Southern Co-op is spearheading a rollout of 10 new community fridges, thanks to a £40,000 donation.
Four have already been opened to the public in Brighton, Basingstoke, Chichester and Uckfield, with three more planned for Hayling Island, Adur and Worthing. Another three are set to open, with their location to be confirmed.
It was supporting the community fridges via environmental charity Hubbub as a way to reduce food waste and tackle food insecurity in local communities, the society said.
The fridges are usually housed in publicly accessible places, making surplus food freely available to members of the public. The food is donated by local businesses, charities such as FareShare or members of the public. The fridges are available for anyone to use.
“Whilst we already make sure all of the food from our stores gets eaten or processed into biogas, it’s just as important that we enable communities to also reduce their own food waste,” said Southern Co-op community lead Holly Bramble.
“These fridges bring together people from the local area and can be the spark to building the local community spirit. They are often run by volunteers who share our passion for sustainability, so it is has been wonderful getting to meet some of those involved.”
Clare de Bathe, trust director for Chichester Community Development Trust, which runs the community fridges in Chichester and Uckfield, said: “Thanks to the support of Southern Co-op we have been able to support families and individuals in our locality as from further afield.
“The effect of Covid, the cost of living crisis and rising unemployment and prices has meant that the support provided has never been more important.”
The Community Fridge Network, which is hosted by Hubbub, estimated that in 2021 its network stopped 3,150 tonnes of food going to waste and shared 7.5 million meals’ worth of food. There are currently more than 350 fridges across the UK.
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