The Carbon Cost of Food Week
Each year our Carbon Cost of Food Week campaign unites community members and food businesses in creating a more sustainable future. We focus on the power of our food choices to reduce our carbon footprint.
We understand that navigating discussions around climate change and emissions can be complex, which is why we’re thrilled to introduce you to Carbon Cost. This is a way of understanding how our choices generate the greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change.
If you’d like to be alerted about our next campaign, please sign up below.
We help participants online, through social media, over email, and in person learn to (easily) estimate your food’s carbon footprint, or Carbon Cost during the Carbon Cost of Food Week. All are invited to put new skills to the test by having a go at the Carbon Cost Challenge, and sharing their results to win prizes.
We also rally amazing food businesses who pledge to display the Carbon Cost of their food during the week. A handful of these business-heroes even change their menu pricing to directly correlate with the Carbon Cost of the food.
The Carbon Cost Challenge
Carbon Cost Challenge
Each year the Carbon Cost of Food Week features a Carbon Cost challenge that you can easily complete from home. 2024 participants were asked to find the Carbon Cost of a meal or a grocery shop! Those who shared their results online were entered in to win prizes.
We’ve mapped out the Carbon Cost of common food and produce, and packaged it into an easy-to-use, visual Carbon Cost Tool that can be used anywhere. The Carbon Cost Tool (attached below) can be used to estimate the Carbon Cost of your food, in car miles.
For example, let’s say you use the Tool to add all of your meal’s ingredients together. You find a total of 6. This means that the food used in this meal emitted about the same emissions as you would have if you drove a car for 6 miles. You can learn about where those emissions come from on our website.
Page 2 of the Carbon Cost Tool will walk you through an example. Don’t worry about weighing your food to find the exact amounts. Just estimate roughly how much you think you have of each ingredient, and add them together to find your Carbon Cost.
Food Businesses & Restaurants
Food Businesses & Restaurants
Food businesses and restaurants are also invited to join the Carbon Cost of Food Week by displaying the Carbon Cost of their menu items for customers to see. Some of these incredible businesses choose to adjust their menu pricing to mirror the Carbon Cost of their food, where they charge £1 per car mile during the campaign week. Climatarian Kitchen and Damascus Rose Kitchen in Oxford do this year round!
Any food business is invited to join. We offer support with marketing materials, Carbon Costing resources, and bespoke menu creation if you would like. Please click the button below to register your interest and we will be in touch shortly!
Additionally, businesses can head to Food for the Planet to take the Planet Pledge and get started on your journey to reduce the climate and nature impact of your food.
2024 Food Business Participants: Carbon Cost of Food Week
Old Fire Station x Damascus Rose Kitchen
At Damascus Rose Kitchen, Carbon Costed menus are served YEAR ROUND.
Come along for delicious Middle Eastern food, made with love by a social enterprise supporting refugee women in Oxford.
Opening Hours : Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 10am – 4pm.
Address : 40 George St, Oxford OX1 2AQ
Waste2Taste
Visit the Waste2Taste café between 23-25 January for a Carbon Costed menu where food is priced at £1 per car mile.
Waste2Taste provides affordable and ethical food through a vibrant community café and catering service with a vision towards a vibrant, healthy and sustainable food culture, committed to reduce food waste.
The café addresses food waste by using food surplus as its main ingredient, and have a ‘never waste anything’ approach, creating a place for anyone and everyone.
Opening Hours : Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9:30am – 2:30pm
Address : Shotover View, Craufurd Rd, Oxford OX4 2SQ
Climatarian Kitchen
At Cherwell Collective’s own Climatarian Kitchen, Carbon Costed menus are served year round. Food is always priced with a suggested donation at £1 per car mile, and 100% of ingredients are sourced from surplus or are locally-grown in their greenspaces.
Climatarian Kitchen accepts donations on a “pay what you can” basis, but we do also include suggested prices on our menus.
Opening Hours : Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11am – 2pm.
Address : Exeter Hall, Oxford Rd, Kidlington OX5 1AB
Lady Margaret Hall – Oxford University
St Edmund’s Hall – Oxford University
Oxford Brookes Student Union
Learn More
In the meantime, if you’re eager to dive into Carbon Cost-ing head to this page to learn more about how it works. You can also learn more by visiting our blog where we discuss Carbon Cost and share emissions-reducing tips on loads of topics – from spring cleaning, to Christmas shopping, to burger recipes!
You can also follow us on our social media pages to stay up to date with our activities and campaign updates.
This campaign is made possible by support from Food For the Planet and The National Lottery Community Fund.
If you are a business or local authority please join Food For the Planet for helpful resources to get you started on your journey, and take advantage of the Every Mouthful Counts toolkit.
