#SaveFoodToSaveTime with Food Works Sheffield and Tetrads Events.
I was recently contacted by the Tetrad Events team and invited to try out three meals from the Food Works kitchen along with their limited edition activity bag. I visited the Wybourn hub to collect mine but there are also hubs in the Sharrow and Upperthorpe areas of Sheffield.
I will be the first to admit that I am usually quite apprehensive about food that is nearing it’s best before date and as such waste more than necessary. Recently we have been freezing a lot of our meat and bread, then defrosting it as and when it is needed, I have switched cotton wool for reusable alternatives and we are using our car much less. I am trying to be more sustainable and making small changes like these can really help make a big difference.
Who are Tetrads Events?
Tetrads Events are a group of final year Events Management and Experiential Marketing students from Sheffield Hallam University that have partnered with local organisation Food Works to promote their food subscription service.
The family fun bag is packed full of crafts and activities to keep little ones busy – perfect for rainy lockdown afternoons! Mine came with some playing cards, snack bars, pens, activity sheets, pipe cleaners plus some masks and foam shapes to get creative with. It also came with a huge magicians kit (the board game varies between boxes) that is too old for Rosie but I will keep for when her big brother comes over on Monday – I am sure he will love trying out some magic tricks. Every bag is different and they are extremely limited so I would highly recommend signing up ASAP if you are interested.
This afternoon I sat down with Rosie and we personalised the masks (I say we, I was only allowed to attach the elastic) and drew on the felt shapes. She has already eaten 2 of the go ahead bars and I am going to make the pipe cleaner glasses tomorrow from this video on the Tetrads Events Facebook page.
Who are FoodWorks? What do they do?
Every single year FoodWorks recieves hundrewds of tonnes of surplus food, donated from businesses and individuals in order to reduce waste. Food Works create meals, from scratch that allows people to have access to quick, affordable, healthy meals and boxes of groceries. Their hubs are open to everyone and you can either turn up on the day or preorder via a subscription scheme on the website. The meals are perfect for busy families, struggling students and young professionals alike. There are definately times where due to lack of money, time or energy I have relied on convinience or takeout food – being able to pick up a healthy, homemade freezer meal for a minimum £1 donation would have been a huge help.
Food Works Market
For a minimum £1 donation you can pick a tote packed full of food that has been saved from landfill. The tote that I bought contained some peppers, ravioli, a few different cakes from M&S bakery, loads of snack packs of olives (which are perfect for Daniel to take to work) and half a dozen plums. There was also some bread and a bag of brussel sprouts which I didn’t take as I knew that realsitically we wouldn’t get through them. These items are then added to other boxes as added extras. You also pick two items from the fridge selection – I chose a block of cheese and a box of Innocent Smoothies (there were family ready meals, lunchables, deli items, sharing desserts – quite a fair amount to choose from really). You also got a freezer item, when I went they only really had sausages (really nice apple and chicken sausages from the butchers) or gluten free bread. I am looking forward to creating a meal around the sausages as I haven’t had chicken sausages before.
Food Works Kitchen
The meals are frozen which not only allows them to make the most of the donations that come in but also means that they can offer a wide range of options. There are four varieties of meal to chose from – regular, vegetarian, gluten free and vegan/low allergen (free from the top 14 food allergens.) When I visited there were a couple of meals to chose from in each variety.
The meals I picked up were
- Tomato and Vegetable spaghetti with cheese
- Roasted Veg Stew, falafel and rice.
- Spicy pulled chicken with rice, roast peppers and sweet potato.
I really enjoyed trying out the meals from Food Works and I can see myself setting up a regular subscription – especially as a way to ‘feed the freezer.’ This would have been incredible when Rosie was a newborn and we were running on half an hours sleep a night. We have already had a whole afternoon of fun out of our activity bag so far which is impressive with a toddler.
I have linked Tetrad Events and Food Works’ social accounts below. Please let me know any money saving or sustainable tips and tricks in the comments – I am keen to keep learning.
- Tetrad Events: Facebook, Instagram, Newsletter
- Food Works: Website, Instagram
The meals and family fun bag were kindly gifted. I purchased the market box and also donated directly on the day. The initiative is something that really caught my attention and I am honoured that I was approached to be involved. My reviews and opinions are 100% honest as always.
First-Time Mama to Rosie – MUA / Retail Manager – Fuelled by Coffee and Concealer – Dairy Free – Weaning Toddler – Extended Breastfeeding.
Sophie
First-Time Mama to Rosie - MUA / Retail Manager - Fuelled by Coffee and Concealer - Dairy Free - Weaning Toddler - Extended Breastfeeding.
One Comment
Timmy
Oh I love the whole ethos of this, so glad more and more people are cottoning on to the idea and using it to help local people as well as save on food waste. Also good that you could get something Rosie friendly and a very good one to know about if you decide to have another little monster and go back to only 30 minutes sleep 😀