Festival of Thrift

Simon has been part of the Festival of Thrift creative team since it was founded. It returned a tenth year in September 2022 and was visited by over 50,000 people.

The Festival of Thrift is the UK’s national celebration of sustainable living – an award-winning, fun and free family festival.

Read Simon’s Blog ‘Confessions of a Food Guru’ for Festival of Thrift 2019.

In July 2015 Festival of Thrift won the Observer Ethical Award for Arts and Culture.

Events created by Simon include Bistro du Van – community-run themed bistros in vintage camper vans, Jamallot – an on-site preserving factory inviting the public to help make continuous batches of Festival of Thrift jam and chutney using fruit and vegetables grown and donated by event goers, The Town is the Menu – a large scale community meal with a menu inspired by a local town, The Whole Hog – festival goers are challenged to eat every morsel of an organic pig grown especially for the Festival, learning along the way – and a programme of 20 hands-on thrifty food and drink workshops run by local artisans. Simon also produced the talks programme for the Enlightentent.