Random Café

Thank you all for your lovely comments of congratulations. It’s been a long journey and we are very excited to now be in a full-time home. It’s going to take a lot of work and fundraising to get the site looking lovely again. Over the last three years I’ve had the privilege to work with an amazing group of volunteers, and our team has expanded to nearly thirty in that time. They have already been working hard to clear the site and I will post photos to show the progress they have made over the next few days. Thank you to everyone who has expressed interest in volunteering with us, we have enough volunteers at present but will add any names of those interested to our database.
Thank you again for the love and good wishes.
Jane 💚

After just over three years and five temporary locations across Watford, we are delighted to announce that Random Café now has a permanent home at the Meriden Gardens in Watford. Walking distance from the Meriden Community Centre, the Meriden Gardens is a 100sq metre site that will allow us to have a full time premises in the heart of the Meriden community.

We are delighted to have a full time property and would like to express our thanks to Watford Community Housing Trust for agreeing to our proposals. With four polytunnels, including one heated one, as well as numerous raised beds, we believe the site will become a community and sustainability hub for Watford.

Our mini market will remain at the Leavesden Green Community Hub until we are able to move it to our new home. However, we will no longer be open on a Saturday afternoon to allow our volunteers who work during the week to come to our new home, and help the team there.

Please keep following our social media channels to be the first to see the latest developments at the Meriden Gardens.

Last month, Random Café put the call out to the community to design a superhero to help us fight food waste in Watford. Despite saving over 47 tonnes of food from being wasted since 2017, we knew that there was more that we could do so we asked for your help. As a further incentive, Watford Asda donated a hamper of prizes for the winner.

As a result of our competition, we were inundated with entries and our team had the difficult decision to decide who would be Watford’s Food Waste hero. After some consideration, we are delighted that Watford has its own food waste superhero in the form of Super Sam Broccoli Man. Designed by Katie aged 7 and checking everyone’s wheelie bins, he will be making sure that as much food as possible is saved in the town. Congratulations Katie and to our four runners up who also won prizes and thank you to everyone who entered.

As a result of this competition, the Random Café team will now be working with designers to create a digital version of Super Sam Broccoli Man who will be featured on bags, key rings and badges that you can purchase to help support us. We hope to be running similar competitions in the upcoming months so keep an eye on our social media pages to find out the latest opportunities.

Whilst Batman serves the city of Gotham as its Dark Knight, and Peter Parker swings through the streets of New York as its resident superhero, Watford needs its own superhero to help save the town from food waste.
As a result, Random Café has placed the call and needs you to create a Food Waste Superhero who can help us reduce food waste in the town.

Throughout August, we are looking for budding artists under the age of 11 to send in their ideas for a Food Waste Superhero. As well as a design, we’d like a Superhero name and a description of their Food Saving superpowers.

Once the competition has closed, the Random Café team will decide on the winning design and that winner will receive a Boredom Busting Hamper (basket not included) full of fabulous things, to keep you busy, donated by Asda in Watford and Random Café volunteers. As well as this amazing prize, the winner will also have their design become one of Random Café’s logos and featured on badges, bags and many other products.

The four best runners up will also win a prize, donated by Asda, Watford.

To enter, click here to download the entry form.

Alternatively, pop into our Pop Up Shop at Leavesden Green Community Hub on Tuesdays and Thursday between 10 am and 12 pm, or Saturdays between 10 am and 12 pm and 1 pm and 3pm and collect an entry form from one of our volunteers.

Entries can be posted to Random Café HQ (41 Highwood Avenue, Bushey, WD23 2AL) or handed in at our our Pop Up Shop at The Hub.

We look forward to seeing all the entries and having our own superhero to fight food waste alongside us. You can also help Random Café fight food waste by becoming a Friend of Random Café.

Click here to find out more information as well as the various benefits of being a Friend of Random Café.

For those who didn’t know, the 1st August 2020 was Random Café’s 3rd birthday, and despite not being able to celebrate properly, due to the social distancing restrictions, we had a celebration this year with cup cakes provided by Linda and the amazing team at The Kitchen in Croxley Green.

Since launching in 2017, we have managed to save over 44 tonnes of food from being thrown into landfill. As you know, this food may be past its best before, have a damaged box or a product that was over stocked by the store.

Since that first cafe on 16th September 2017 at Centrepoint Community Centre, we become a weekly café, initially at different venues across Watford before settling down at the Meriden Community Centre at the end of July 2019.
Due to the pandemic, we had to find a new home temporarily. We found that home at the Leavesden Green Community Hub where we have expanded our pop up shop to run three times a week during the period of lock down. As well as helping to feed over 1500 people during the pandemic, we have also helped support over 500 people with regular emergency food boxes, a lifeline for those shielding during the lock down period.

Looking forward, we are reviewing the government guidelines around social distancing and when it is safe to do so, we will have another birthday celebration. However, until then, we remain open three days a week at the Leavesden Green Community Hub. We would like to thank all our customers, volunteers and supporters for their help so far and we look forward to having a celebration with you all when it is safe to do so. Until then, come and see us at our pop up shop and help us #FeedBelliesNotBins
Whilst we didn’t ask for any birthday presents this year, we would love if you could become a Friend of Random Café. For as little as £1 per month, you can help us make Watford a more sustainable town.
For more information about the Friends of Random Café scheme, click here.