food to feed the community, whilst also working closely with Bind to lead research and activism on food waste in Newcastle.

Food that would otherwise be sent to landfill is collected from food businesses in and around Newcastle upon Tyne. This includes fruit and vegetables that are unattractive; bakery products that can only be sold on the day of production, surplus from food growers and end-of-line or unsold produce.

Collections are sorted and then prepared into nutritious meals which are served to the public on a ‘Pay-As-You-Feel’ basis. People can pay with their money or time to help us cover the costs of intercepting and preparing this food. We have been operating as a ‘pop-up’ café and caterer since 2015 and have been working hard to establish a permanent space for our activities.