Food for Thought

At Gladstone's Library, we believe that the mind works best when the body is well fed and watered. We have a reputation for good wholesome food that doesn't cost the earth. We serve healthy meals catering for different dietary requirements and strive to use locally sourced, animal aware, organic and fairly traded (LOAF) produce wherever possible.
Our Coffee Shop, Food for Thought, has recently been refurbished and can now seat up to sixty people.
Opening Times:
Monday - Friday: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Saturday - Sunday: 10.00am - 2.00pm
Lunch is served daily from 12 noon - 2.00pm
Brunch available 10.00 am - 12 noon on Sunday
- Free wifi
- Daily and Sunday newspapers
- Wide selection of teas and coffees
- Delicious homemade cakes and biscuits
- Good food at reasonable prices
We are using our LOAF!
Gladstone's Library will endeavour, wherever possible, to use ingredients that are:
- Locally produced
- Organically grown
- Animal aware
- Fairly traded
Locally produced food means shorter journeys for farm animals to markets and abattoirs, fewer miles travelled from farms to shops and therefore less climate damaging green house gas emissions from lorries, less demand for new roads, support for the local economy and local farmers, and regional variety.
Organically grown food avoids the use of synthetic pesticides and herbicides and artificial fertilisers. Organic cultivation leads to a healthier soil with more organic material, micro-organisms and other wildlife, and no genetically engineered organisms released into the countryside.
Animal aware means that animals are treated humanely. Organically reared animals are subject to s trict welfare regulations.
Fairly traded food and drink such as coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas and honey are labelled as such. The 'Fairtrade' label guarantees that when food or drink has to be imported, the overseas workers who produce it get a fair wage.
Thoughts for Food
This collection of articles, poems, aphorisms and other short pieces have been selected as something to ponder as people eat in our coffee shop, Food for Thought.
In September, we liked this article in defence of libraries by Germaine Greer. In October, we sympathised with Lucy Mangan's comments about ebooks. For some time, we have been encouraging people to read works by A.S.J.Tessimond, We especially like his poem Heaven. If you want to read these selections, please follow the links below or come to Food for Thought where they are waiting for you.
Germaine Greer:http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/germaine-greer-library-cuts
Lucy Mangan: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/23/lucy-mangan-ebooks-v-print
A.S.J. Tessimond: http://www.myreader.co.uk/message/872576.aspx