During the season of Lent, the Green Team will be ‘using their loaf’; we’d love to encourage the whole church to do so too. 

‘Using your loaf’ (cockney slang ‘loaf of bread’ equals ‘head’) is considered a rather pushy way of encouraging people to ‘think more carefully about’ their actions. As Christians, we don’t really do ‘pushy’ but hopefully this nudge towards living more lightly by considering our food choices will resonate.

Using the acronym ‘LOAF’ can help us reduce our impact on the Earth, prompting us to think ‘is it Local? Organic? Animal friendly or Fairtrade?’. Of course, there are many other ways to think about our food, but we’d like to prompt a discussion about our food choices and why they matter.

Our food accounts for 25% of our carbon footprint, so if we are heading for net zero by 2030, then this is one area where we could all make a significant dent. To get started, you can calculate your food footprint, here: https://myemissions.green/food-carbon-footprint-calculator/

The next parish lunch on Sunday 5th March at 12noon in the Old Library, will have food provided by Waste2Taste (an ethical catering company and cafe in East Oxford, using food surplus as the main ingredients, supporting homeless and vulnerable people by running cooking workshops). We will be joined by guest speakers talking to the themes of LOAF, one of whom will be Rev Lyndon Webb, Associate Chaplain of Merton and a member of our congregation. 

Lyndon spent two years at Hilfield Friary, where (as a volunteer) he learnt to grow food and a further two years working with the Pilsdon Community near Bridport, overseeing the kitchen gardens. He has now established a community veg garden for Merton students.