We’re taking a look back at The Good Food Cardiff Autumn Festival with highlights from the 32 schools and community groups which Food Cardiff supported with grants.

Across those events, 600 people attended and more than 460 meals were served – as well as 25 bottles of beer being brewed and 45 kilos of apples being turned into 12 litres of juice!

Throughout September community groups, schools, gardens and businesses ran a wide range of events centred around cooking, sharing and growing good food. Here are some of the highlights, as shared by the event organisers:

Aubergine Cafe And Events CIC

Staff and volunteers of Aubergine Cafe served up (and shared in) a fully plant-based ‘pass the peas’ family-style Sunday roast including two massive vegan Wellingtons and a cornucopia of organic veg from Roath Market chased down with a decadent apple crumble and vegan vanilla ice cream. Once everyone had cleaned their plate there was still plenty to take home in a box and to distribute among volunteers and staff at Cathays Community Centre and to stock the community fridge free to all.

Highlight: Attendees enjoyed the quality of the food and friendly atmosphere.

Coed Organic

Coed Organic workers cooperative hosted a ‘meet the grower’ event at Chapter Arts Centre. People stopped by to learn about organic growing techniques, the importance of Autumn as the harvest season, and the delicious dishes that can be made with produce at this time of the year.

Highlight: Talking with people about eating seasonally and the importance of Autumn.

Family Action

Thanks to the funding from Food Cardiff, we have been able to run a small back to school activity alongside our FOOD Club focusing on healthy packed lunches. During the session we:

• Provided children with a range of eco-friendly items (e.g. lunch bags made from recycled plastics)
• Offered some tasty healthy snacks (e.g. easy peelers, small peppers)
• Gave out recipe ideas for low-cost healthy packed lunch items

Families were invited to take home different food items and create some healthy packed lunch snacks themselves (e.g. tuna, bagels, cucumber), and were also signposted to the Family Action back-to-school resources online. We were also able to provide additional ‘goody bags’ (pens, notepads, calculators etc.) which were donated by a corporate supporter. And thanks to one of our volunteers for providing apples from Orchard Cardiff too!

Highlight: Wonderful feedback from attendees.

Glan Yr Afon Primary School

Families joined the pupils to help prepare leek and potato soup, while pupils learned about the meaning of harvest and enjoyed participating in a harvest quiz. The pupils were given harvest-themed activity sheets and paper bags to decorate, which would later be filled with fruit to take home. After cooking, families and pupils sat together to enjoy the soup they had made. During a taster session, everyone was introduced to various harvest foods, and afterwards, the children excitedly selected fruit to place in their decorated bags to share with their families at home.

Highlight: Families coming together to prepare food, and pupils learning about harvest.

Global Gardens project

We hosted an apple day at Global Gardens in collaboration with Orchard Cardiff. Activities included apple juicing, pizza making and learning about how to make apple cider vinegar.

Highlight: Bringing people together to share apple juice and pizza!

Green Squirrel CIC

At Railway Gardens in Splott we planted hops in 2022, and now in 2024 they were ready to pick, so we decided to try and brew our own beer. First volunteers spent an afternoon harvesting the hops, which we then dried. Then we held a beer making day, led by volunteer and home brewer Leo to turn the hops into five gallons of beer. Leo taught us about each stage, from mashing and sparging through to hopping, pitching yeast, and bottling. We were able to put all the learning into practice as we made the brew, fermented it for just over two weeks, then bottled it. Leo also helped us understand how to brew safely, how to design our own beer recipes, and the sustainability benefits of homebrewing over shop bought beer.

Highlight: The names everyone came up with for the beer! Eau de Splott and Pale By the Rail were our favourites. Seeing the whole process, from hop-picking to bottling. Hearing people talking about doing it again next year.

Greenway Primary School

Pupils and families at Greenway Primary School explored Harvest foods and prepared a stir fry, which they enjoyed together. Families were given the recipe and ingredients to recreate the dish at home. The children were excited to share the meal and their newfound knowledge about the ingredients with the rest of their family.

Highlight: Children and families enjoying food, learning about harvest, and trying new foods.

Herbert Thompson Primary

Herbie’s Pop-Up Café fostered unity between Ely and Caerau, bridging generational gaps and strengthening community pride. Attendees of all ages enjoyed delicious, globally-inspired foods, soft play, and hands-on crafts. Children learned songs from various cultures and eras, performing them for the residents at Regency House, bringing joy and connection across generations. Parents and babies found comfort in a dedicated play space provided by school staff, offering new parents a warm and welcoming environment to combat social isolation. To further support community well-being, representatives from Flying Start, Health Visitors, and the Money Advice Service were present, providing valuable resources, support, and advice to all.

Highlight: Children performing songs for residents at Regency House and presenting harvest hampers.

Meadowlane Primary School

The nursery pupils learned about the Harvest Festival and how different foods are harvested from farms and gardens. Later, their families joined them in the classroom to sample a variety of seasonal harvest foods, including fresh fruits and vegetables. Together, they enjoyed tasting the foods, discussing the flavours, and learning more about where their food comes from.

Highlight: Families being welcomed into the school, engaging with staff, meeting other parents, and experiencing new food with pupils.

Oakfield Primary School

Nursery pupils and their families at Oakfield Primary School had a fun-filled day using harvest foods to make pizzas, sample fresh fruit juices, and painting pumpkins. Each child took their decorated pumpkin home, along with a recipe card to turn it into a delicious meal!

Highlight: A parent sent a photo of them and their child using the ingredients and recipe card to cook at home.

Orchard Cardiff

Joining our forces with Global Garden’s Pizza Day, over 50 participants cut, crunched, and juiced 45 kg of apples and tasted over 12 litres of fresh apple juice. These surplus apples were harvested by our volunteers in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. We were also joined by Cath Little, a storyteller who shared Welsh stories about apples and orchards.

Highlight: Busiest year yet, helped by combining with Global Garden’s Pizza Day.

Pedal Power

Despite the wind and rain, the Taz’s Soupa-soup workshop saw a full house! Participants learned tips and techniques to recreate the dish at home then stayed to chat after the demo, old friends and brand-new friends filling the cafe with delicious smells of hearty soup, and joyful chatter and laughter. We loved being a part of the 5th annual Good Food Cardiff Autumn Festival and would love to be part of the 6th!

Highlight: Seeing how much people enjoyed the soup-making demonstration and the relaxed atmosphere.

Splo-down Food Coop

Splo-down Food Coop hosted a “Dishes from our Community” event where five coop members produced a dish to share with others using splo-down sourced ingredients. We had Colombian empanadas, Welsh cakes, Turkish casserole, biryani, curries, and coffee cakes. Everyone who came to the event was able to taste the different dishes and take home recipe cards for each. We also had a very special visit from Jenipher Sambazi from Uganda, vice-chair of the farmers’ co-operative that Splo-down buys coffee from.

Highlight: Food coop members being proud of their recipes and excited to share their dishes.

United Welsh

We are so grateful to Food Cardiff for helping us put on a multicultural event that brought joy, new friendships and companionships to the over 55’s in our housing schemes. Thank you!

Highlight: Bringing everyone together to enjoy food and friendship, especially valuable in a multicultural community.

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