The Roots Canteen - our zero waste hub!
Roots Radicals began bringing sustainability closer to your doors in 2022, when we moved to Atelier Gardens in Neukölln, Berlin and took over their canteen space. To look at our journey into making zero waste more accessible, there's no better place to start than at the Canteen!
We began using our products on full dishes at the Canteen as a way to bring our philosophy to more people, and to nourish the minds and bodies of everyone who worked on site there. It is, predominantly, a space of peaceful coexistence between the canteen and events arm of Roots, and the production team. Any waste produced by both are absorbed by the other. In an almost constant state of waste loop-closing, the amount of new zero-waste practices we have learned through teaching one another, trial-and-error and playful experimentation is staggering. We look forward to sharing more of them with you soon!
Through our home at the Canteen, Roots has been able to (so far!):
- Serve 20,000 meals
- Help save 50 tonnes of food from going to waste
- Reach over 6,000 people through the canteen and events
We're so proud of our relationships with our suppliers, who share our vision of a more sustainable food future for everyone. Ordering our vegetables and fruit from Querfeld, for example, helps us understand exactly how much food we're saving from landfill after it's been rejected from supermarket sale for being too lumpy, too small, too big, too loopy, too fuzzy, not fuzzy enough - you name it! We love imperfection, and we love rescuing food destined for landfill for no reason that we can see!
The canteen is also a place for our kitchen team to play with new recipes, not just for loop-closing, but for bringing delicious plates to your tables. We change the main dish menu every day and offer a wide range of add-ons, extras, treats and homemade drinks, which keeps us on our toes, and keeps it fresh and exciting for you! We are constantly experimenting with flavour, colour, form and technique to push ourselves creatively, and bring you the best seasonal, sustainable and tasty meals.
So, do you live in Berlin? Have you ever wondered what it feels like to eat a delicious lunch surrounded by the smells and sounds of zero-waste magic being made - a happy ferment, a new batch of Banana BBQ sauce being bottled, or a brand new recipe being tested by the team? We've got you! Check out our new support reward! 5 lunches and lemonade at the Roots Radicals Canteen!
We thank you for your love and support so far, and we look forward to feeding you soon!
