A TAKEAWAY is to launch a 'community fridge' to enable people to share surplus food and help themselves to prevent unnecessary waste.
The Deli Group launches Newton-le-Willows’ first ever ‘Community Fridge’ this Friday (January 10) with the support of environmental charity Hubbub UK in a growing effort to tackle food waste.
The fridge, located inside Newton Deli, on Wargrave Road, will be open every day to enable residents and businesses to share surplus food and for anyone to help themselves to quality food that would otherwise be wasted.
The Deli Group team are calling all local food businesses and allotment holders in Newton and the surrounding area to donate surplus food from Friday onwards.
Food waste is a big issue in the UK and the average household throws away £700 worth of food every year and at the same time four million people in the UK are living in food poverty.
Most food waste in the UK is avoidable and could have been eaten had it been better managed.
Marc Faulkner, director of The Deli Group, which also has a premises on Greenfield Road, Dentons Green, said: “ We were absolutely overwhelmed by the level of community support for our recent ‘Nobody Should Be Hungry’ Christmas campaign, which helped to provide hot Christmas Dinners and gifts for in excess of 100 local families who may otherwise have been hungry and without something to unwrap on Christmas morning.
"It was heartbreaking, however, as we came to realise the level of suffering and the number of people within our own community who are struggling to keep food on the table and facing the choice between eating and heating.
"In a modern day, civilised society this simply shouldn’t be the case, and we’ve made a steadfast commitment that nobody should go hungry in our town. Launching our community fridge within Newton Deli is the first step toward making this pledge a reality, whilst also providing an outlet for our own surplus food. No questions. No judgement. Nobody should be hungry.”
From Friday, the fridge will be open every day during Newton Deli’s normal opening hours.
It is is one of a growing number opening up across the UK and the concept first arrived in the country in 2016 with Community Fridges opening up in Swadlincote, Frome and London.
Now more than 50 projects are running across the country.
Some of the challenges faced by Community Fridges to-date are around the legal requirements and food hygiene. The world’s first Community Fridge Network has been set up by environmental charity Hubbub to provide free advice and support to Community Fridge organisers and act as a hub to enable communities to share their experiences and learn from each other.
- To find out more about the The Deli Group’s Newton-le-Willows Community Fridge, donate or volunteer nobodyshouldbehungry.co.uk or email mail@newtondeli.co.uk, or call 01925 357 907. More on The Community Fridge Network, including a map of fridge locations and advice for those interested in setting up a community fridge can be found at hubbub.org.uk/communityfridgenetwork
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