SoulFood: A Film from REfUSE Café

Durham Book Festival has been working creatively with the REfUSE café community in Chester-le-Street over the past year. REfUSE is a pay-as-you-feel community café that works to reduce food waste.

Working with filmmaker Nick Whitworth and producer Emily Wiseman, the café community have co-created a film showcasing the ground-breaking environmental work and culture of the café.

REfUSE is based in Chester-le-Street: in April 2018 they launched a creative and inclusive ‘Pay As You Feel’ community cafe on the high street. They also run restaurant nights, education projects, and a supported volunteering scheme. They are raising awareness and educating about the climate and ecological impact of food waste, building community and providing healthy food and good company to anyone that wants it.

They operate on a ‘Pay As You Feel’ basis: guests can pay for their meals in cash, but non-monetary donations of time or skills are just as valuable. They believe PAYF encourages us to think about the true value of food: the resources, time and energy that has gone into producing it, but also includes and empowers those who may struggle to afford food.