It’s an exciting time for Cherwell Collective’s Climatarian Kitchen project. Thanks to the newly completed renovations of our home at WISH – located at 4 The Parade, Kidlington – we are able to make our Climatarian Cafe open for lunch more frequently than ever before.

What Is Climatarian Cafe

Cherwell Collective’s Climatarian Cafe has been one of our core offerings to the community ever since the return of in-person gatherings when the COVID-19 pandemic started to wane. From our pandemic origins, distributing food surplus to the community through Cherwell Larder, we evolved the cafe into a place for community members to gather over lunch. Much of what we have historically served in the Cafe comes from food surplus.

We proudly have maintained a “pay what you can” model, where suggested prices are based on the Carbon Cost of each menu item. For instance, if a cheeseburger on our menu generates the same climate changing emissions as driving a car 10 miles, we put a suggested price of £10. Meanwhile, if a slice of vegetable quiche generates the same emissions as a car driving 3 miles, we suggest a price of £3 for the quiche. This model has been a key to our goal of helping the community understand the Carbon Cost of their consumer choices, as well as helping to reduce food waste.

Now in our fifth year, the cafe provides a place for people to connect with others outside the home. We find that many pensioners have loved making it a part of their weekly routines. Indeed, community members of all ages mention the cafe when they share their stories about the role Cherwell Collective has played in their lives.

Climatarian Cafe Moves to Monday – Friday Schedule

For the first time, Climatarian Cafe will soon be open Monday through Friday each week. At our time of publication, the Cafe is open on Thursdays and Fridays only from 12pm-2pm at WISH. However, starting July 1, 2025 we will transition to adding Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday lunches to our schedule as well. We hope this M-F routine will help make the cafe a regular part of people’s lives in Kidlington and other nearby districts.

The cafe will continue to serve climatarian menu items and flexi-recipes based on food that is currently in-season or available as surplus. That includes favorites like our climatarian burger and our sticky toffee root vegetable pudding.

Pay It Forward at the Cafe

One way we are able to maintain our pay-what-you-can model is through the generous donations of community members like you. We are supporting this model with our Pay It Forward (aka Pass It On) Campaign. Just stop by WISH and pay for a cold or hot drink or a meal that you can pass on to someone else who may have a financial need. Then you can write out a greeting on a sticky note and leave it on our wall for someone else to claim for the item you purchased.