Following the success of the first 50 Community Fridges, the charity aims to support the opening of a further 50 sites over the next 22 months.
To celebrate the success, Hubbub has joined forces with 2013 MasterChef winner, Natalie Coleman who will be visiting Food Academy Community Fridge in Newham to make dishes with the ingredients she discovers there.
Coleman said: “I am very excited to be part of Hubbub’s campaign as Community Fridges are really helping to tackle and raise awareness of the food waste issue.
“I have been guilty of throwing food out unnecessarily in the past but since becoming a chef I realise that we can cut down on waste and use it to create new dishes or snacks.
“I am looking forward to visiting the Community Fridge in Newham where I can share some of my ideas and recipes to turn old ingredients into new exciting dishes.”
The Community Fridge Network launched with the aim of reducing food waste in the UK. Community Fridges provide a place for local residents and businesses to donate surplus food, which is available for anyone in the community to take.
Food waste remains a huge issue in the UK, with £13 billion of edible food thrown away from our homes every year4 and a further £3 billion of food wasted by the hospitality and food service sector.5 With the opening of the 50th Community Fridge, the Network is redistributing an average of 25 tonnes of food each month, the equivalent of approximately 50,000 meals.
Trewin Restorick, founder and CEO, Hubbub said: “We’re thrilled with how successful Community Fridges have been and the rapid growth of the Network. The Fridges not only save valuable food, they help bring people together and have become real community hubs.
“Some people had doubts at the outset as to whether the Community Fridge Network would work, but the Fridges have developed to be positive, social spaces that have proven the doubters wrong. We’d encourage anyone interested in visiting or opening a Fridge to visit our website and we’d love even more businesses to get involved as demand is outstripping supply in some areas.”
Founded by Hubbub in July 2017, the Community Fridge Network and fridges within the Network have been funded by backers including The National Lottery Community Fund, Sainsbury’s, The Rothschild Foundation, Bosch, North London Waste Authority, the Morrison’s Foundation, Samsung and the Climate Challenge Fund.
With the opening of the 50th Community Fridge, the Network is redistributing an average of 25 tonnes of food each month, the equivalent of approximately 50,000 meals.
James Harcourt, England director at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players another 50 Community Fridges are set to open across the UK. We are proud to be supporting Hubbub which gives communities the opportunity to learn new skills, and create a healthier and greener lifestyle together by sharing food and reducing waste. Not only will this strengthen communities, but also enable them to thrive.”