Pioneering a new approach to food waste and food poverty.

Food waste is a huge issue in the UK. The average household throws away £810 worth of food every year. Most food waste in the UK (4.1 million tonnes) is avoidable and could have been eaten had it been better managed. The latest statistics show us that one in three (4.4 million) children live in poverty in the UK, with an estimated 2.5 million living in food insecure households.

Trewin Restorick, chief executive of environmental charity Hubbub, said: “If food waste was a country, it would be the world’s third biggest contributor to climate change. To hit our climate targets, improvement needs to be a launchpad for transformational change. This can only be achieved by increasing the culinary skills of households, building greater awareness of the environmental impact of food waste, and creating a consistent nationwide food recycling system.”

One solution to these problems are Community Fridges, a tried and tested solution to stop good food ending up in the bin. The fridges enable residents and businesses to share surplus quality food that would otherwise be wasted.

Award winning Project Founder, Ellen Neville says

“Making the fridge open to all promotes inclusivity and dignity, with anyone being able to give as well as receive.

While we are food sharing; the Community Fridge gives people opportunities to contribute through volunteering, learning new skills, or sharing their existing skills. Our hope is that we pave the way to a more sustainable approach to food insecurity in addition to being a gateway to other community services, activities and having a positive impact on health and wellbeing and reducing social isolation.

We aim high but the process is simple.”

Hawkhurst’s Community Fridge opened on 29 June 2020. It was about the 50th in the UK, so we are pioneering for our little corner of Kent. The location is outside the new Green Shop on Rye Road.

Join our Facebook group ‘Hawkhurst Community Fridge‘ for regular updates.

The project been so successful and appreciated that Ellen has received awards.