As individuals and even as churches we can all do our bit to combat climate change but if a whole community can come together and support positive change, then the benefits are multiplied. This is the philosophy behind a Community Fridge that has opened at St Mary’s Pickesleigh with the aim of reducing food waste.
According to the United Nations, food waste accounts for around 8% of global CO2 emissions. These emissions come from the growing, transporting, processing and then disposing of unwanted food.
One source of food waste comes from food that can no longer be sold, because it has passed its “best before” or “use by” dates. This is where a community fridge can make a difference. By getting access to this food directly from supermarkets and then being able to freeze or refrigerate it, local communities can then come and take the food for free.
With the support of the food waste charity Hubbub and local Co-op supermarkets in Malvern, St Mary’s opened their Community Fridge in May. Initially the fridge was open twice each week but that has now increased to three openings per week. The fridge has also recently started collecting food from Morrisons and Tescos. Since opening over 1,200 visits have been made to the Fridge and over three tonnes of food has been saved from going to waste.
Lynne Sparkes, vicar of St Mary’s said:
“The support that we’ve had from the local community has been fantastic. By using the Fridge each week our community of Pickersleigh have saved over three tonnes of food from going into landfill. That’s really good for our environment. I’m so grateful for our team of volunteers who have enabled this to happen.”
St Mary’s Community Fridge is open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings - it’s free to use and everyone is welcome to come and use it. For the next 12 months the Pickersleigh Fridge is one of the charities supported by the Co-op’s local community fund and Co-op members can support it every time they shop, find more details on the Co-op website.
